Be Teetotallers! (II)

Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew

We shall look at all the 12 different Hebrew words used in the Bible for “wine”. A word study will show how “wine” was used and understood in Bible times. Let us look at the first two on the list.

(1)  Ashishah occurs only four times in the Bible (2Sa 6:19; 1Ch 16:3; Song 2:5; Ho 3:1), and denotes a flagon or container.

2 Samuel 6:19 says, “And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed every one to his house.” David had brought the Ark of God successfully into the capital city of Jerusalem. It was a happy occasion. 1 Chronicles 16:3 talks of the same event. The Song of Solomon 2:5 reads, “Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.” These are the words of one coaxing his lover to stay longer and flagons were used to keep him. Hosea 3:1 is the only verse where the word “wine” is attached to “flagon.” It reads, “Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine (enabh).” The word enabh literally means “grape”. The BDB Hebrew Lexicon has the word enabh as grape. In  Deuteronomy 32:14 the KJV translators rendered it as “grape”, “Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.” The “wine” that was used at that time was actually grape juice.

(2)   ‘Asis is “sweet wine” or “new wine,” the product of the same year (Song 8:2; Isa 49:26; Joe 1:5; 3:18; Am 9:13), from a root meaning “to tread,” hence juice trodden out or pressed out, thus referring to the method by which the juice is obtained. The power of intoxication is ascribed to it. The word is used in Song of Solomon 8:2, “I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother’s house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate.” “The pomegranate tree, Punica granatum (Natural Order, Granateae) occurs usually as a shrub or small tree 10-15 ft. high, and is distinguished by its fresh green, oval leaves, which fall in winter, and its brilliant scarlet blossoms (compare Song 7:12). The beauty of an orchard of pomegranates is referred to in Song 4:13. The fruit which is ripe about September is apple-shaped, yellow-brown with a blush of red, and is surmounted by a crown-like hard calyx; on breaking the hard rind, the white or pinkish, translucent fruits are seen tightly packed together inside. The juicy seeds are sometimes sweet and sometimes somewhat acid, and need sugar for eating. The juice expressed from the seeds is made into a kind of syrup for flavoring drinks, and in ancient days was made into wine.” [International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)]. Spices were added to wine to make it less intoxicating. “Spiced wine was much used by the ancients, and in the eastern countries: so Phoenician wine, or wine of Byblis, is said to be odoriferous; so the wine of Lebanon, Ho 14:7; the Babylonians had a wine they called nectar: spiced wine was thought less inebriating, and therefore the ancients sometimes put into their wine myrrh and calamus, and other spices; sometimes it was a mixture of old wine, water, and balsam; and of wine, honey, and pepper.” (ISBE). In the Song of Solomon, “spiced wine” is used with reference to giving “the best and most delicate” drink to the one you love when you bring the person to meet your mother. The alcoholic nature of the drink was greatly diluted by the spices. The giver of the wine has no intention of making the recipient drunk.

‘Asis is also found in Isaiah 49:26, “And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.” The colour of the grape juice is the focus as this reflects the colour of blood which God said will be shed by the enemies of God’s people whose blood these men have shed. Barnes explained the sweet wine as, “The ‘must,’ or new wine, was the pure juice which ran first after the grapes had been laid in a heap preparatory to pressure. The ancients had the art of preserving this for a long time, so as to retain its special flavor, and were in the habit of drinking it in the morning (see Hor. Sat. ii. 4). This had the intoxicating property very slightly, if at all; and Harmer (Obs. vol. ii. p. 151) supposes that the kind here meant was rather such as was used in ‘royal palaces for its gratefulness,’ which was capable of being kept to a great age. It is possible, I think, that there may be an allusion here to the fact that it required a ‘large quantity of the must’ or new wine to produce intoxication, and that the idea here is that a large quantity of blood would be shed.”

Joel 1:5 reads, “Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.” The word ‘asis here refers to concentrated grape juice that has fermented with very little alcohol. However, such when taken in excess will cause drunkenness, hence the warning and judgement against these sinners of Israel.

Joel 3:18 reads, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.” Here, it speaks of how the land of Israel will be filled once again with vineyards and all good things when the LORD brings His people Israel back to the Promised Land.

Amos 9:13 says, “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.” The context of Amos was the copious blessings of God that will come upon Israel when Israel returns to God in repentance. This is the picture of the abundance fruitfulness of the land after the restoration by God.

From the above study, we note that the word “ashishah” (flagon) is used of a container to hold grape juice. ‘Asis (sweet wine) is concentrated fermented grape juice with very low alcohol content, but when consumed excessively can cause drunkenness. The Bible does not say that God approves of such drinking. When such a wine is drunk, it is deliberately spiced so that the little bit of alcohol is reduced further to practically zero. The Bible warns against those who drink and get drunk.

1 Timothy 3:8 states, “Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre.” The instruction here is the same as the one found in 1 Timothy 3:3 which speaks of the requirement for an elder. The only difference between the two is the addition of the word “much”. It appears to point to a lesser requirement in the case of a deacon compared to an elder. Could this be the right interpretation? Albert Barnes wrote, “The word ‘much’ is added here to what is said in the qualification of a bishop. It is not affirmed that it would be proper for the deacon, any more than the bishop, to indulge in the use of wine in small quantities, but it is affirmed that a man who is much given to the use of wine, ought not, on any consideration, to be a deacon. It may be remarked here, that this qualification was everywhere regarded as necessary for a minister of religion. Even the heathen priests, on entering a temple, did not drink wine. The use of wine, and of strong drinks of all kinds, was absolutely prohibited to the Jewish ministers of every rank, when they were about to engage in the service of God, Le 10:9. Why should it, then, be any more proper for a Christian minister to drink wine, than for a Jewish or a heathen priest! Shall a minister of the gospel be less holy than they? Shall he have a feebler sense of the purity of his vocation? Shall he be less careful lest he expose himself to the possibility of conducting the services of religion in an irreverent and silly manner? Shall he venture to approach the altar of God under the influence of intoxicating drinks, when a sense of propriety restrained the heathen priest, and a solemn statute of Jehovah restrained the Jewish priest from doing it?”

Priests and kings, elders and deacons are to refrain from drinking. The fact that we may stumble others when we indulge in this vice should be sufficient grounds for total abstinence. Sunday school teachers, and leaders of fellowship groups, Bible study leaders, parents, and all who lead in one way or another must practise total abstinence. This applies to all who drink privately or secretly for drinking or alcoholism cannot be hid.

Proverbs 31:6-7 says, “Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.” To those who are living a life without hope and are about to perish, they would drink and forget their sorrows. Such a temporary relief numbs the mind and the soul for a moment. When they come out of their drunken stupor, the reality of their hopeless life hits them in the face again and they turn to their alcohol again.

How about Christians? Are Christians miserable and hopeless people? Surely not! Christians are people full of life and hope. As such, they have a vital testimony to bear to the world. All believers should practise total abstinence for it is the only witness and testimony that is in keeping with the truth of God’s holy and perfect Word.

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FEBC Choir at the 60th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service of the B-P Movement at Calvary Pandan BPC, 24 Oct 2010