The Talking Serpent in the Bottle Text: Proverbs 20:1
Introduction: The Ditch on Both Sides of the Road
We live in an age of remarkable intemperance. On the one hand, our secular culture has made an idol of intoxication. It equates freedom with the license to get hammered, stoned, or otherwise obliterated. The goal is not gladness of heart, but the silencing of the mind. The aim is not fellowship, but oblivion. On the other hand, a significant stream of American evangelicalism, reacting to this excess, has embraced the opposite error, a neo-prohibitionist teetotalism that turns temperance into a pharisaical taboo. They have taken a good gift of God, something Scripture commends, and have wrapped it up in warning labels and cautionary tales until it is virtually indistinguishable from poison.
Both of these ditches are deep, and both are dangerous. The Christian life is a walk on a straight path, and that path is always found between two errors. The world says, "Drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die." The fearful pietist says, "Touch not, taste not, handle not," lest you appear worldly. But the Word of God says something else entirely. It says that wine is a gift that gladdens the heart of man (Psalm 104:15). It says that Jesus' first miracle was to turn water into a great quantity of very good wine at a wedding feast (John 2). It also says, "Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18).
The issue, as always, is not the created thing, but the heart of the man who uses it. The problem is not the grape, but the fallen soul. And this is precisely what our text in Proverbs addresses. It does not issue a blanket prohibition. It issues a warning. It is a caution sign on the road, not a barricade. It tells us that this particular gift, when misused, has a personality. It has a voice. And it does not speak the truth.
Proverbs is a book of applied wisdom. It is not a book of abstract principles for the classroom, but a field guide for living in God's world as God's creature. And in this world, we must learn how to handle created things with skill, with gratitude, and with a holy fear. This verse personifies alcohol to teach us a crucial lesson about the nature of temptation and the essence of foolishness. It warns us that if we are not wise, we will be taken in by a fast-talking con artist in a bottle.
The Text
Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
(Proverbs 20:1 LSB)
The Mocker in the Cup (v. 1a)
We begin with the first description:
"Wine is a mocker..." (Proverbs 20:1a)
The word for "mocker" here is the Hebrew word lets. This is not a friendly jokester. A mocker, in the book of Proverbs, is a scoffer, an arrogant cynic who despises wisdom and correction. The mocker thinks he knows better than everyone else. He is puffed up, proud, and contemptuous of boundaries. And Solomon says, "This is the personality of wine when it gets the upper hand."
How does wine mock? It mocks the man who drinks too much of it. It promises him sophistication, but delivers slurring foolishness. It promises him wit, but gives him a thick tongue and a dull mind. It promises him confidence, but makes him a buffoon. The man who intended to be the life of the party becomes the butt of the joke. The wine whispers in his ear that he is charming, eloquent, and hilarious, while everyone else in the room sees a man making a fool of himself. It is a classic bait-and-switch. The mocker promises you a crown but puts a dunce cap on your head.
It also mocks God's created order. It encourages the man to say things he ought not to say, to laugh at things that are not funny, and to treat serious matters with flippancy. It blurs the lines between reverence and irreverence, between wisdom and folly. The mocker in the cup despises the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom. It wants to erase all distinctions, all standards, all piety, and reduce everything to a meaningless joke.
This is why the Scriptures are filled with examples of men who were mocked by wine. Noah, a righteous man, got drunk and lay uncovered in his tent, leading to shame and a curse on his grandson (Genesis 9). Nabal, whose name means "fool," had his heart become "merry within him" from wine, and the next day, when he sobered up and realized the disaster he had narrowly averted, "his heart died within him" (1 Samuel 25). The wine mocked him with a temporary feeling of power and security, right before the judgment fell.
The Brawler in the Bottle (v. 1b)
The second description is closely related to the first.
"...strong drink a brawler..." (Proverbs 20:1b)
"Strong drink" refers to beverages with a higher alcohol content, like beer or distilled spirits. And its personality is that of a "brawler." The Hebrew word means to be turbulent, to roar, to make a loud noise. If wine is a sophisticated, cynical mocker, strong drink is its loud, obnoxious, and violent cousin.
A brawler is someone who loves contention. He is quarrelsome, belligerent, and quick to take offense. Strong drink, when it takes control, strips away a man's inhibitions and self-control. It turns disagreements into arguments, and arguments into fistfights. It amplifies grievances, real or imagined. It makes a man feel ten feet tall and bulletproof, ready to pick a fight with anyone who looks at him sideways.
This is not just a description of a bar fight. The brawling spirit can manifest in loud, angry arguments at the dinner table, in road rage after a few too many, or in the bitter, cutting words that fly between a husband and wife. The brawler in the bottle is an agent of chaos. He breaks fellowship, destroys peace, and ruins relationships. He is the opposite of the peacemaker who is called a son of God (Matthew 5:9).
This is why one of the qualifications for an elder in the church is that he must not be "addicted to wine" or be a "brawler" (1 Timothy 3:3). The leadership of the church must be characterized by sobriety and self-control, because the spirit of intoxication is the spirit of mockery and contention. A man who is easily led by the brawler in the bottle is not fit to lead the flock of God.
The Verdict: Not Wise (v. 1c)
The proverb concludes with the logical and inescapable conclusion.
"...And whoever is led astray by it is not wise." (Proverbs 20:1c)
Notice the key phrase: "whoever is led astray by it." The Bible's condemnation is not on the substance itself, but on being mastered by it. The verb "led astray" means to reel, to stagger, to wander from the path. It paints a picture of someone who has surrendered his own will and judgment to the influence of the mocker and the brawler. He is no longer in control; he is being led.
And the verdict on such a person is simple: he "is not wise." This is the height of biblical understatement. To be "not wise" in the book of Proverbs is to be a fool. A fool is one who despises instruction, who trusts in his own heart, and whose way is right in his own eyes. The man who is led astray by alcohol perfectly fits this description. He will not listen to the warnings of Scripture. He will not listen to the pleas of his wife or the counsel of his friends. He trusts his own ability to "handle it," even as he is staggering down the path to ruin. His own feelings, distorted by the mocker, tell him that everything is fine.
Wisdom, in contrast, is the skill of living righteously in God's world. It requires a clear head, sound judgment, and the ability to discern between good and evil. Wisdom requires self-control, which is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:23). The man who is led astray by alcohol has surrendered the very faculties that are necessary for a life of wisdom. He has handed the reins of his life over to a mocker and a brawler, and they will not lead him anywhere good.
Conclusion: Led by Which Spirit?
So what is the central lesson for us? It is a call to exercise robust, joyful, and wise Christian liberty. It is not a call to prohibition, but a call to wisdom. God has given us wine to gladden our hearts, not to muddle our heads. He has given it for celebration, not for stupefaction. He has given it for fellowship, not for fighting.
The Christian life is a matter of being led. The question is, who or what is leading you? This proverb tells us that if you are led by wine and strong drink, you are a fool. The New Testament gives us the glorious alternative. "Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18).
Notice the parallel. Paul is contrasting two different kinds of influence, two different kinds of intoxication. One is a chemical intoxication that leads to debauchery, mockery, and brawling. The other is a spiritual infilling that leads to psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, and giving thanks to God. One is being led astray by the mocker. The other is being led by the Holy Spirit.
This means our approach to alcohol must be governed by our pursuit of the Spirit-filled life. A wise man asks questions. Does this second or third glass of wine make it easier or harder for me to be patient with my wife? Does it incline my heart toward prayer and thanksgiving, or toward foolish talk? Is it serving gladness of heart, or is it a crutch for anxiety and discontent? Am I using it as a good gift, or is it using me? Am I leading it, or is it leading me?
The mocker and the brawler are real. They are the personified spirit of foolishness that resides in the abuse of God's good gift. The wise man recognizes them, respects the danger they pose, and refuses to be led astray. He walks in the fear of the Lord, he exercises self-control, and he seeks to be filled not with the spirit that comes from a bottle, but with the Holy Spirit of God. That is the path of wisdom, and there is no other.