Num. 6:1-4; Lev. 10:8-11, Prov. 31:4-5, Abstinence

We have not talked about the matter of “abstaining” from alcoholic beverages.  We do not believe the Bible requires this as part of a normal Christian life.  We are called to walk in the Spirit, meaning that we are not to be under the control of any other person or substance or habit. Thus, the primary issue is drunkenness.  Having said that, we should note certain situations where the Bible does call for abstinence.

·       Numbers 6:3-4: Nazarites.  A Nazarite made a vow for a specific time and a reason, having to do with the person’s devotion to God.  There were three lifestyle issues: the person did not have his hair cut, could not be in the proximity of a dead body, and abstained from anything produced from the grapevine.  We are not told the reason for this last rule, but there are two possibilities.  It may have been depriving one of pleasure while desiring to increase one’s devotion to God.  But that does not really fit our God, that He get joy from our misery.  Or it may have been to prevent any possibility of being controlled by what is produced by the vine.  Even in moderation, wine has an effect on a person, bringing relaxation at the end of a day, and so forth.  That seems to make sense.

·       Lev. 10:8-11: Priests when on duty.  The priest, when on duty at the tabernacle, was under a death sentence for certain missteps.  These missteps involved, for Israel’s worship, making clear distinctions in what was or was not holy and clean.  In addition, he was a teacher of the children of Israel, so needed to always be in his right mind.  The prophets in Isaiah’s day erred in speaking for God because of drunkenness (Isa. 28:7).  John the Baptist was an abstainer (Lk. 1:15).    

·       Prov. 31:4-5: Kings.  For a similar reason, kings, at least when carrying out their law-keeping duties, are advised not to drink wine or intoxicating drink.  The issues are so important it is required to go to an extreme in being careful not to become unjust.  The Syrian king illustrates this in 1 Kings 20:16-21.

The Rechabites (Jer. 35), who by family tradition were abstainers, do not tell us that abstinence is to be normal.  But they do tell us that wine is not essential to the normal life of the godly person.  In other words, the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17).

In the NT church leaders are to be men “not given to wine.”  Again, this is not abstinence; it describes a man who is under the control of the Spirit, not alcohol.  However, it allows for abstinence, which a man might choose to make his rule of life, for the same reasons as Nazarites, priests and kings.  He might also choose abstinence so as not to be a stumbling block to those who have come to Christ out of a background of excess (Rom. 14:21).  The bottom line is never our rights, but rather is that we serve one another with love.