IT IS NOT FOR KINGS TO DRINK WINE - Proverbs 31:4-5
Proverbs 31:4-5 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.
Most Bible scholars believe that Lemuel is a nickname for Solomon and that it is Bath-sheba who wrote this 31st Proverb. In this passage, Solomon is warned about the consequences of drinking wine and strong drink. Bath-sheba does not address whether it is wrong for others to be drinking wine, she is simply advising her son as to what is best for him.
Solomon as king was the chief decision maker in the country. It was his responsibility to know the law and apply it not only to his actions, but to judge the people accordingly. One of the problems with wine and strong drink is that the influences would distort the memory and affect his ability to render proper judgment to the people.
Noah is an example of a man who allowed wine to cause him to forget something. We are told that Noah planted a vineyard and he made wine. When Noah drank of his wine he became drunk and he ended up uncovering himself. Noah ended up cursing his son Canaan who saw his father while he was naked. It was Noah who was drunk, but it was Canaan and his decedents who were cursed. Noah still may have been under the affects of the wine when he cursed Canaan. Noah was to be a leader and an example unto his family, but he allowed the pleasures of wine to pervert his judgment.
In Daniel chapter five we are told about one day in the life of Belshazzar. Belshazzar made a great feast and they were drinking wine. Belshazzar ordered that his servants bring the gold and silver vessels which his father took from the temple in Jerusalem. In that same hour, as the people were drinking wine, some fingers appeared and wrote the judgment of Belshazzar.
Daniel was later called to interpret the writing on the wall and before Daniel told Belshazzar the words and their interpretation, he first admonished the king for not humbling himself and for drinking wine out of that which belonged to God. It was wine that distorted the judgment of Belshazzar to cause him to take something that belonged to God and to use it for his own personal pleasure. Within hours of allowing wine to distort his judgment, Belshazzar had breathed his last breath and was no longer ruling the mighty Babylon.
Do you have great visions for your life? Do you desire to do great and mighty things? If you are given to wine and strong drink, then do not be surprised if God chooses not to use you. If you do not have control over what you put into your mouth, then why should HE use you to do many great and mighty things for HIM?
How many drunk drivers have killed innocent people because the drunk thought they were sober enough to drive home? The drunk made a bad judgment and it ended up costing someone else their life. Rarely do you meet a drunk driver who thought they had too much to drink; they all thought they were in full control over their body.
When you take the time to add knowledge of the ways of God, you learn that God holds you to a higher standard then HE holds the children of the devil. You must be like Daniel who refused to eat the meat and wine of the king. Because Daniel at a young age set himself apart, we see that God used him in a mighty way. Daniel became a ruler because he first made the choice to hold himself to a different standard then what was required of him.