WOE TO THOSE WHO ABUSE ALCOHOL

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Woe to those who rise early in the morning to run after their drinks, who stay up late at night till they are inflamed with wine. They have harps and lyres at their banquets, pipes and timbrels and wine, but they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord, no respect for the work of his hands.

Therefore my people will go into exile for lack of understanding; those of high rank will die of hunger and the common people will be parched with thirst. Therefore Death expands its jaws, opening wide its mouth; into it will descend their nobles and masses with all their brawlers and revelers.

So people will be brought low and everyone humbled, the eyes of the arrogant humbled. But the Lord Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the holy God will be proved holy by his righteous acts. Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture; lambs will feed among the ruins of the rich.

Isaiah 5:11-17

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

There are many worldly vices and pleasures in life that serve to entice our attention before attaching to us and pulling us away from the Lord and His righteousness. In Isaiah, Chapter 5, the scriptures expose several of these vices and pleasures that brought the Israelites down and into God’s judgment. Yesterday, we examined the woe that came from greed. Today, we turn our attention to substance abuse and particularly alcohol. Look again at these verses:

Woe to those who rise early in the morning to run after their drinks, who stay up late at night till they are inflamed with wine. They have harps and lyres at their banquets, pipes and timbrels and wine, but they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord, no respect for the work of his hands.

Therefore my people will go into exile for lack of understanding; those of high rank will die of hunger and the common people will be parched with thirst. Therefore Death expands its jaws, opening wide its mouth; into it will descend their nobles and masses with all their brawlers and revelers.

So people will be brought low and everyone humbled, the eyes of the arrogant humbled. But the Lord Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the holy God will be proved holy by his righteous acts. Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture; lambs will feed among the ruins of the rich.

Note the picture God paints of the Israelites’ lifestyle. Whether it was first thing in the morning or late in the evening, the focus of the people’s attention was on drinking. It dominated and defined their days. In fact, so prevalent was their imbibing that they gave more consideration and interest to revelry and parties than to the deeds of the Lord and the works of His hands.

As I look at our culture today, it seems to me that we haven’t learned much of anything in more than 2,000 years because there is still a prevalence of alcohol usage and abuse as well as partying among so many people, people who seem to give more of their time to alcohol than they give to the Lord. Perhaps it’s because people are looking for an escape from the rigors and challenges that life brings. They want to feel good and so they seek the high that they can find in having some drinks, a high that detaches them from their true senses and sets them free from the inhibitions that limit them when sober, inhibitions that often keep them from falling into sinful behavior.

The problem with using this as an approach to dealing with life is that it doesn’t produce results that are favorable in any way.

First, alcohol doesn’t take away your troubles. Too often, it only compounds them. Alcohol will not get your bills paid or help your relationship or solve any issue you have. When the alcohol wears off, you are still left to deal with whatever you’re dealing with. And if you commit iniquities and trespasses as a result of excessive alcohol assumption, then when you sober up you will have even more matters to have to deal with.  

Second, when people use alcohol, they are often times feeling down about something and want to feel better. This is nothing but foolish when we consider what alcohol is in its truest sense. For alcohol may carry with it an initial feeling of euphoria but this only masks the true nature of the substance which is depression. If you’re down before you drink, you can be assured that you’ll stay down after the high wears off. Depression begets depression under the influence and when you couple this with the removed inhibitions, it’s a recipe for disaster that leaves little wonder why a propensity of suicides are committed after consuming alcohol.

Finally, the worse part of alcohol is that it’s terribly addictive. Once it gains your attention, it will seek to be a part of your life and in its advanced stages, dominate you. Alcohol, if it takes root, numbs our senses and distances us away from the influence of the Lord, even to the point of total isolation.

This is where the Israelites ended up and why the Lord sent them into woe with the following punishments:

1. Exile.

Therefore my people will go into exile for lack of understanding.

Turning from God (and alcohol was only one means by which this happened) resulted in seventy years of captivity at the hands of the Babylonians, seventy years of being plucked away from their homeland and sent into oppression. Many of those exiled would never make it back to the promised land. And that leads to the second punishment.

2. Death.

Those of high rank will die of hunger and the common people will be parched with thirst. Therefore Death expands its jaws, opening wide its mouth; into it will descend their nobles and masses with all their brawlers and revelers.

Note that everyone was involved in the party and drinking scene. It wasn’t just the common people but those of high rank like the nobles. Alcohol is an equal opportunity substance that doesn’t discriminate by age, race, gender, or status. Anyone can fall into its grasp.

3. Humility.

People will be brought low and everyone humbled, the eyes of the arrogant humbled.

If people were so bold to replace God with partying and alcohol then He was going to show them who was really in control and it wasn’t an alcoholic beverage. Those who chose to get high by drinking were brought low and humbled. In the days of the Israelites, this humbling came through exile. Today, it comes through any number of consequences that arise from excessive alcohol use (i.e. DUIs, alcohol-related incidents leading to arrest, addiction).

Friends, why in the world would we allow anything to be more important than the Lord God Almighty in our lives? How could we ever see anything of the world as holding greater worth and value?

For what can the things of the world really do for us as compared to the things God can do?

All of us need to remember that through Him, nothing is impossible. There is no problem you are going through that is too great for Him to solve, no situation that He can’t resolve, no affliction or wound, whether physical or emotional) He can’t heal.

Money can’t be your focus and will only bring woe if you make it the primary thing in your life.

Alcohol can’t be your focus for it will only bring you woe with its artificiality when it comes to solving your life’s problems.

Trade in your woe for bliss and rejoicing. Turn to the One who can really help you get through life, no matter what you’re going through and lead you from sin to righteousness along the way.

Trust in God, now and forever. He’ll always be there for you and never let you down.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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