Proverbs 20:1 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Proverbs 20:1

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Solomon could mean one of two things. Is wine the mocker of us, or does it inspire us to be mockers of anything and everyone around us? In a sense, both are true, but here it is most likely that this is the effect that the intoxicating thing has on those who takes it: it makes them mockers. The term translated ‘mocker’ is about pouting the lip and making faces in scorn and derision and sneering at things. Well, this would mean wine makes us mock strength and dignity, refinement and standards. It loosens a person up, and it makes us despise and sneer at reserve and care, and in that sense it does make fools of us: it lowers our intellect and our discernment, our higher centres, as it used to be expressed years ago, and you become less human and more animal. So it is true both ways. It mocks you, but it also makes a fool of you.Notice the stages in the verse: ‘Wine is a mocker, strong drink.’ Well, wine in those days was comparatively very weak and much had to be consumed to induce intoxication, but some was stronger. ‘Strong drink is raging.’ The Hebrew says, brawling. That is the idea here: fighting drunk, makes you fight and argue and quarrel.‘And whosoever is deceived thereby.’ The Hebrew does not have ‘deceived’ strictly speaking, but it is a marvellous translation; it has ‘staggers’. Whosoever staggers thereby is not wise. Well, in a literal sense that is what it does. Obviously, too much alcohol and the person staggers about. But ‘deceived’ is an excellent translation because it is the outcome of this staggering. You see the inebriated person trying to make his way home. He is deceived concerning his route, he is deceived concerning his progress, he does not know where he is or how far he has gone, and he is deceived concerning people around him. Somebody could be his greatest enemy and approach him, and he will not recognise the person, and may even embrace him and act foolishly.Then there is this classic understatement, and there is one book in the Bible where you will find quite a lot of understatement, and that is the Book of Proverbs. Solomon is very good at it. He pops in a most gentle observation, and you know perfectly well he means something quite devastating. ‘Whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.’ He is far from wise; he is a fool, and Solomon is being very gentle with his statement.

Application

But wine here is representative. It could be covetousness, possessions. Even a Christian may become possessive, wanting something too badly, thinking about it too much, longing after it too much. It becomes much too important to you and drives you, and you lose all sense of perspective and reason with regard to it, and the coveted thing must be obtained, and you pay any amount of effort to get it. Other example are power, the need for promotion, the need to be seen, to be better than other people. It is terrible if that gets hold of us. Some give much too much attention to appearances, and it gets hold of you and drives them. Or think of mood narcotics, if you like, that have a stupefying influence: as an example the relentless crashing beat of so much modern music, which people need and desperately depend upon as a mood lifter. It is the same effect as intoxicating liquor in a sense.

Social networking gets hold of people, and they become obsessed with it and cannot leave it alone or exercise any discipline or restraint on time. You may as well be drinking, it is the same effect. The mocking, the brawling (you will do anything to defend the practice), and then the staggering and the deception, the being misled by it. So you could apply it to all these things. It is very profound. Paul says, ‘I will not be brought under the power of any’ (1 Corinthians 6:12). That is the Christian standard.

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Proverbs 20:1 Commentary and Bible Study