Noah Gets Drunk - Youth Bible Study on Alcohol

Brief: The Bible doesn’t prohibit alcohol, but it does say not to abuse it.

(Printable Student Sheet)

 

Needed: nothing

 

Scripture: Genesis 9:18-29, assorted passages concerning alcohol

 

Discussion Starter: Agree or Disagree? Have students stand up and move to sides of the room depending on what their answer is.

1. God made alcohol.

2. Humans invented alcohol.

3. God commands us never to drink alcohol.

4. Christians should never drink alcohol.

5. God commands us never to be drunk.

Read Genesis 9:18-29

What did Noah do in this story? (He drank enough to get drunk. It might have been accidentally if he was the first one to discover wine.) 

And when he got drunk, what happened? (He took off all his clothes and was lying around naked.) 

And what happened when his sons saw him naked? Was Noah embarrassed about that? (Yes, it was embarrassing for him. It also led to one of his son’s making fun of him, for which he needed to be punished.) 

So, getting drunk led Noah to embarrass himself. And that’s often what happens. When someone gets drunk, they make bad decisions and often end up embarrassing themselves. They lose self-control and do things that they wouldn’t normally do. 

But that’s what happens when people get drunk. That doesn’t answer the question of whether people are allowed to or should drink at all. 

So, let’s look at some other Scripture passages that might help us figure it out. Tell me if alcohol is portrayed positively or negatively in these passages. 

Genesis 14:17-19

+ The priest of God Most High, Melchizedek, brought out wine. 

Genesis 19:30-36

- Lot got drunk and was tricked into having sex with his daughters.

Genesis 27:28

+ Isaac blesses Jacob with a supply of wine.

Leviticus 10:8-11

- God told the priests not to drink at all when they are ministering.

Deuteronomy 11:13-14

+ God promises to bless the Israelites with wine.

Proverbs 20:1

- Getting drunk can make you lose your temper.

Proverbs 23:29-35

- Getting drunk can make you hallucinate and feel sick.

Proverbs 31:4-7

- Drinking can lead one to forget what is right. + Drinking can alleviate people’s pain.

John 2:6-9

+ Jesus made a lot of wine, between 120 and 180 gallons.

Ephesians 5:18

- Getting drunk can lead to losing self-control.

1 Timothy 3:2-3

- Leaders in the church should not get drunk.

1 Timothy 5:23

+ Drinking in some cases can help regulate someone’s digestive system.

 

Does the Bible command us not to drink? (No.)

The Bible commands priests who are on duty not to drink when they’re on duty, but it never commands us not to drink at all.

 

Does the Bible command us not to get drunk? (Yes.)

The Bible says we can drink, but we shouldn’t get drunk.

 

So, we should all drink, right? The Bible says we can.

The Bible says we can drink, but we don’t have to. It’s up to every Christian to decide for themselves if they want to or not, as long as we’re not getting drunk and as long as we’re obeying the laws if we do drink.