Balm of Gilead

By Mr. James Ong

Key Points

1. Good health is the Christian’s spiritual birthright because God has made many promises to us concerning our health (e.g. Exodus 15:26, 23:25, Deuteronomy 7:15).
2. God made man with the genetic potential to live 120 years (Genesis 6:3).
3. However, because of the fallen nature of man and the futility that creation has been subjected to, most of us only manage to live 70-80 years (Psalm 90:10).  That’s the current average lifespan of Singaporeans.
4. Yet, what we are now seeing is an epidemic of chronic degenerative diseases striking modern man at ever younger ages.  We are literally “living short and dying long.”
5. Refer to Appendix I for the major causes of deaths now and 57 years ago. In the past, infectious diseases were the scourge (largely eradicated by improved hygiene, sanitation & communicable disease control); today it’s chronic, degenerative diseases, many of which are preventable through diet and lifestyle changes.
6. The WHO predicts that by 2010, cancer will become the No. 1 killer worldwide, overtaking heart disease. Cancer incidence will likely double by 2030 (1 in 2?).
7. Yet there are societies that routinely live healthily till 100 or more – in Okinawa, Sardinia, Loma Linda & Costa Rica – even among non-Christians.
8. The Bible has a surprising lot to say about healthy living; after all God is the One who made us and He is in the business of saving us holistically – body, soul and spirit (I Thess. 5:23).
9. The church has been focusing most of its energy and efforts on saving souls and ministering to the spirit.  Not much has been done on ministering to the body.  Even if it is doing so, it is largely conforming to the way medicine is conventionally practiced, which has a poor record with chronic, degenerative diseases.  This was not so during OT times (priests were the healthcare officers of Israel) and in the early and medieval church (responsible for setting up the first hospitals/sanatariums).
10. As Christians, we desire to mend our sinful ways and conform to the Biblical pattern or God’s original design for work, marriage and family, etc.  Why don’t we also commit ourselves to mending our dietary and lifestyle habits and bring them in line with God’s original design?
11. It is time for Christians to rediscover what the Bible has to say about health and reclaim their birthright.
12. Excellent health is attainable.  My wife and I have lived in excellent health for the last 8-9 years (ever since we learned these principles and put them into practice).  We have hardly been sick (requiring MC or extended rest) nor consumed a single antibiotic, painkiller or drug for the last 8-9 years (save for some antifungal medicine once).  All our biomarkers for health are in the optimum range.  If we can do it, so can you!
13. Bear in mind that we are not suggesting that Christians will never fall sick.  Because of the fall, sickness and death is inevitable.  We are talking about maximizing health and minimizing disease, so that we can serve God effectively and be a good testimony before the world. Remember the example of Daniel and his three friends.
14. The root cause of almost all disease is Deficiency (Nutritional) and Toxicity.  Eliminate these and you will be on the road to excellent health.

Scripture References

[All the following Scripture passages are taken from the New American Standard Bible (copyright by The Lockman Foundation), unless otherwise stated]

God Desires Us to be Healthy

Exodus 23:25
²⁵ “But you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water; and I will remove sickness from your midst.

Psalm 103:2-5
² Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits;  ³ Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases;  ⁴ Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;  ⁵ Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

1 Thessalonians 5:23
²³ Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

3 John 2
² Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.

Repentance/Forgiveness and Obedience are Keys to Good Health

Exodus 15:25-26
²⁵ Then he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet. There He made for them a statute and regulation, and there He tested them.  ²⁶ And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer.”  [The tree represents the cross of Jesus Christ]

Proverbs 4:20-22
²⁰ My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings.  ²¹ Do not let them depart from your sight; Keep them in the midst of your heart.  ²² For they are life to those who find them And health to all their body.

John 5:13-14
¹³ But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place.
¹⁴ Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.”

James 5:14-16
¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;  ¹⁵ and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. ¹⁶ Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

See also Psalm 38:3

It Pays to be Better Informed about Health

Hosea 4:6a
⁶ My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Isaiah 55:1-2
“Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost.  ² “Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance.

Get Plenty of Pure, Fresh Air

Genesis 2:7
⁷ Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Acts 17:25
²⁵ nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;

Sunlight Every Day.

Genesis 1:14-18
¹⁴ Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; ¹⁵ and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.  ¹⁶ God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. ¹⁷ God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.

Ecclesiastes 11:7
⁷ The light is pleasant, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun.

Clear Link between Nutrition and Health

Deuteronomy 7:13-15
¹³ “He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock, in the land which He swore to your forefathers to give you.  ¹⁴ “You shall be blessed above all peoples; there will be no male or female barren among you or among your cattle.  ¹⁵ “The LORD will remove from you all sickness; and He will not put on you any of the harmful diseases of Egypt which you have known, but He will lay them on all who hate you.

Refer also to Exodus 23:25.

Abstinence from Things Harmful.

Proverbs 20:1
¹ Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.
[Please note that the Bible doesn't prohibit drinking but warns against drunkenness]

Temperance in All Things

Proverbs 25:16
¹⁶ Have you found honey?  Eat only what you need, That you not have it in excess and vomit it.

1 Corinthians 6:12-13, 19
¹² All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.  ¹³ Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.

1 Corinthians 9:25
²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

Get Sufficient Rest

Exodus 20:8-11
⁸ “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹ “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.
¹¹ “For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

Matthew 11:28-29
²⁸ “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.

Mark 6:31
³¹ And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)

Useful Physical Exercise on a Regular Basis.

Genesis 2:15
¹⁵ Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.

2 Thessalonians 3:10
¹⁰ For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.

Enjoy the Pure, Natural Foods God Has Provided.

Genesis 1:29
29 Then God said, “Behold, 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;

Genesis 9:3-4
³ “Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant. ⁴ “Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.

Take note that man was created originally to be vegetarians.  Animal foods were added to his diet after the Flood to supplement what might be lacking in plant sources of food due to the vastly altered climate following the Flood.  Hence plant foods should be the mainstay of our diet.

Abstain from the Flesh of Unclean Animals

Leviticus 11
¹ The LORD spoke again to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them,  ² “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘These are the creatures which you may eat from all the animals that are on the earth.  ³ ‘Whatever divides a hoof, thus making split hoofs, and chews the cud, among the animals, that you may eat.  ⁴ ‘Nevertheless, you are not to eat of these, among those which chew the cud, or among those which divide the hoof: the camel, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you.  ⁵ ‘Likewise, the shaphan, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you;  ⁶ the rabbit also, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you;  ⁷ and the pig, for though it divides the hoof, thus making a split hoof, it does not chew cud, it is unclean to you.  ⁸ ‘You shall not eat of their flesh nor touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.  ⁹ ‘These you may eat, whatever is in the water: all that have fins and scales, those in the water, in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat.  ¹⁰ ‘But whatever is in the seas and in the rivers that does not have fins and scales among all the teeming life of the water, and among all the living creatures that are in the water, they are detestable things to you,  ¹¹ and they shall be abhorrent to you; you may not eat of their flesh, and their carcasses you shall detest.  ¹² ‘Whatever in the water does not have fins and scales is abhorrent to you.  ¹³ ‘These, moreover, you shall detest among the birds; they are abhorrent, not to be eaten: the eagle and the vulture and the buzzard,  ¹⁴ and the kite and the falcon in its kind,  ¹⁵ every raven in its kind,  ¹⁶ and the ostrich and the owl and the sea gull and the hawk in its kind,  ¹⁷ and the little owl and the cormorant and the great owl,  ¹⁸ and the white owl and the pelican and the carrion vulture,  ¹⁹ and the stork, the heron in its kinds, and the hoopoe, and the bat.  ²⁰ ‘All the winged insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you.  ²¹ ‘Yet these you may eat among all the winged insects which walk on all fours: those which have above their feet jointed legs with which to jump on the earth.  ²² ‘These of them you may eat: the locust in its kinds, and the devastating locust in its kinds, and the cricket in its kinds, and the grasshopper in its kinds.  ²³ ‘But all other winged insects which are four-footed are detestable to you.  ²⁴ ‘By these, moreover, you will be made unclean: whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until evening,  ²⁵ and whoever picks up any of their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening.  ²⁶ ‘Concerning all the animals which divide the hoof but do not make a split hoof, or which do not chew cud, they are unclean to you: whoever touches them becomes unclean.  ²⁷ ‘Also whatever walks on its paws, among all the creatures that walk on all fours, are unclean to you; whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until evening,  ²⁸ and the one who picks up their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening; they are unclean to you.  ²⁹ ‘Now these are to you the unclean among the swarming things which swarm on the earth: the mole, and the mouse, and the great lizard in its kinds,  ³⁰ and the gecko, and the crocodile, and the lizard, and the sand reptile, and the chameleon.  ³¹ ‘These are to you the unclean among all the swarming things; whoever touches them when they are dead becomes unclean until evening.  ³² ‘Also anything on which one of them may fall when they are dead becomes unclean, including any wooden article, or clothing, or a skin, or a sack– any article of which use is made– it shall be put in the water and be unclean until evening, then it becomes clean.  ³³ ‘As for any earthenware vessel into which one of them may fall, whatever is in it becomes unclean and you shall break the vessel.  ³⁴ ‘Any of the food which may be eaten, on which water comes, shall become unclean, and any liquid which may be drunk in every vessel shall become unclean.  ³⁵ ‘Everything, moreover, on which part of their carcass may fall becomes unclean; an oven or a stove shall be smashed; they are unclean and shall continue as unclean to you.  ³⁶ ‘Nevertheless a spring or a cistern collecting water shall be clean, though the one who touches their carcass shall be unclean.  ³⁷ ‘If a part of their carcass falls on any seed for sowing which is to be sown, it is clean.  ³⁸ ‘Though if water is put on the seed and a part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.  ³⁹ ‘Also if one of the animals dies which you have for food, the one who touches its carcass becomes unclean until evening.  ⁴⁰ ‘He too, who eats some of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening, and the one who picks up its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening.  ⁴¹ ‘Now every swarming thing that swarms on the earth is detestable, not to be eaten.  ⁴² ‘Whatever crawls on its belly, and whatever walks on all fours, whatever has many feet, in respect to every swarming thing that swarms on the earth, you shall not eat them, for they are detestable.  ⁴³ ‘Do not render yourselves detestable through any of the swarming things that swarm; and you shall not make yourselves unclean with them so that you become unclean.  ⁴⁴ ‘For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth.  ⁴⁵ ‘For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.’”  ⁴⁶ This is the law regarding the animal and the bird, and every living thing that moves in the waters and everything that swarms on the earth,  ⁴⁷ to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the edible creature and the creature which is not to be eaten.

To learn more about clean and unclean foods, click here.

Use Plenty of Water Inside and Out; Eat Simply-Prepared Whole Foods; Get Enough Dietary Fiber from Fruits and Vegetables; Practice Regular Fasting

Daniel 1:11-17, 21
¹¹ But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah,  ¹² “Please test your servants for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink.  ¹³ “Then let our appearance be observed in your presence and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king’s choice food; and deal with your servants according to what you see.”  ¹⁴ So he listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days.  ¹⁵ At the end of ten days their appearance seemed better and they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food. ¹⁶ So the overseer continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept giving them vegetables.  ¹⁷ As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams. ²⁰ As for every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in all his realm.  ²¹ And Daniel continued until the first year of Cyrus the king. [Daniel served through four kingships]

Matthew 6:17-18
¹⁷ “But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face ¹⁸ so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

The Bible Supports Phytotherapy (or Herbal/Botanical Medicine )

Ezekiel 47:12
¹² “By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.

Revelation 22:2
² in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

See also Matthew 23:23 and Luke 11:42 where herbs like mint, rue, dill and cumin were mentioned by name.

The Bible Supports Aromatherapy

Genesis 37:25 (and 43:1, below)
²⁵ Then they sat down to eat a meal. And as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing aromatic gum and balm and myrrh, on their way to bring them down to Egypt.

Numbers 16:45-50
⁴⁵ “Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.” Then they fell on their faces.  ⁴⁶ Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put in it fire from the altar, and lay incense on it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone forth from the LORD, the plague has begun!”  ⁴⁷ Then Aaron took it as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly, for behold, the plague had begun among the people. So he put on the incense and made atonement for the people.  ⁴⁸ He took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was checked.  ⁴⁹ But those who died by the plague were 14,700, besides those who died on account of Korah.  ⁵⁰ Then Aaron returned to Moses at the doorway of the tent of meeting, for the plague had been checked.

Jeremiah 8:22
²² Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has not the health of the daughter of my people been restored?  Also Jeremiah 46:11 and 51:8.

Matthew 2:10-11
¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.  ¹¹ After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Mark 6:13
¹³ And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.

James 5:14-15
¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; ¹⁵ and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.

Trust in Divine Power for God is the Ultimate Source of Healing.

Deuteronomy 32:39
³⁹ ‘See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can deliver from My hand.

2 Chronicles 7:13-14
¹³ “If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people,  ¹⁴ and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Psalms 91:5-16
⁵ You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day;  ⁶ Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.  ⁷ A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not approach you.  ⁸ You will only look on with your eyes And see the recompense of the wicked.  ⁹ For you have made the LORD, my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place.  ¹⁰ No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent.
¹¹ For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways.  ¹² They will bear you up in their hands, That you do not strike your foot against a stone.  ¹³ You will tread upon the lion and cobra, The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.  ¹⁴ “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.  ¹⁵ “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.  ¹⁶ “With a long life I will satisfy him And let him see My salvation.”

Proverbs 3:5-8
⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.  ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.  ⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.  ⁸ It will be healing to your body And refreshment to your bones.

Matthew 4:23
²³ Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. ²⁴ The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them.

Matthew 8:16-17
¹⁶ When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill.  ¹⁷ This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES.”

See also Job 5:18; Psalm 30:2, 41:1-3, 107:20, 147:3; Isaiah 53:5; Jeremiah 17:14, 33:6; Hosea 11:3, 6:1; Malachi 4:2; Matthew 9:35, 10:1,8, 12:15, 14:14, 15:30; Luke 4:40, 5:17-18, 6:18-19, 9:1-2, 6, 11, 10:9; Acts 4:30; I Corinthians 12:9.

Healing was an integral part of Jesus’ and the apostles’ ministry.  It always accompanied the preaching of the gospel and the Word.

We Have a Responsibility to take Good Care of the Body

I Corinthians 6:19-20
¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?  ²⁰ For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

Ephesians 5:29
²⁹ for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,

James 4:17
¹⁷ Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Try Growing Your Own Food!

Jeremiah 29:4-5
⁴ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:  ⁵ Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce.

See also Isaiah 28:25-27 and Matthew 23:23.

 

Speak Pleasant Words to One Another and Be Joyful

Proverbs 16:24
²⁴ Pleasant words are a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

Proverbs 17:22
²² A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.

Nourishing Foods, Minerals and Herbs Mentioned Specifically in the Bible

Genesis 43:11
¹¹Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and carry down to the man as a present, a little balm and a little honey, aromatic gum and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds.

Numbers 11:5
⁵ “We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic,

Deuteronomy 8:7-9
⁷ “For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills;  ⁸ a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey;  ⁹ a land where you will eat food without scarcity, in which you will not lack anything; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. [Iron and copper arewo essential minerals that the body needs]

Deuteronomy 32:13-14
¹³ “He made him ride on the high places of the earth, And he ate the produce of the field; And He made him suck honey from the rock, And oil from the flinty rock, ¹⁴ Curds of cows, and milk of the flock, With fat of lambs, And rams, the breed of Bashan, and goats, With the finest of the wheat–And of the blood of grapes you drank wine.

1 Samuel 25:18
¹⁸ Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread and two jugs of wine and five sheep already prepared and five measures of roasted grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys.

2 Samuel 17:28-30
²⁸ brought beds, basins, pottery, wheat, barley, flour, parched grain, beans, lentils, parched seeds, ²⁹ honey, curds, sheep, and cheese of the herd, for David and for the people who were with him, to eat; for they said, “The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.”

Isaiah 7:15
¹⁵ “He will eat curds and honey at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good.

Ezekiel 4:9
⁹ “But as for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet and spelt, put them in one vessel and make them into bread for yourself; you shall eat it according to the number of the days that you lie on your side, three hundred and ninety days.

See also Proverbs 24:13.

Do note that the foods consumed during Biblical times were all organically grown or raised, without the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, antibiotics and growth hormones.  They were also minimally processed, whole and unrefined. No artificial preservatives, colorings or flavorings were used.  Foods were usually consumed fresh and locally.  Drying, fermenting and pickling were the most common ways of preserving foods.  No unclean animals were eaten.  Deep frying was non-existent.  Meat was consumed infrequently, mainly during festive occasions.

Respect Nature, God’s Handiwork (She’s Smarter Than You Think) and Care for God’s Earth

Genesis 1:28
²⁸ God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Luke 12:27-28
²⁷ “Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.  ²⁸ “But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!

Psalm 139:13-15
¹³ For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.  ¹⁴ I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.  ¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;

Revelation 11:18
¹⁸ “And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”

Living the natural & organic lifestyle is Biblically-endorsed, neither elitist nor bourgeoisie.  It’s conforming to God’s original design.  That which is good for the earth is also good for us because it is the earth supports us.

Do Not be Conformed to this World

Romans 12:1-2
¹Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.  ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Test Everything (Including What Your Doctor Tells You)

Luke 18:27
²⁷ But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”

1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 (NIV)
²¹ Test everything. Hold on to the good.  ²² Avoid every kind of evil.

1 John 4:1
¹Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Beware of Pharmaceutical Drugs!  Use Them Only When Absolutely Necessary

The Greek word translated sorcery in the NT is pharmakeia which is defined as the use of medicine, drugs or spells, from which we derive the modern English words, pharmaceuticals, pharmacist and pharmacy.

Galatians 5:19-21
¹⁹ Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality,  ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,  ²¹ envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Revelation 18:21-24
²¹ Then a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer.  ²² “And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer;  ²³ and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.

Further Reading/Viewing
1.   Don Colbert, MD:  The Seven Pillars of Health (Siloam Press).
2.   Rex Russell, MD:  What the Bible Says About Healthy Living (Regal).
3.   Michael Jacobson, MD:  The Word on Health (Moody)
4.   Don Colbert, MD:  What Would Jesus Eat (Thomas Nelson)
5.   Jordan Rubin, ND:  The Great Physician’s Rx for Health and Wellness (Thomas Nelson)
6.   Jordan Rubin, ND:  The Maker’s Diet (Siloam Press).
7.   S. I. McMillen, MD & David Stern, MD:  None of These Diseases (Revell).
8.   Don Colbert, MD:  The Seven Pillars of Health DVD Video (Siloam ).
9.   Jordan Rubin, ND:  The Maker’s Diet Video Experience (Garden of Life).

Appendix I

1950
	Principal Causes of Death	% of Total Deaths
1	Tuberculosis	12.0
2	Infantile Convulsions	11.1
3	Pneumonia	10.9
4	Gastroenteritis	8.9
5	Diseases of Early Infancy	6.6
6	Heart Diseases	4.6
7	Injuries	4.0

 

2007
	Principal Causes of Death	% of Total Deaths
1	Cancer	27.7
2	Ischaemic Heart Disease	19.8
3	Pneumonia	13.9
4	Cerebrovascular Disease (including stroke)	8.7
5	Accidents, Poisoning & Violence	6.0
6	Other Heart Diseases	4.3
7	Diabetes Mellitus	3.6