What the Bottle Never Tells You

Introduction

Before we get into the message today we are going to play a little game. Maybe you’ve heard of it before. It’s called “Who am I?”

I promise pleasure, but I often leave sorrow behind.

I have been present at countless arguments, fights, and broken homes.

I can distort what you see and loosen what you say.

I can leave bruises you don’t remember receiving.

I can convince you that you are safe while you are in danger.

I can wound you and still make you want more of me.

I have filled hospital rooms, jail cells, courtrooms, and funeral homes.

I sparkle before I strike.

According to Proverbs, I can bite like a serpent and sting like a viper.

Who am I?

Maybe a hint can be found in Proverbs 20:1

Proverbs 20:1 NKJV

Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.

As we open to Proverbs 23 this morning I want to clarify some things about the word that is translated as “wine” in Proverbs 23 The Hebrew word that is used here refers to “fermented grape juice.”

In Proverbs 20 we also were introduced to “strong drink.” This referred to a broader category of drinks made from fermented grains, dates, pomegranates, and other fruit. This was typically more potent than wine and the alcohol content was deliberately intensified.

The thing that is important to understand is that it was a known fact that people would water down fermented grape juice before drinking for at least two reasons: to prevent intoxication and also to use the alcohol in the wine to purify their water source. The average alcohol content of watered down, fermented grape juice, would be between 2-3%, much less than the 12% alcoholic wine you buy on store shelves today and about 1/2 the alcohol content of the beer that is purchased on store shelves today.

So when people suggest that the Bible promotes drinking wine, or that they drunk wine in the Bible, or that Paul told Timothy to drink a little wine for his stomach, it’s important to remember what was being consumed then is not the same as what’s being consumed now. Not only that, DISTILLATION which is necessary to produce the harder drinks such as liquor which can contain up to 40% alcohol was not even invented until HUNDREDS of years after Scripture was complete.

This does not mean that people in Bible times couldn’t get drunk. They could and that’s why we have the warning in Proverbs 23 and many other places throughout Scripture. But for someone to get drunk on a drink that was 2-3% alcohol it would take prolonged drinking. The other option would be to find alcohol that was not watered down or to add things to it to intensify its intoxicating effects.

SO IF SOLOMON GAVE US WARNINGS AGAINST THE WINE AVAILABLE IN HIS WORLD, HOW MUCH MORE SHOULD WE LISTEN CAREFULLY TO THESE WARNINGS CONSIDERING THE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AVAILABLE IN OUR WORLD.

I am not going to spend the rest of this message talking a lot about percentages and statistics (although I will share some), my focus is going to be on the Scriptures warning.

Why? Because Proverbs 23 will tell us something the ADVERTISEMENTS will not tell us.

Proverbs 23 will tell us something that CULTURE will not tell us.

Proverbs 23 will tell us something the BOTTLE will not tell us.

The bottle tells you what it promises. God tells you what it costs.

PROVERBS 23 WILL TELL US HOW THE STORY ENDS.

SO THIS MORNING I WANT US TO CONSIDER THE MESSAGE: “WHAT THE BOTTLE NEVER TELLS YOU.”

First, we see...

The Bottle Hides the Wounds (vv. 29-30)

Notice Proverbs 23:29-30

Proverbs 23:29–30 NKJV

Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine.

The writer asks 6 questions. These six questions point to THREE WOUNDS that can be caused by alcohol and STRONG DRINK:

Emotional Wounds: Woe & Sorrow

The word that’s translated “woe” functions as a noun and means LAMENTATION or MISERY. It represents the sound of a “pained groan.” It can describe the pain of extreme torment. How many people wake up from a drunk wondering what they did the night before, regretting what they did the night before, miserable over the people they’ve hurt, groaning because of a hangover and broken promises.

The word translated “sorrow” in this verse denotes a feeling of “sadness” associated with “loss.” How much has been LOST through intoxication?! Lives have been LOST, licenses have been LOST, jobs have been LOST, children have been LOST, marriages have been LOST and the list goes on! I PROMISE YOU MUCH MORE HAS BEEN LOST DUE TO STRONG DRINK THAN HAS EVER BEEN GAINED!

Not only does strong drink leave emotional wounds in its wake, but it also leaves...

Social Wounds: Contentions & Complaints

The word translated “contention” means bitter conflict that often involves heated, often violent dissension. This word is used elsewhere in Proverbs to characterize QUARRELSOME individuals. Strong drink can often bring out the WORST in people. The intoxicated person can become a source of conflict, engaging in quarrels that stem from their intoxicated state. THIS CONFLICT ALWAYS AFFECTS OTHERS. If you don’t believe me talk to my wife and ask her what kind of conflict she faced as a little girl and a teenager, literally having to fight and break things over the head of a drunken man attacking her mom. HOW MANY CHILDREN, AND MARRIAGES, AND FAMILIES, AND PARENTS HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY THE CONTENTION THAT HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH INTOXICATION!

The word translated “complaints” refers to the babbling and rambling speech of an intoxicated person. We’ve all heard people who have been robbed of their clarity and dignity because of their drunkenness. We might be tempted to laugh at Otis at the Mayberry jail, but it’s not so funny when it’s your mom or dad, or brother or sister, or son or daughter.

The last set of wounds Solomon talks about are...

Physical Wounds: Bruises & Bloodshot Eyes

This word “bruise” not only means a bruise but can also refer to physical wounds in general. The person falls or staggers while intoxicated and suffers harm. Intoxication leads to a loss of coordination and balance and as a result they get needless bruises from self-inflicted damage.

Bloodshot eyes announce to those around them what their intoxication has done to them. The private vice announces itself publically.

Verse 30 of this text answers the questions posed in verse 29:

Proverbs 23:30 NKJV

Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine.

A person who LINGERS LONG at the wine is a person who is COMMITTED TO INTOXICATION. Remember, if they are drinking a fermented beverage that has been watered down the alcohol content is going to be between 2-3%, which is half the alcohol content of a beer that a person would buy off the shelf. They would have to drink ALOT in a short period to get intoxicated to the point that these wounds begin to surface.

But there is a second part to this verse. What about the people who are GOING IN SEARCH OF MIXED WINE. This references a person who is intentionally looking for something HARDER. This would be wine that is mixed with things to try to INCREASE the potency of the alcohol or improve the taste of the alcohol. This wine was not diluted with water, but rather was deliberately increased in potency.

NOW THINK WITH ME A MINUTE: THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE BUY ON THE STORE SHELVES TODAY! WHEN YOU GO AND BUY ALCOHOL FROM THE STORE YOU ARE BUYING SOMETHING THAT IS NOT WATERED DOWN AND IN SOME CASES HAS BEEN DISTILLED TO INCREASE THE ALCOHOL CONTENT!

Those who were going in search of mixed wine were people who were pursuing strong beverages to increase their intoxication, revealing a pattern of DELIBERATE SELF-DESTRUCTION!

As this section begins the author challenges us to look at the WOUNDS.

That’s something the bottle doesn’t tell you. The advertisements show you the laughter, the friends, the celebrations...They don’t show you...

The argument that breaks out later

The wrecked car

The frightened spouse

The child who learns to walk on eggshells

The hospital room

The jail cell

The faces of regret the next morning.

Solomon is warning us to look down the road and see where this can lead.

Maybe today you are convinced that STRONG DRINK is ok, maybe you think YOU CAN HANDLE IT, BUT LET ME ASK YOU THIS QUESTION: WHY RISK EMBRACING SOMETHING THAT HAS THE POTENTIAL OF CAUSING THIS KIND OF DAMAGE?

THE BOTTLE HIDES THE WOUNDS, BUT GOD SHOWS US THE POTENTIAL OF DEVASTING WOUNDS THAT CAN RESULT FROM STRONG DRINK.

Someone put it this way:

Wisdom believes God’s warning before experience proves Him right.

The second thing we see in this passage is...

The Bottle Hides the Deception (v. 31)

Because of all the wounds that STRONG DRINK can create we must be careful of the DECEPTIVE nature of the “bottle.” So Solomon gives this warning in Proverbs 23:31

Proverbs 23:31 NKJV

Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around smoothly;

For some people, the downfall into sin BEGINS WITH THE EYES!

He warns his son about gazing into the glass/bottle of alcohol, seeing its redness (which would be a sign of potency) and then contemplate it, mentally entertain it, to be drawn toward it. Someone put it this way:

Don’t contemplate wine’s attractions; don’t allow yourself to fantasize about its pleasures; don’t let your mind dwell on its appeal.

The sparkling he mentions are references its VISUAL APPEAL. THE SPARKLING APPEARANCE MASKS THE DANGER BENEATH!

Isn’t that similar to what Scripture tells us elsewhere?

Proverbs 4:25–27 NKJV

Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.

Isn’t that similar to what Solomon warned about when he warned his son against adultery:

Proverbs 5:3–5 NKJV

For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil; But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death, Her steps lay hold of hell.

Proverbs 6:25 NKJV

Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, Nor let her allure you with her eyelids.

I also thought about the verse found in James 1:14-15

James 1:14–15 NKJV

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

Even if you don’t struggle with alcohol, SOLOMON IS SHOWING US HOW TEMPTATION OFTEN WORKS.

Temptation wants you to look at the sparkle and forget the serpent.

Whatever YOUR particular struggle is REMEMBER:

Temptation does a great job at advertising the PLEASURE but it alway hides the PRICE.

Notice the 3rd thing the bottle hides...

The Bottle Hides the Bite (vv. 32)

Solomon had been very straightforward in verse 31.

Temptation is enticing, seductive, beautiful, powerful, and the list goes on. But as we just said, TEMPTATION doesn’t paint the whole picture. Notice what he says in Proverbs 23:32

Proverbs 23:32 NKJV

At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper.

AT THE LAST

First notice the phrase, “AT THE LAST.”

The bite doesn’t happen PRIOR to the temptation.

The bite doesn’t happen PRIOR to the first drink...but it happens AT THE LAST.

If sin bit immediately, people wouldn’t play with it. The serpent doesn’t strike the moment you reach for the temptation...The enemy is willing to play the long game. He plays the game of pleasure and false confidence.

One of the problems is YOU and I don’t know when “AT THE LAST” will be! No one begins their night with the intention of wrecking their car, wounding their family, ending up in jail, or spending the week in the hospital. No one plans to end up at the morgue.

The best way to avoid “AT THE LAST” is to stay away from the FIRST! You will never experience the CONSEQUENCES of the SNOWBALLING of sinful choices if you do not START down that road.

IT BITES LIKE A SERPENT and STINGS LIKE A VIPER

The bottle goes from a beverage to a PREDATOR! It’s not a direct attack that one sees coming, but rather an indirect attack ...it comes UNEXPECTEDLY. It all starts out ok...there’s pleasure, there’s smoothness, but later comes THE LOSS OF JUDGMENT, AND THE EMOTIONAL, SOCIAL, AND PHYSICAL WOUNDS WE SAW IN verse 29.

When we drink strong drink we are inviting a VENOMOUS creature into our bodies, minds, and spirits. The goal of the enemy is to get us to invite more of that venomous creature into our body in order that our defenses are low so he can deliver the strike we never see coming!

By the way this isn’t just true of STRONG DRINK. This is also true of sin in general:

Lust sparkles, but AT THE LAST it bites

What glittered in v. 31 injects poison in v. 32.

Bitterness may feel justified, but AT THE LAST it bites.

Greed may be rationalized, but AT THE LAST it bites.

Pornography may offer temporary pleasure, but AT THE LAST it bites.

SATAN IS A LIAR AND SIN IS A PREDATOR. What you think you can “pet” will end up injecting “POISON” in your system!

And part of that POISON may end up being the CHAINS of addiction

The Bottle Hides the Chains (vv. 33-35)

Notice Proverbs 23:33-35

Proverbs 23:33–35 NKJV

Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things. Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying: “They have struck me, but I was not hurt; They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?”

The Chains of Distortion: Your Eyes Will See Strange Things

This refers to an “altered mental state” according to George Schwab. A person’s vision, once clear has become unreliable. There are cognitive distortions that can misread situations. The eyes that were used to seduce them with redness and a sparkle have not become an instrument of distortion. They have difficulty perceiving the truth and processing reality.

The Chains of Corruption: Your Heart Will Utter Perverse Things

Someone who is intoxicated allows their “filter” to be lowered if not altogether removed. How many spouses and children have suffered irreparable harm because of something SAID while someone was intoxicated?!

We know from Proverbs, that wisdom helps us to protect against perverse words. The Hebrew word for “perverse” here carries with it the idea of something that has been twisted and disordered. As a result the intoxicated person is prone to speak works that contradict their better judgment (they wouldn’t say it when sober) and also damages their relationships with others.

The Chains of Delusion: Oblivious to the Danger

The idea of the person who “lies down in the midst of the sea” and a person who “lies at the top of the mast” is the picture of a person who is OBLIVIOUS to the danger around them.

They are on a SINKING SHIP and either is unwilling or unable to comprehend the danger around them. They are drowning in confusion and are teetering on the brink of catastrophe, while enjoying a false sense of security.

The Chains of Addiction: Driven Back to the Source of the Damage

This is one of the deepest tragedies of Strong Drink: the addictive nature.

Even though the person has undergone PHYSICAL HARM, SOCIAL DESTRUCTION, and HUMILIATION...

Even though they have experienced woe, sorrow, contentions, complaints, wounds, and now violence...

Even though they are now NUMB to the damage it is causing...

THEY HAVE A CRAVING TO GO BACK TO THE VERY THING THAT HAS CAUSED THE RUIN.

THAT’S WHAT ADDICTION AND SIN IN GENERAL DOES TO A PERSON!

You are wounded, but run back to the thing that wounds you. How many women that have been abused by their boyfriend, find themselves running back to him and live in the cycle of abuse? How many meth addicts look themselves in the mirror and see the drawn in face, and the damaged teeth, and the weight loss, only to go back to the very thing that’s causing them the damage. How many men go back to the pornography that has left them filled with shame and emptiness time and time again?

PLEASE UNDERSTAND THE “PET SIN” THAT YOU THINK IS HARMLESS LITTLE PUPPY, WILL GROW FANGS, INFECT YOU WITH ITS POISON AND THEN CONVINCE YOU THAT ITS THE ANTIDOTE!

Today I want to end this message by inviting YOU to take a drink...something far STRONGER than you can imagine.

But this drink does not TAKE, this drink gives...This drink is the WATER OF LIFE!

Even if your issue isn’t alcohol, EVERY ONE OF US IS MESSED UP AND BROKEN BY SOME KIND OF SIN and everyone of us needs Jesus!

Just like the Samaritan woman in John 4, everyone of us is LOOKING for something to satisfy us. For her it was men and relationships. She had been married 4 times and was living with a man she wasn’t married to when she came to the well to get water. She came looking for water, BUT JESUS GAVE HER THE ENTIRE WELL!

Note what Jesus told her:

John 4:13 NKJV

Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again,

“THIRST AGAIN”...that’s the story of sin, temptation, empty promises, and addiction:

Get high...but you will thirst again

Look at another image or video...but you will thirst again

Pursue another relationship...but you will thirst again

Get a little more money...but you will thirst again

Sin convinces us to “keep coming back”. Sin convinces us that the next time will be different...but it never is.

Jesus went on to say:

John 4:14 NKJV

but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

Jesus can give you something a bottle, a drug, money, sex, relationships, and the list goes on never can.

JESUS won’t just numb your pain, Jesus will give you BEAUTY FOR ASHES.

JESUS won’t make you forget for a few hours, HE can cleanse your past.

JESUS won’t entangle you in bondage, He can SET YOU FREE!

This message is not try harder to quit, this message is JESUS CAME FOR WOUNDED, BROKEN, ENTANGLED, CONFUSED PEOPLE TO FORGIVE THEM AND SET THEM FREE!

Yes there is a Proverbs 23:35, but there is also a John 4:14

John 4:14 NKJV

but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”