Their Fruit Will Be For Food and Their Leaves for Medicine‌ Ezekiel 47:12
…In other words, let your foods be your medicine! One thing that is to be mentioned about a natural health practice and its associated ways of combating diseases is most of the time, when you tackle one ailment or encumbrance, you tackle several more. For example, if you are looking for quick, yet effective tips for a natural weight loss, you are bound to see improvements in other aspects of your health and vice-versa with this piece of information. That being said, friends, let’s begin our journey into rediscovering ways for attaining better health and to that effect, it may be time to go back to the basics to find the foundation given to us by our Creator for overall good health. That foundation is in the Holy Bible. Now, perhaps it is often times overlooked because it’s in the first chapter of the book and most people just may not be aware of it or in the process of skimming through the first few chapters pass the verse right by. If that is the case, let me now bring it to your attention, the verse is in Genesis 1: 29 of the Holy Bible and it is the second recorded law/set of words God spoke to man, which says: “Look, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you.” In addition, in Genesis 2: 9 it says: “Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food…” Folks, even if one is the most ardent atheist for whatever reason, it does not take a genius to know that plenty of Fruits exclusively or mixed with raw and/or properly cooked roots and leafy vegetables is the best dietetic choice for healthy living. So, taking that quote from the Good Lord into consideration, let’s now see how it applies specifically to us in these modern times and no one puts it better than the Recognized Father of Modern Medicine himself, Hippocrates, who aptly stated: “Let your food be your medicine and your medicine your food.”(Well, this should come as no surprise as even The Bible says: “… their fruit will be for food and their leaves for medicine.” Ezekiel 47:12) It is worth mentioning that doctors are said to take the Hippocratic Oath in honor of Hippocrates, but nonetheless, it is sad and quite alarming that something as important as proper nutrition (which mirrors his aforementioned quote) has become overlooked in the modern health care system. Moreover, in the name of convenience, our fast paced society has given way to fast foods, microwaves, quick fix medicines, and eating on the run. Therefore, needless to say, it is time to revise our habits and start making optimal use of the proper foods for the improvement of our health.
My friends, virtually every aspect of health improves or declines in direct relationship to the kind of food items one eats. Therefore I would like to stress that the obesity, poor health and malnutrition problems that most people have in widespread quantities is due largely to the fact that most people follow the Standard American diet; which is essentially an under consumption of the right foods and over consumption of the wrong ones. Subsequently, the purpose of this text is to make it as plain as day what the cause and the correction will be for all diseases and illnesses, regardless of the name or names. The basic principle lies in the fact that when we correct one disease, we correct them all. Now, the art of eating foods for its medicinal value dates back more than 4,000 years when fruits and herbs were eaten because of their natural use in healing, relieving, or preventing certain health or medical conditions. Moreover, it should be noted that science has verified the accuracy of the Biblical accounts of the dietetic habits of the first men on earth, which basically was based heavily on a fruit diet with some green leafy vegetables, as recorded in the book of Genesis in the Bible. Therefore based on similar research, when eating for health purposes, it could be very beneficial if products from the animal kingdom are excluded or drastically reduced, as it has been shown that many diseases such as obesity, cancer, rheumatism, and asthma are said to be linked to an improper and excessive consumption of meat and animal by-products, in addition to other processed and commercial food items. Now, I know that this may be a radical statement and I know that some Christians or Orthodox Jews in disagreement with the dietetic suggestion in Gen 1:29 may cite God’s approval of eating meat in Genesis 9:3 which says: “Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything”. However, the most basic line of demarcation in the realm of the Bible is usually the one between the permitted and the forbidden. Furthermore, in the realm of the permitted, we also find a further line between the acceptable and the ideal. In addition, in regards to that specific verse, one commonly overlooked condition for eating flesh is in the following verse of the same chapter which says, “But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.” This clearly states the consumption of blood in the flesh of animals is not ideal according to our Maker. It was only after the flood in the Book of Genesis that man was expressly given permission to eat meat. Again, it must be stressed that it was a permission, not an explicit order. You could assume that this was an understood approval for the slaughter of animals as food, but we have to consider what God actually said was “good” in His eyes in The Holy Bible as is stated Genesis 1:24-30. He never said that he told man to eat meat and saw that it was good. Quite the contrary, the only diet God ever reflected on with satisfaction was the original diet He created for us in the fruits, and green plants of Creation. As will be discussed in more detail, the Genesis 9:3 verse listed above really requires discretion and common sense interpretation as it says…everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Well, lions, tigers, flies, maggots, all humans and many
more other creatures LIVE AND MOVE. Why aren’t all these creatures (and several more) adequate for food? The answer is simply because there is a judgment standard that has to be applied to this verse as is the case with several others in the Bible. At this time, not to get off track, but to make a point worth noting in regards to what God saw or sees as good and what he now has permitted or permits, there is the subject of divorce. Of course it was not God’s intention- nor is it now-for divorce to take place as much as it does. In other words, it’s arguably not ideal in His eyes, but it is apparently permitted as stated here in Matthew chapter 19 verse 8: Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning…” Note, it expressly says it was Moses who permitted divorce (perhaps being instructed by God) and it never expressly says God ordered or ordained divorce (for more on that subject you can go to Matt 19: 1-8) again this is just an illustration into realms of the Bible where some things are acceptable while others are ideal. If we go further into the subject of permitted or accepted meat eating, in Leviticus Chapter 11 and Deuteronomy Chapter 14.3-21, God states which animals are beneficial and which animals are harmful to the human body and these chapters showcase God’s dietary plan for man in regards to eating flesh. Between the two chapters, it’s pretty easy to determine that deer, some birds, some fish (with fins and scales), and cattle are permitted for consumption, while most others are not. Furthermore, there is also an injunction against the ingestion of blood and fat of even the afore mentioned ‘clean’ animals in Leviticus 3:11 and 7:23-27 and the use of parts of unclean animals in food preparation is also said to be wrong. It is also noteworthy that Deuteronomy 14:21 clearly shows that even for the clean animals, they have to be slaughtered first and not already dead. Taking all of these into consideration, a statement by an Old Testament commentator, Solomon Refrain Lunchitz, says that maybe the instructions for the entire procedure of the ritual slaughter, was for the sake of self-discipline. It is believed that perhaps, due to the bother and annoyance of the whole process, people may be restrained from eating flesh, especially in excess. Let’s face it, even if one may argue that God said we could eat meat, He clearly has shown how to slaughter and cook the ones we can consume, which honestly will leave the flesh pretty bland tasting and hence not overly desired, and He for sure did not say anything about eating most, if not all the processed foods we eat today! It should be noted that the meat used for most meals is laced with hormones – growth hormones. These hormones are injected in the animals to speed up their growth (for conversion into food meats) but then humans turn around and eat these animals and then consume the same hormones secondhand. Consequently just like the cow, chicken, or turkey, they blow up and get fat, huge and diseased.
On the other hand, I am also quite sure that if humans stuck to the vegetarian diet initially given to us and if they supplement it with the accepted meat eating in terms of the Bible, it would still be a much healthier diet for overall improved health. As a result, we should not only seek the things which God permits, but consider the things that God prefers for us as His creatures.” So, to conclude this article, the recommended staples of our diet should be a base of plenty of Fruits, Leafy and Root Vegetables and perhaps some permissible whole grains (with reservations). However if so desired, very, very little meat MAY be sparingly eaten…just the way the Lord permitted it may be done. Still, I am quick to add, being someone who doesn’t eat meat anymore (since January 1997 that is) and someone who doesn’t EVER crave or miss it, this publication is not going to endorse the use of meat per se. In fact, a whole bunch of commonly consumed items won’t be endorsed here. Are you intrigued thus far? Great…Scroll down to get your copy or Fitness: Inside and Out Today.
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