Judges 9:26-29 Drunken parties and openly cursing!

26Meanwhile, Gaal son of Ebed came with his brothers and crossed into Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem put their confidence in him. 27And after they had gone out into the fields, gathered grapes from their vineyards, and trodden them, they held a festival and went into the house of their god; and as they ate and drank, they cursed Abimelech.

28Then Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? You are to serve the men of Hamor, the father of Shechem. Why should we serve Abimelech? 29If only this people were under my authority, I would remove Abimelech; I would say to him, ‘Muster your army and come out!’ ”

“The men of Shechem lost their confidence in Abimelech, so they chose a new leader named Gaal, the son of Ebed.”

“The men of Shechem were so confident that their new leader Gaal could protect them against Abimelech that they started throwing drunken parties and openly cursing Abimelech and challenging him to a fight (“Increase your army and come out!”).” (Guzik)

Drunken parties and openly cursing!

“mistakes, and jealousies, and dissensions, and heart-burnings, which would end in civil wars and mutual ruin.” (Poole)”

Buckle in, here it comes! To be continued!

Ephesians 5:18 BSB Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

5:18 AMP Do not get drunk with wine, for that is wickedness (corruption, stupidity), but be filled with the [Holy] Spirit and constantly guided by Him.

James 3: 8But no one can tame the human tongue; it is a restless evil [undisciplined, unstable], full of deadly poison. 9With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God. 10Out of the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. These things, my brothers, should not be this way [for we have a moral obligation to speak in a manner that reflects our fear of God and profound respect for His precepts]. AMP

Brethren, the Bible has a lot to say about wine (alcohol) and about the tongue (cursing). When it comes to consumption and our words we can guard ourselves from the devil with a simple acronym, WWJD? What Would Jesus Do?

Dear Heavenly Father, please help us become more in the image of Your Son. Help us all to stop and think, WWJD. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, amen.

Blessings