Proverbs 20:1
|
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
|
Does this verse condemn moderate drinking of wine or strong drink, as some think? Absolutely not! The Lord made them both for our pleasure (Ps 104:14-15; Deut 14:26).
Metonymy is a figure of speech where a related thing is substituted for another. We do this to add force and beauty to language. The Bible is full of metonymy and other figures, so that primary definitions are often ludicrous. Consider these common examples:
1. "Step on the gas" substitutes the fuel for the accelerator pedal. We do not want anyone to stand on a gas can. We really mean for the driver to speed up the car.
2. "He really used his head" substitutes the location of thinking for the brain. We don't mean he banged his skull. We really mean he used good thinking to solve a problem.
3. "The White House announced" substitutes the place where he lives for our President. We don't mean that our Chief Executive's residence actually spoke. We really mean that the President gave new information to the public.
To mock someone is to ridicule or make a fool of them, and wine is the fermented juice of the grape used as a beverage. Wine stays in a bottle or glass quite meekly and doesn't do anything rude. It can stay in a wine cellar for many years without ridiculing anyone.
But wine will mock you, if you drink too much of it (23:29-30). Excessive drinking can make you drunk, and then you will make a fool of yourself. Consider what it did to Noah (Gen 9:21), Lot (Gen 19:31-36), and Nabal (I Sam 25:36-38).
To rage is to lose self-restraint and get angry, and strong drink is a beverage from the fermentation or distillation of other substances. Happily for grocers, beer, schnapps, and whiskey will stay in a bottle without fighting, even for years, even on the same shelf!
But strong drink can lead to rage, if you drink too much of it. Excessive drinking can make you drunk, and you may fight for no reason. Stories of barroom brawls are Legion.
Any person who drinks without sober regard for these effects of alcohol is a fool. No wise man will drink without established limits and conscious care to avoid drunkenness.
Though our Lord was called a winebibber (Matt 11:19), a drunkard, He was never drunk.
How does wine mock? Strong drink rage? How do they deceive men? Here are powerful figures of speech creating a short, excellent proverb against excessive drinking.
www.letgodbetrue.com
