Isaiah 56:12

Nor does he merely reprove them for drinking wine and strong drink, which in itself is not sinful, but for that mental drunkenness and brutality by which men haughtily and insolently despise the word of God. In other passages drunkenness and the abuse of wine are condemned; but here the Prophet exclaims against the madness and insolence with which pastors exalted themselves against God, and trampled under foot all threatenings, warnings, reproofs, and, in short, all religion. Yet there can be no doubt that he reproves the gross and shameful wickedness of burying reflection, as if on purpose, by excess of wine and feasting, that no shame or fear, no reverence for God or men, might disturb their repose; as ungodly persons do all they can to stupify themselves by unlawful pleasures, that they may more daringly, and with less reserve, abandon themselves to wickedness.

John Calvin and William Pringle, Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, vol. 4 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 191.

Isaiah 24:9

9. They shall not drink wine with a song. To drink wine is not in itself evil, because God has appointed it for the use of man; but here the Prophet describes the banquets of drunkards, which were full of licentiousness, songs, and insolence.

John Calvin and William Pringle, Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, vol. 2 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 172.

1 Timothy 3:8

The prohibition against indulging “in much wine” forbids the love of alcohol. The requirements resemble the demand of 3:3 for the overseer. Total abstinence today from alcohol would guard the deacon from the clutches of intoxicants. It would provide a credible witness to a society that needs help in combating alcoholism.

Thomas D. Lea and Hayne P. Griffin, 1, 2 Timothy, Titus, vol. 34, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 116.

1 Timothy 5:23

5:23 One of the problems of the false teachers involved the practice of asceticism concerning foods (4:3). Perhaps Timothy had been influenced by this practice, and Paul now advised him about it. Paul gave fatherly directives to Timothy in urging him to take some wine to help his digestion. Contaminated water may have aggravated Timothy’s problems, and both Jews and Greeks had used wine for medicinal purposes. Paul did not intend to lead Timothy into slavery to alcohol. His advice resembles the directive, “Take a tonic for your stomach.”

Thomas D. Lea and Hayne P. Griffin, 1, 2 Timothy, Titus, vol. 34, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 158.

Numbers 28:3–8

28:3–8 Each morning after daybreak and each evening before sunset, a one-year-old lamb was prepared and sacrificed along with one-tenth ephah (about two liters) of finely ground flour and one-fourth hin (about one liter) of olive oil. This offering was one of those originally decreed on Mount Sinai (Exod 20:24; 29:38–43) for the purpose of consecration of the Tent of Meeting and the community that met God there. The more detailed cereal offerings of Num 15:1–21, which have the future life in the land in view, are presumed in this section. The addition of one-fourth hin of strong drink (šēkār, “beer, strong fermented or distilled drink,” or more specifically yayin, “wine” in Exod 29:40) completes the collection of agricultural products that combined to produce a savory smell when consumed by fire. Šēkār derives from the Akkadian šikāru, the common word in Mesopotamia for prominent barley beer. Recently, however, Stager has suggested that šēkār may have actually been a kind of brewed and distilled grape beverage made from a variety of vineyard products.24 Wine and other fermented liquids were considered special gifts from God (or the gods) in the ancient Near East and thus were to be reciprocated in kind as part of the array of sacrifices.25

R. Dennis Cole, Numbers, vol. 3B, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 473.

Luke 23:36

They offered him wine vinegar. This act is mentioned in all four Gospels (Mark 15:36; Matt 27:48; John 19:29–30). “Wine vinegar” was the ordinary wine drunk by soldiers.

Robert H. Stein, Luke, vol. 24, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 590.

Matthew 9:16–17

 Nor can wine that has not yet fermented—bubbling, expanding, and emitting gas—be put into old, brittle containers, or they will explode. One needs new containers that are more flexible.

Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 158–159.

Numbers 6:3–8

The vineyard and its produce thus can have an antithetical usage in the Bible. On one hand vineyards are evidence of Yahweh’s great blessing upon the land (Isa 5:1–2, 7a; Jer 2:21). A large cluster of grapes was brought back by the team of spies who explored the land of Canaan prior to Israel’s rejection of the land (Num 13:23–24). Wine is combined with various elements in the sacrificial system for worshiping God and making atonement (Num 15:5, 7, 10; 28:7–10, 14). Israelites living far from Jerusalem were even encouraged to purchase wine and strong drink along with sheep and cattle with money from their tithes, and then they would eat and drink these in the presence of the Lord with rejoicing (Deut 14:24–27). However, excessive consumption is condemned categorically (Prov 20:1; 23:30–31; 31:4; Isa 28:7).130 In the New Testament limitations regarding wine consumption are listed among the requirements for overseers and deacons, and drunkenness is the antithesis to being filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18; 1 Cor 6:10).

R. Dennis Cole, Numbers, vol. 3B, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 122–123.

Titus 2:3

3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.

The older women must not be “addicted to much wine.” Paul’s inclusion of this item suggests that alcohol may have been an especially troubling problem among Cretan women.

Thomas D. Lea and Hayne P. Griffin, 1, 2 Timothy, Titus, vol. 34, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 298.

Matthew 26:26–30

“Fruit of the vine” (v. 29) was a stock phrase used in thanksgiving prayers for the wine (m. Ber. 6:1) and therefore does not refer to unfermented beverage, “though it was customary to cut the wine with a double or triple quantity of water.”20

Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 391.

Titus 1:7

Paul disqualified a drunkard from serving as an elder. The elder must “not be given to much wine” (author’s translation). Even in light of Paul’s other comments regarding the abuse of wine, one cannot be dogmatic that he requires total abstinence in the elder.24 However, considering the addictive qualities of alcohol, any Christian (whether an elder or not) should seriously consider Paul’s statements concerning the responsibilities of the “strong” to the “weak.”25 Remaining blameless in any situation that gives offense should be the governing rule with regard to any questionable practices allowed by Scripture yet not encouraged by Scripture.

Thomas D. Lea and Hayne P. Griffin, 1, 2 Timothy, Titus, vol. 34, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 283–284.

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DRINKING: MODERATION OR ABSTINENCE?