Posted on 07/31/2022 12:25:40 AM PDT by Pilgrim's Progress
“It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink” (Proverbs 31:4).
Consider the classic passage on liquor in chapter 23. Now, the One that wrote this was never drunk one time. I'm talking about the Lord God almighty, that penned this book. Never one time was he ever drunk, and yet he understands men so well, that He knows exactly what a man feels like when he is drunk. He can look inside of you. Notice how he pinned this thing. Now, the man's got to realize that the one that wrote this never was drunk, and yet he knows exactly what a drunk is like. You see, God looks at the heart.
“Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions [that is fights, arguments]? who hath babbling [who gets in fights, who has a lot of problems]? who hath wounds without cause [they get beat up, they fall down steps; they do all kinds of crazy things for no reason]? who hath redness of eyes [that’s just too descriptive, isn’t it. What people say we we need to do is to get a new translation that isn’t so hard to understand. The problem is it's too easy to understand. it speaks quite clearly and is very true]? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again” (Proverbs 23:29-35).
Verse 31 is the admonition of the Holy God to anyone that wants to stay out of the trouble of verse 29: “Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright” (Proverbs 23:31).
There is a fermentation process. Do you know why the Bible says don't look on it? It is very simple. If I have an advertisement here, and it is kind of warm in here; If I opened up a slick magazine cover and it's got a picture of a cold tall glass of beer, with that foam rolling off the side of it, and the water running down the side; depicting the coldness of it, and the coolness of it, and the good taste of it, you might be tempted to drink. That's why the Bible says, “Don't look at it!” If you look at it, then there's a temptation to do it. The Bible says, “Lead us not into temptation,” then you better stay away from the signs and stay away from the advertisements.
You know what got David in trouble? David committed adultery, murder, and conspiracy. One night he was up on his roof. He was just up there, and he saw a woman. You see, David wasn’t in trouble until what he saw. And what he saw, he had to have, and what he had to have cost him the lives of five people. Five people died because a man looked on something and lusted after it. That's why the Bible said don't look at it.
One thing I don't like about magazines is, it seems like these slick magazines that you get at the corner store, or come in the mail is that they all have 15 to 20 liquor ads in them; and they just make them as appealing as they can possibly make them. I don't know many industries in America that make as much money as the liquor industry. It's been a long time since you’ve seen, or heard of, a brewery going out of business for lack of customers. They're making money and they know how to advertise. The Bible knows how to keep you out of trouble. Don't look at. If you don't look at it, you won’t want it.
“It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink,” that strong drink there was something that was used as an offering that was poured out (Numbers 28:7) and at times that would be a sacrifice.
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IMHO, this is the best commentary you’ve ever written. It has passion...and it hits its mark.
We see the results of politicians who can’t control their drinking all the time these days, ***cough***pelosi***cough***
Belshazzar comes to mind.
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