Genesis 27:28
“Therefore may God give you of the dew of heaven, of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and wine.”
INSIGHT
-Wine in Hebrew is written as yayin which is a fermented grape liquid from vine trees. It was a very common drink during those days for people thrived in growing vineyards as an economic activity eg Noah (Gen 9:20), king Solomon (Songs of Solomon 8:11), Naboth (1 Kings 21:1) etc. Some grape & wine products mentioned in the Bible include: – blood of the grape or red wine which is fermented red wine, sweet wine or new wine is wine produced within the same year, strong wine or drink is intoxicating liquor made from grapes, grape juice is juice made from grape fruits, cake of raisins is a solid cake made from pressed grapes etc.
-It came a time when Isaac was old & could scarcely see; when he pronounced a blessing upon Jacob after he deceived him that he was Esau the first born. Isaac’s blessings sustained Jacob with grain (where common grains at the time included:- wheat, oats, barley, rye) & wine, which also implied provision of everything else. This was the blessing God pronounced upon Abraham & his descendants from whom we descend, to make us fruitful, multiply us & make us acquire inheritance in an eternal covenant through Christ.
PRAYER
Jehovah Jireh, You are our Father & provider, we thank You for taking good care of us Your sons since we were conceived from our mothers wombs. You are worthy of all honor & praise Lord Almighty Father. You have called us Father to be fruitful, multiply & fill the earth in an eternal covenant, bless us Lord with the dew of heaven, fatness of earth, plenty of grain & wine, with our descendants according to Your grace Lord. Walk with us in every step & direct us in the way we should go, all we do & in all our lives. All glory, power & blessings belong to You Lord, Amen
Proverbs 3:9-10
“Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the first-fruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.”
INSIGHT
-When we honor God with our possessions, we declare that He is the provider for He gives us the power to gain wealth (Deu 8:18). Acts of mercy through almsgiving also amount to righteousness & God provides seed to the sower; to continue giving to the poor, the church & as one desires in the heart; that His grace may abound in us (2 Cor 9:9-14). When we honor God with the first-fruit of our increase which could be in form of new business or opportunities amounting to increased revenue, He fills our bans with plenty of grain & our wine presses with new wine. As we know first-fruit was a sacred feast where the first of harvested crops were offered to God. Christ then became our first-fruit through His death & resurrection that those who die in Him may rise at His coming (1 Cor 15:20-23).
PRAYER
We thank You Lord our Father for we have seen yet another beautiful day in good health. Our hearts rejoice in Your mercy & salvation forevermore. Have mercy on the sick, poor, suffering & the bereaved Lord & guide us to offer a helping hand when required to. Direct us & help us Father to effectively honor You with our possessions that our first-fruit may increase, bans filled with plenty & vats overflow with new wine as You desire for each one of us. Hear our prayers & supplications Lord & answer us for Your love endures forever. Amen
Proverbs 31:3-6
“Do not give your strength to women, Nor your ways to that which destroys kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Nor for princes intoxicating drink; Lest they drink and forget the law, And pervert the justice of all the afflicted. Give strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to those who are bitter of heart.”
INSIGHT
-Belligerence of the mind & body caused by much wine may bring forth unnatural cravings, inordinate lusts for women, disorientate kings decisions who forget the law & justice of the afflicted thus unfit for office. Strong drinks are most often consumed by those with a bitter heart to enable them forget their misery & poverty. Prophet Hosea pronounces the same caution by writing that harlotry, wine, & new wine enslave the heart (Hos 4:11). Apostle Paul also advices that one should not be drunk with wine in which is dissipation (squandering of money, strength & sexual lusts) but be filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18). Much wine & strong drinks therefore, enslave the mind; & captures the hearts strongly given time & constant indulgence; as one ceases to operate at his/her optimal capacity, acquires unnatural cravings, wastes money, time, energy & often falls short of the glory of God.
PRAYER
Preserve us O God our Father, for in You we put all our trust. Deliver us from inordinate lusts that we face everyday, forgive us from all unrighteousness, renew our minds & fill us with Your gifts & fruit; Holy Spirit. Help us in our decision making so that the paths we take may be a blessing to us, our families, friends, nation & the whole world, & draw us closer to You Father. Uphold those who are given to strong drinks so that they may find Your path of truth. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ & the love of God & the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now & forever more. Amen
Mark 2:22
“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins”.
INSIGHT
-The Scribes & Pharisees questioned Jesus & His disciples asking why they did not fast. Jesus responded by saying that the friends of the bridegroom cannot fast while the bridegroom is with but they would fast when He will be taken away (Mk 2:19-20). Due to human imperfections, Christ died & resurrected for us all so that through His blood we may become like new wine skins to contain new wine through the impartation of the Holy Spirit Who lives in our hearts. He thus renews us with His steadfast Spirit to enable us leave the old & corruptible nature; & makes us new in our journey of faith; so that we may always do His will.
PRAYER
Holy Spirit You are our God & King we seek Your help every time. Our lives belong to You, take complete control of us. We are Your vessels cleanse us from all sin & fill us with new wine as we receive Your gifts & fruit according to Your will. We humbly ask You to lead us just like You led Jesus in His mission here on earth; so that we may accomplish that which has been designed for each one of us. You are full of love & mercy, we thank You & praise You now & forever. Amen
Mark 14:24-25
”And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
INSIGHT
-Jesus the Vine calls us His branches to remain anchored on Him so that we may receive strength, wisdom, faith, love, health, support, direction etc all the time. He has given us wine as a symbol of His blood for the forgiveness of sins & redemption from all evil, sicknesses, weaknesses, burdens & have life everlasting.
SUMMARY
-Wine in Hebrew is written as yayin which is a fermented grape liquid from vine trees. It was a very common drink during those days for people thrived in growing vineyards as an economic activity eg Noah (Gen 9:20), king Solomon (Songs of Solomon 8:11), Naboth (1 Kings 21:1) etc. Some grape & wine products mentioned in the Bible include: – blood of the grape or red wine which is fermented red wine, sweet wine or new wine is wine produced within the same year, strong wine or drink is intoxicating liquor made from grapes, grape juice is juice made from grape fruits, cake of raisins is a solid cake made from pressed grapes etc.
-When Isaac was old & could scarcely see; he pronounced a blessing upon Jacob when he deceived him that he was his first born Esau. These blessings sustained him & his descendants with grain & wine which also implied provision of everything else (Gen 27:28). We note that Joseph his son who became governor in Egypt was a direct beneficiary of these blessings which had been earlier pronounced upon Abraham & his descendants whom we are part, to make us fruitful, multiply us & enable us acquire inheritance in an eternal covenant through Christ. With Gods’ blessings, we are called to honor Him & declare that He is the provider for He gives us the power to gain wealth (Deu 8:18). Acts of mercy like almsgiving also amount to righteousness & God provides seed to the sower; to continue giving to the poor, the church & as one desires in his/her heart; that His grace may abound in us (2 Cor 9:9-14). When we honor God with the first-fruit of our increase which could be in form of new business or opportunities amounting to increased revenue, He fills our bans with plenty of grain & our wine presses with new wine (Prov 3:9-10). First-fruit was a sacred feast where the first of crops were offered to God. Christ then became our first-fruit through His death & resurrection that those who die in Him may rise at His coming (1 Cor 15:20-23). He makes us like new wine skins to enable us contain new wine through the impartation of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit thus renews us with His steadfast Spirit to enable us leave our old & corruptible nature; & makes us new in our journey of faith (Mark 2:22). He also takes away our unnatural cravings brought about by wine which Lemuel was cautioned about. A caution that wine is not for kings as it disorients their decisions & make them forget the law & justice of the afflicted but strong drinks are most often consumed by those who have bitter hearts to enable them forget their misery & poverty (Prov 31:3-6). Prophet Hosea pronounces the same caution that harlotry, wine, & new wine enslave the heart (Hos 4:11). Apostle Paul also advices that one should not be drunk with wine in which is dissipation but be filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18). Jesus gave us His flesh & blood that we may partake of Him & have life & life in abundance (Jn 6:53-54).
PRAYER
We thank You Lord for You are good & Your mercies endures forever. Pour our Your precious blood into our hearts to permeate every cell; that we may have life in abundance & possess victory in all things from everlasting to everlasting. We humbly ask You Lord to heal all our wounds, hear & answer all our prayer, establish us in Your love, purify our hearts & thoughts, & renew Your steadfast Spirt within us. Increase in us Your wisdom & faith that all our decisions may be guided & directed by You; merciful Father. All glory & honour belongs to You Lord now & forever. Amen