Lees

The Bible uses the term, lees, which are a part of the winemaking process, three times in the scriptures. Many people are not familiar with what it means.

Over the years the few sermons I have heard that mentioned lees were really pathetic.

What does the word lees mean? In the Bible, the term lees is used both as negative and a positive. Why is that?

We shall look at the scriptures that use the term, then describe lees in detail to answer those questions.

 Scriptures:

The word lees used in a negative sense.

"And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil. Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof. The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land." [Zephaniah 1:12-18] 

"Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed." [Jeremiah 48:11]

The word lees used in a positive sense.

“And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.” [Isaiah 25:6]

Here is a good description of lees.

Not only are there two types of lees, but they are actually quite different from one another.

In the making of wine, yeast is often added to the juice, then it starts to ferment, converting sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide as it mixes with the juice creating bubbles that come to the surface. Eventually, when the yeast has consumed most all of the sugar in the wine, the bubbles stop and the yeast drops to the bottom of the fermentation vessel. That wet, dense pile of residual mass is what’s called the gross lees. It’s a mix of dead yeast, and small parts of grape skins, seed parts, stems and tartrates or crystalized tartaric acid. The wine is then carefully poured off and the lees discarded. Gross lees can spoil your wine in a very short time. The gross lees may also have spoilage compounds like, sulfur, or excess sulfur dioxide in which gross organisms can be in, left over from the vineyard. As gross lees decomposes it can produce some additional rather offensive compounds.

The second type of lees, is known as fine lees, which are mostly made of dead yeast cells that gradually settle on the bottom of a fermentation vessel after the fermentation process. They have a silkier consistency than gross lees, and are both a byproduct of winemaking and an ingredient used in the aging process. As these cells break down they contribute primarily polysaccharides (long carbohydrates) and mannoproteins. Additionally they can bring out and add flavors like that of nuts, honey, bread, etc. The proteins can bind with tannins and help smooth out the wine. This is good for a white wine as you don’t want tannins in a white. However, for a red wine this can be problematic as it is the tannins that go a long way in determining the aging potential of the wine. For this reason red wines are usually not aged this way while white wines often are. The deciding factor depends upon the intentions of the wine maker.

The time spent on the fine lees, however, can vary greatly from a matter of weeks to upwards of 12 to 24 months depending upon the winemaker.

Gross Lees

Let's look first at the "gross lees" Most of us have known or met people who were religious but their faith or spiritual life was stale or even offensive. Maybe that describes us. God did not come to make us a stale or stagnate putrified religious person. That is not to be judgmental, but we have all likely seen some of those people. The world being overly critical of Christians, is quick to use those people as a portrayal of all Christians.

The scriptures say "I will search Jerusalem with candles" God will search out with candles is a physical picture of what God will do spiritually. Before electric lights, people used candles ,lamps, and torches. To search out with candles would be similar to us searching out with a flashlight. Looking into all the darker corners, in boxes, under furniture, etc, rather that just relying on the light from fixed lamps. The implication here is God will thoroughly search the spiritual hearts of His people, looking for those that have issues in their life they refuse to deal with. Those issues will cause evil.

But God goes on to say that God will punish those whose lives are "settled on their lees". People who, over time drift away and leave God, tend to get cynical towards God. It often causes them to have the attitude of "The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil." We call that unbelief. That is an insult to the God of creation who is trying to give mankind the highest quality of life. Allowing unbelief to come in because of our laziness or our love of this world does not reflect the true God in our lives. Sadly almost every one of us, at one time or another has done this. It happens over time. It is contrary to having the Lord as our Lord. As such it brings on God's judgement.

The purpose is not to just catch a person off guard for mistakes they have made, but instead to punish those that have settled on their lees or let parts of their life over an extended time start to rot.

The picture here of settling on one's gross lees, is of one who is not poured off or turned. Being poured off is separating ourselves from the small sins that come visible over time. wine lees

The challenges each of us face in life will put pressure on us and we will choose to make decisions either from our base carnal fleshly nature or on our faith based on our understanding of the Word of God.

When we are living at ease, we tend to lean towards fulfilling self and we often push God aside.

"Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity"

However when we are living life event to life event, we cannot afford to do that. We need truth and righteousness to uphold us.

Where people have "been at ease" is where they have prospered and have become comfortable, so they forget their need of God and His righteous commandments. They think they are self sufficient. There is no reason to pay attention to their conscience, if it conflicts with what they want or with their prosperity. Their prosperity has given them power while honesty and integrity are often cast aside for more gain. They become set in their ways and their morality and ethics become corrupted and stink. "therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed" There is a complacency that sets in regarding life and others, especially those less fortunate than themselves. They rest in their self centered ways and their ways are not pleasant to others.

They tell themselves that: "The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil". In other words they come to a point of actually declaring god is dead, weak or powerless. As they don't have any real needs such a statement justifies their choice of unbelief. The end result for them is, God will destroy and waste their substance and their possessions, and in the end destroy them as well. Rather than destroy them first, God will often cause their work and possessions to be wasted in hopes that they will turn to Him. If they do not turn back to the living God, yes God will eventually destroy them. Sometimes when these people are creating a negative impact on our lives, we wish for swift revenge. But God wants them to turn to Him so He will often give them far more time to turn than you or I would. That does not change the end result if they don't turn.

So how do we avoid resting on our lees? We study the Bible, we pray and we fellowship with other believers. It is when we are away from the things of the Lord that the things of the Lord fade and become veiled or hidden. When we are around the word of God and the people of God we see our shortcomings and we can eaisly repent and return to the correct path.

"Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away." 2nd Cor 3:16

Fine Lees

Then there is another type of lees where a knowledgable wine maker uses the fine lees to make an excellent or premium high grade wine.

"And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined."

This is an interesting scripture.  It is important to note the "And in this mountain" part. It is talking about those that are in God's kingdom. For all of those people who are in God's kingdom from the least to the greatest. It is not talking about religious people or anyone else who the God that made the heavens and the earth, is not their God, their Lord and Savior. It is for God's people that God shall prepare this fantastic feast. Yes, it includes refined wine. Not to get drunk on but to accent the feast. Getting drunk is the topic for another

While I personally don't typically drink alcoholic beverages, it is not a sin to drink a glass of wine.

"All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." 1st Cor 6:12

People prepare a feast for those they care about, for those that are important to them. God loves us, we are very important to Him. God prepares a spiritual feast for all of us who have committed ourselves to live under the shadow of the most high God.

Lees

Scriptures:

Are We Playing Games with God?

Friends

Common Sense to Consider