Topical Bible: Priests were Sometimes: Drunken

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In the biblical narrative, priests held a sacred role as mediators between God and the people of Israel. They were entrusted with the responsibility of performing sacrifices, maintaining the sanctity of the tabernacle or temple, and teaching the Law. However, the Bible also records instances where priests fell short of their divine calling, including episodes of drunkenness.

One of the most notable accounts of priestly drunkenness is found in the account of Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, the first high priest. In Leviticus 10:1-2 , it is recorded that Nadab and Abihu offered "unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to His command." As a result, fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them. While the text does not explicitly state that they were drunk, the subsequent command in Leviticus 10:9 suggests a connection: "You and your sons are not to drink wine or strong drink when you enter the Tent of Meeting, or else you will die. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come." This directive implies that intoxication may have impaired their judgment, leading to their fatal error.

The prophet Isaiah also addresses the issue of drunkenness among the priests and prophets of his time. In Isaiah 28:7 , he laments, "These also stagger from wine and stumble from strong drink: Priests and prophets reel from strong drink and are befuddled by wine. They stumble during visions and stumble in judgment." This passage highlights the detrimental effects of alcohol on the spiritual leaders' ability to fulfill their duties and discern God's will.

Ezekiel, another prophet, echoes this concern in his critique of the priests' behavior. In Ezekiel 44:21 , the LORD commands, "No priest may drink wine before he enters the inner court." This regulation underscores the importance of sobriety for those serving in the presence of God, ensuring that their service remains pure and untainted by the influence of alcohol.

The New Testament also addresses the issue of drunkenness, though it does not specifically mention priests. In 1 Timothy 3:3 , Paul instructs that a bishop, or overseer, must be "not given to drunkenness." While this directive is aimed at church leaders rather than Old Testament priests, it reflects a consistent biblical principle that those in spiritual authority should exercise self-control and remain sober-minded.

Throughout Scripture, the call for priests and spiritual leaders to abstain from drunkenness serves as a reminder of the high standards expected of those who serve God. Their role as intermediaries between the divine and the human requires a level of holiness and clarity that cannot be compromised by the effects of alcohol.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Isaiah 28:7
But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

The Judgment of Drunkards and Mockers
... coarse sins; and it is needful sometimes to call ... No doubt some of the drunken priests
and false prophets ... was the corruption that the officials were tipsy even ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture h/the judgment of drunkards and.htm

Matt. xxv. 1-30.
... by the virgins, and the servant that was drunken and gluttonous ... every case it is
for what is needed; and sometimes not even ... And how many high priests were there ...
/.../homilies on the gospel of saint matthew/homily lxxviii matt xxv 1-30.htm

Authority and the Adventurer
... guard of ethical abnegations and professional priests; but inside ... The Stoics, ancient
and modern, were proud of ... our earth; and I have sometimes fancied that it ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/chesterton/orthodoxy/ix authority and the adventurer.htm

The Seventh Book
... God even in the person of alien priests and we ... attacking each other in a mob like
drunken men. ... Nay, what is worse, they were sometimes driven by their bitter ...
//christianbookshelf.org/salvian/on the government of god/the seventh book.htm

Prophets and Prophets. (xxiii. 9-32, xxvii-xxix, Etc. )
... us how the will of God was sometimes suggested to ... between Jeremiah and the prophets
who were against him ... Along with the priests they clung to tradition, to dogma ...
//christianbookshelf.org/smith/jeremiah/2 prophets and prophets xxiii.htm

1 Cor. Ix. 1
... we have given in our accounts and proved that our expenditure is no less than our
income, nay, sometimes more, I ... or some of the priests who were suspected? ...
/.../homilies on the epistles of paul to the corinthians/homily xxi 1 cor ix.htm

The First Trumpet.
... trees, sometimes princes, (Isaiah 37:24.) sometimes kings, (Isaiah 14 ... princes are
debased; ye who were rich in ... Bishops are taken captive, priests slain, and the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/mede/a key to the apocalypse/the first trumpet.htm

Reform
... The Pharisees were the high priests of this god; they burnt ... We think sometimes we
are praising God when we are ... his head and the palms of his hands were cut off ...
//christianbookshelf.org/spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 5 1859/reform.htm

The Letter of Majesty, 1603-1609.
... And Rudolph replied as Emperors sometimes do. ... They were known as Utraquist Christians. ...
and though they could still ordain their own priests, their candidates ...
/.../hutton/history of the moravian church/chapter xiii the letter of.htm

Samaria. Sychem.
... a mountain, and well fortified; and in it were springs, and ... are called Samaritans:
and they have priests of the ... They sometimes said, Why is the wine of Ugdor ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 56 samaria sychem.htm