t's strange that Noah, righteous man that he was, who walked before God blameless, was capable of becoming drunk. I have heard in homilies before that Noah was a drunk, but I see no evidence in the text that Noah's drunkenness was habitual. Only on one occasion did he drink too much. As I mentioned earlier, I believe that Noah's planting the first vineyard was a fulfillment of his father Lamech's prophecy over him: "Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the toil of our hands." Wine is not inherently evil. It is intended by God to be a good thing, to lighten the heart and provide the emotional atmosphere for enjoyment. Jesus turned water into wine, which provides the material for some truly hilarious Southern Baptist exegesis (or more accurately, introgesis) on the text, if you've never heard an "It was actually grape juice, not wine" homily.
Wine is not evil. But like all goods, it can be twisted into evil by carelessness or lack of proper ordering of goods in a man's heart. We don't know exactly why Noah became drunk, but we can take this as a warning to avoid the near occasions of sin in our own lives. Because if Noah, a man of intense faith and perseverance, even in the face of ridicule and dishonor, who loved God and was alone in all the earth loyal to God, could become drunk, any of us are susceptible to fall according to our personal faults.
Noah's drunkenness is an interesting topic. I've never heard the claim that Noah was a habitual drunk. That does not seem fitting for a man recognized for "Walking with God" and surviving a flood that destroyed the wicked.
ReplyDeleteAs you said, there's nothing wrong with wine in itself. I think it's worth exploring just what kind of wine the ancients actually drank, and how it compared with other liquids like water or other beverages. I know in England, beer was more hygienic than the water; in Mesopotamia, wine probably had a similar appeal compared with well from the springs.
The issue lies with drunkenness. Wine can enhance a social experience by relieving stress and anxiety, but it can also subvert a social experience by providing a means of escape. Beholding the wasteland left by the flood, Noah's sadness might have gotten the best of him and caused him to drink excessively. Or, on a related note, Noah might have drunk excessively because he suffered excessively on the ark, and this was God's mercy to him. Or, Noah might not have been able to hold his alcohol due to not having it for so long. Or, Noah's intemperance was supposed to symbolize the abundance of grace he received from God--but, if grace perfects nature, than the symbol does't work since one really can't become intoxicated from grace. Whatever the case, wine is certainly not evil, and it's important for Christians to consider the reasons for its presence in the Bible and liturgy.
Perhaps it was a peculiarity of the Lutheran minister preaching as I grew up, but I distinctly remember a sermon along the lines of "If Noah could make it with all his faults, then you can too, young fellow. Draw near with faith..." Or something like that. Oh, I converted to Catholicism from Lutheranism, in case I didn't mention that.
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