Dear bro Rushmore, Please explain Pro 31:6,7. Pro 31:6 Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Pro 31:7 Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more. Thank you and God bless, Jimmy Lau
Clearly, honest persons readily recognize that the Bible uniformly condemns the consumption of alcohol as a beverage (Proverbs 20:1; 23:29-35; 31:4; Habakkuk 2:15-16; 1 Corinthians 6:10; Galatians 5:21). The various Hebrew and Greek words translated “wine” derive their meaning and consequently their disapproval or approval based upon the respective contexts in which they appear; sometimes “wine” in the Bible refers to alcohol and sometimes it does not refer to alcohol, depending upon the context in which the word appears. Contexts in which “wine” and similar words refer to alcohol God through the Bible condemns those who partake.
Nave’s Topical Bible correctly lists Proverbs 31:6-7 under a heading of “Wine, Medicinal use of.” For instance, where penicillin (or some other drug) has an appropriate medicinal application, that fact neither warrants nor justifies social indulgence in the same. Anciently, especially in the absence of modern medicine and its accompanying pharmaceuticals, alcohol was a drug sometimes used externally for disinfections and internally as a poor anesthesia, etc. Compare 1 Timothy 5:23 where it is uncertain whether the reference to “wine” means alcoholic or non-alcoholic (grape juice), but irrespectively, the “wine” under consideration was for medicinal purposes. Medicinal purposes hardly justify social drinking or override biblical prohibition respecting the consumption of alcohol.
Works Cited
Nave’s Topical Bible. CD-ROM. Seattle: Biblesoft and TriStar, 1990.
