John Calvin Commentary Leviticus 10:9

"Drink no wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tent of meeting, that ye die not: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:" — Leviticus 10:9 (ASV)

Do not drink wine, nor strong drink.¹⁸⁸ The second cleanness required of priests is that they should abstain from wine and strong drink. Jerome says that this term includes everything intoxicating, and I admit this to be true. However, a more correct definition would be that it denotes all liquors expressed from fruits, whose sweetness is nearly as tempting to people as wine.

Even in these times, Orientals make liquors from dates and other fruits that are exceedingly sweet and delicious. Therefore, the same rule prescribed here for priests while performing their duties also applied to the Nazarites.

Both priests and Nazarites were allowed to eat freely of all the richest foods. However, God commanded them to be content with water, because abstinence from drinks greatly contributes to a frugal lifestyle.

Few people are intemperate in eating who do not also love wine. Besides, an abundance of food generally satisfies the appetite, while there is no limit to drinking where the love of wine prevails.

Therefore, abstinence from wine was enjoined upon the priests, not only so they might guard against drunkenness, but also so they might be temperate in eating and not overindulge in their abundance. Since sobriety is the main point in moderate living, God especially limited His priests in this respect, to prevent the sharpness of their minds, and their rectitude and integrity of judgment, from being impaired by drinking.

Thus it appears how great humanity’s proneness is to all defilements.

Wine is very wholesome as one of our means of nourishment. However, by its excessive use, many weaken their strength, cloud their understanding, and almost stupefy all their senses, making themselves inactive. Some, too, degrade themselves into foul and brutish stupidity, or are driven by it to madness.

Thus, a pleasure that should have prompted them to give God thanks is taken away from them because of their sinful excess. This happens not without disgrace, because they do not know how to enjoy God’s good gifts in moderation.

He afterwards confirms that He prohibited wine for the priests when exercising their office, so that they might distinguish between clean and unclean, and be sound and faithful interpreters of the Law.

For this reason, it was fitting for them to be abstemious throughout their whole lives, because they were always appointed as teachers to instruct the people.

However, to prevent immoderate strictness from disgusting them, which might make them less inclined to willingly perform the rest of their duties, God considered it sufficient to admonish them by this temporary abstinence, so that they should strive to be sober at other times.

Thus, it must be concluded that no one given to gluttony is fit to teach, as it corrupts the soundness of the mind and destroys its sharpness.

Jerome’s comment that “A fat belly does not engender a quick understanding” is indeed a childish one. Many corpulent men possess vigorous and active intellects, and leanness is often the consequence of drinking too much.

But those who stuff their bodies will never have sufficient mental activity to carry out the office of teaching.

In conclusion, we gather from this passage, as Malachi says (Malachi 2:7), that the priests were interpreters of the Law and messengers of the Lord of hosts, not mute masks. For though the Law was written, God would always have the living voice resound in His Church, just as nowadays preaching is inseparably united with Scripture.

¹⁸⁸ Lat., “sicera.” .” Fr, “ce qui est nomme en Hebrieu Sechar.” Blunt, “The veracity of the Books of Moses, etc.,” art. 13, argues on the probability of Nadab and Abihu’s sin in the offering of strange fire having been the effect of intoxication, from the fact of its relation being immediately followed by this prohibition. — Edit., 1835. Pp. 113, Blunt, “The veracity of the Books of Moses, etc.,” art. 13, argues on the probability of Nadab and Abihu’s sin in the offering of strange fire having been the effect of intoxication, from the fact of its relation being immediately followed by this prohibition. — Edit., 1835. Pp. 113, et seq.