WHAT DOES GOD DO WITH AN OLD WINESKIN?

In Matthew 9:16-17, Jesus uses the word picture of old wine skins and new wine skins to explain that the old ways of doing things may not work with new revelation or outpourings. He says, “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

This analogy can also be applied to our own lives. We can become set in our ways and resistant to change, but sometimes, we need to let go of the old to make way for the new. Just like the old wine skins, sometimes we need to shed our old habits, lifestyles and expectations to make way for “the new thing” that God wants to bring. 

But what do we do to reach this place? Do we toss aside the old wine skins as useless? My hesitation with trashing the old wineskin is Jesus is pointing to us as the wineskins and to Him, we are not throw aways! So what is the answer?

Let me share a personal story: several years ago, I was driving across the Negev in Israel with a friend, when we began discussing the topic of wineskins. In the course of the conversation I stated, “I suppose the old wineskins have to be tossed and replaced with new.” My friend looked at me in silent disagreement, slowed down, pulled to the side of the road and after thinking for a moment said, “I’m taking you to see a friend. He’s a world class leather craftsman, but one of his hobbies is making wineskins to give to friends and family. Oh … and he also restores old wineskins.” 

Not having previously known anyone who crafted new wineskins, let alone restored old ones, the prospect of meeting this man captured my imagination. I had never thought of making or restoring wineskins as a “thing,” so when we arrived at Yov’s house, I was immediately taken in by the “old world” feel of his workshop. Wearing a leather apron and surrounded by tools that seemed to be collected from another millennia, I knew I was in the presence of a master craftsman.

Little did I know that my life was about to change - that Yov’s words, seasoned with wisdom and spiritual insight would over the next two hours be a life-changer as he begin to tell and show me the six-step process of how in the hands of a skilled craftsman, an old wine skin becomes new. With each step, Yov would intentionally pause and with a dramatic flair allow the significance of his work and words settle into my mind and spirit.

It is my joy to share but a small part of that unforgettable experience, and as you read the process of making an old wineskin new, I encourage you to apply the spiritual applications to the times, seasons and perhaps painful processes of your own life:

Step 1. The wineskin is cut open. (Yov called this, “Pruning the leather.”)

There are times in our lives when we feel as though we are being broken or torn into pieces. It can feel like a deep wound has been inflicted on us and we are left exposed and vulnerable. It is in these moments that God sometimes cuts us open. However, it is important to realize that this is not a punishment, but rather a part of His plan for making us whole.

Step 2. The wineskin is turned inside out. (“Gutting the leather.”)

Do you ever feel your life is upside-down, inside-out? Before you start rebuking devils, consider that what’s going on just might be the design and hand of the Lord. This is where you begin questioning your identity and there’s a possibility what when turned inside out, we’ve never felt more vulnerable.

Step 3. The wineskin is repeatedly washed with water (“Ridding the sediment.”)

Before God can put the “new” in us, there has to be a process to get the “old” out. He purifies us with gentle washings. There have been numerous occasions in my life when this “rinse and repeat” was necessary as I’m certain that it will be again in the future.

Step 4. The wineskin is scraped clean with a piece of rock salt. (“Scraping.”)

My “go to” picture of sanctification is after God delivered the Children of Israel from Egyptian enslavement, the next forty years were spent getting Egypt out of them. This sanctification was a continual, painful process as God knew that before Israel could “possess the land” there had to be a radical change of heart, mind, attitude and thinking.

Step 5. The wineskin is then seasoned with oil. (“Curing.”)

Oil on the wineskin cures and makes the wineskin pliable. Oil also affords “healing qualities” to the wineskin, so that when filled with new wine, rather than bloating and erupting, the wineskin adapts. This process also requires the leather craftsman to continually work the wineskin with his fingers, much as a potter works the clay.

Step 6. The wineskin is finally turned “right side out” and sewn back together. (Restoration.)

God does not restore back to the old things, but His restoration process grants us a bright and hopeful future filled with incredible potential and abilities which the “old us” was incapable of doing or becoming!

Becoming new wineskins may require some uncomfortable moments of honesty, repentance, discipline and change, and we must not grow discouraged, despondent or feel that God is punishing us when we see Him once more approaching with the knife or pruner, for we must remember that if we want God to give us new wine, we must submit to becoming new wineskins!