Next to such things as smallpox and cholera, whiskey was the most malignant and destructive force on the frontier.”
–Douglas C. Jones (Winding Stair)
“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”
–Ephesians 5:18 (ESV)
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“God’s threats are designed to be trumpet calls that awaken us from our spiritual stupor, to shake us free of our drunken iniquity, and to sober us up, to open our eyes to our sins so that we fall on our knees, confess those sins, and receive the never-ending mercy of God in Jesus Christ.”
–Chad Bird
Woe! –to those who have “pleasure mania.” Isaiah warns, 5:11-17: “Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may follow intoxicating drink; who continue until night, till wine inflames them! The harp and the strings, the tambourine and flute, and wine are in their feasts; but they do not regard the work of the LORD, nor consider the operation of His hands.” (vs 11-12, NKJV) These are people who are drunk, not only with alcohol, but also music and all sorts of entertainment. They are so addicted that they do not recognize the peril of the times in which they are living. In spite of the crisis, the issues, the conflicts, they will still party-hardy, living only for pleasure.
These individuals live for pleasure. “Pleasure becomes the supreme thing in life.” (Lloyd-Jones) Listen, there is nothing wrong with pleasure, unless pleasure becomes the driving force in your life, or that it is perverse. Pleasure worshipped, pleasure sought and bought, pleasure as an addiction all develop internal rot. It is a type of “spiritual gangrene.” People work only to provide money for more pleasure. It is the “bread and circuses” of ancient Rome. Dull the senses on booze and music, “who cares about the nation,” they cry, “as long as I have my enjoyment, my pleasure.”
Now the results of their wantonness. “Therefore my people have gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge; their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. Therefore Sheol has enlarged itself and opened its mouth beyond measure; their glory and their multitude and their pomp, and he who is jubilant, shall descend into it. People shall be brought down, each man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled.” (vs 13-15, NKJV) I am reminded of the drunken feast hosted by Belshazzar. Profaning the name of the Lord and God wrote, “Enough is Enough!” (paraphrase)
What then is life? Martyn Lloyd-Jones says, “It is artificially produced, stimulated by drink, by singing and by music of certain types.” What kind of life is produced? “Nothing so measures the misery of this age in which we live as the way in which it is kept going by artificial stimulants. It is artificial life.” (Lloyd-Jones) And now we can add to that there is no longer the need to think, to reason, for we have AI. It grieves the Holy Spirit when the people of God compromise using His Word as an excuse. “I can drink, don’t be so legalistic.” “I can party, listen to whatever music I want, go to any kind of entertainment I desire, don’t be so legalistic.” Is there a day when God will say to the church in America, “Enough is Enough”?
Sheol, the place of the dead, hell has opened its mouth for the wanton, the drunken, those who seek stimulants rather than God to descend. Read again what was happening at the very time of Belshazzar’s party. The enemy was breaking through the gates. We cry for freedom then we abuse it. Woe, for those will become slaves, maybe not to another enemy, but to the power and captivity of their addiction. They become animalistic, “brute beasts,” as Peter calls them. “But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption.” (2 Peter 2:12, NKJV) Jude declares, “But these speak of evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves.” (vs 10, NKJV) Yes, not only the attitude of “eat, drink, and be merry,” but also the perversion and twisting of God’s words to meet their agenda.
A lifestyle of drink and merriment–of pleasure. These are people of habit, people who act on physical and mental desires without spiritual discernment. Isaiah uses the term “inflamed,” meaning to ignite or set on fire. Their passions are set on fire for pleasure. They are not controlled or realizing or caring that they are slaves to their carnal nature. Lloyd-Jones tells us, “If you go in for the life of pleasure, you will never have enough–never…the godless life has never satisfied anybody.” The words of Jesus, recorded in Luke, brings us back to the “woe” of Isaiah. “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.” (6:24-25, NKJV)
Perhaps it is time to sober up. Perhaps it is time to put aside our addictions, our wants, our cravings. Perhaps it is too late for by-chance God could have declare, “Enough is Enough”!