Five Surprising Things the Bible Says About Wine

From Joy to Judgment and from Wisdom to the Wedding Feast

 "What does it mean to receive joy as a sacred act?"

-- The Cup of Joy: Wine, Blessing, and Sacred Celebration - Episode 124

Wine in the Bible is quite the metaphor when you really look at it.  It’s a symbol of joy, a sign of wrath, a test of wisdom, and a taste of the covenant to come.  How can one symbol be all of those things at once?  If you take a close read of Scripture from Eden’s echoes to Revelation’s feast, alcohol (and wine specifically) reveals what we love, what we long for, and how God meets us in both blessing and justice.  

I know you might be over lists like this, but every time I trace a theme through Scripture, I learn fascinating things.  So, after spending several episodes exploring the biblical theology of alcohol, here are five surprising truths I’ve uncovered while on that path.  

1. The Cup of Covenant Is Meant to Be Shared

Wine is a gift.  Psalm 104 says it gladdens the heart of man.  Deuteronomy 14 invites celebratory drinking before the Lord (in the context of tithing, by the way...a thread you might want to check out yourself).  From Melchizedek’s offering to Jesus’ final cups, wine is covenantal.  It’s not just symbolic, it’s participatory.    

 "Alcohol is not just an indulgence...it aids creativity.  It aids social cohesion.  It assists courage and social bonding in general."

-- Wine, Judgement and the Second Adam: Rethinking Noah's Fall - Episode 123

To drink the cup is to enter into a relationship, a story, and a responsibility.

2. Wine Isn’t Just for Joy—It’s a Revelation of Desire

But here’s a greater surprise:  wine doesn’t just give joy—it reveals what kind of joy you’re after.  When paired with covenant, it becomes sacred celebration.  When abused, it unmasks disorder and selfishness.  Wine becomes revelatory--not about God in this case, but about ourselves.  

The cup tells the truth of your desire.  

Scripture repeatedly speaks of God’s wrath being poured out like wine (Isaiah 51, Psalm 75, Revelation 14).  But the image isn’t about God “losing control" or being angry.  It’s about God giving people over to what they insist on.  The cup of wrath is what happens when covenant is broken and creation rebels.  It’s not arbitrary rage, but the consequence of persistent rejection.

"The imagery of the cup of wrath is one that demonstrates that God's wrath poured out, is in direct relationship to one's corrupt desires."

-- The Cup of Wrath: Inheriting Your Desire at the Banquet - Episode 126

To drink the cup of wrath is to inherit what you demanded...even when it destroys you.

3. Wisdom and Wine Are Partners

Proverbs says wine is a mocker--but it also says Lady Wisdom sets a table with wine (Proverbs 9).  Ecclesiastes commends it in moderation.  Wisdom literature doesn’t just warn about alcohol, it teaches how to use it rightly.  In fact, wisdom and wine both require timing, discipline, and understanding.  Both can lead to order...or chaos.

" To follow wisdom is not some tedious unpalatable practice like begrudgingly partaking in bland, tasteless food."

-- The Cup of Wisdom: Drinking in Creation's Order - Episode 129

To drink wisely is to live wisely--it’s covenantal, not just chemical. 

4. Feasting and Fasting in the Household of Wisdom

John came neither eating nor drinking.  Jesus came doing both...and was accused of excess for it (Luke 7).  This contrast isn’t accidental nor suggesting that morally it's better to abstain.  The message is about the fulfillment of God's promises.

John’s ministry reflects prophetic withdrawal:  abstaining, preparing, and calling Israel to repent.  These are actions of anticipation.  Jesus, in contrast, embodies kingdom presence:  he drinks wine, eats with sinners, and turns water into the wine of new creation.  Together, they frame a theology of wisdom, timing, and did I say participation.

 "Jesus proclaims that the feast has begun and that the wine of God's banquet is being poured out, but they call him a drunkard and a fool."

-- The Cups of the Cross: Cana, Gethsemane, and Golgotha - Episode 130

...but who are the fools?  Where John separates to purify, Jesus gathers to redeem and open the celebration.  Their ministries reflect different modes of God’s covenantal approach, and as Jesus says, “Wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

5. The Gospel Is Poured: Wine in the Life of Christ

From the wedding at Cana to the Last Supper to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19), wine is never incidental in Jesus’ story.  He doesn’t just talk about new creation; he pours it.  Wine at Cana signals abundance, the Last Supper offers the new covenant, and the final banquet shows that God’s endgame is communion.  

"The metaphor of the cup of God's wrath in the prophets takes on new meaning when the Son of God submits himself to the Romans.  Placing himself in gentile hands, Jesus willingly drinks from the cup and offers his life as an atoning sacrifice. He bears the suffering of all humanity, but vows that when his work of salvation is complete, he will join with his disciples in the new kingdom to drink the fruit of the vine once again."

-- The Cups of the Cross: Cana, Gethsemane, and Golgotha - Episode 130

Our participation in the cup together is a sign of unity with Christ and the wider body of Christ.

Bonus Sips: Even More to Ponder

• Wine is both priestly and prophetic--It’s part of sacrificial systems and visions of divine judgment.
  
  
• The Nazirites’ abstinence isn't universal--Sometimes holiness means refraining.  Sometimes it means partaking.
  
  
• The Messianic banquet is earthy and eschatological--God will prepare a feast with aged wine (Isaiah 25), because creation matters.
  
  

Want to Dive Deeper?

This blog post pulls from my full podcast series on Alcohol in Scripture, which includes:

• Rethinking Noah's "Fall"
  
  
• The Cup of Joy
  
  
• Wine, Soil, and Salvation
  
  
• The Cup of Wrath
  
  
• The Cup of Wisdom
  
  
• The Cup of the Bridegroom
  
  

Start listening in whichever episode suits your fancy or check out the full series list here where you'll find some extra material about God's wrath against the dark spiritual powers:  The Cup, Wine, And Alcohol Episodes | Genesis Marks the Spot