Deuteronomy 14:26

Lusteth after. Better, “desireth.” The same Hebrew word is also translated “desired” or “desireth” (Job 23:13; Psalm 132:13, 14; Isaiah 26:9; Micah 7:1). The necessity of supplying worshippers who had come from a distance with the various articles required for the feast led eventually to the setting up of a market in the Temple area in Jerusalem. Such a situation a worldly-minded priesthood would soon corrupt and make a source of personal gain (see Jeremiah 6:13; 23:11).

Strong drink. The “wine” and “strong drink” here referred to were both fermented. In times past God often “winked” at gross “ignorance” responsible for practices He could never approve. But eventually the time comes when, on each point, God “commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30). Then those who persist in their practices in spite of counsel and warning, no longer have a “cloke for their sin” (John 15:22). Prior to that time “they had not had sin” and God did not hold them wholly accountable, even though their deeds were far short of the ideal. His long-suffering is extended to all who “know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Like Paul, who persecuted the church “ignorantly in unbelief,” they may obtain mercy (1 Timothy 1:13).