MEDR Wellness
Let the fruit be for food, and the leaves for healing
November 11, 2006
Re: 7 by 7 Facts and Rules for Health and Wellness
Greetings fellow believers,
May you be abundantly blessed and continue to grow in God’s graces and favor. I have been commissioned to address Hosea 4:6 in regards to the wealth of health and wellness that God has provided for us.
Have you ever wondered why there is so much illness and sickness today and it seems as if there is a new illness announced almost every week. Some of the newest ones include Gerd, Acid Reflux disease, Bird flu, lysosomal storage diseases, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, drug-resistant strains of microorganisms or parasites, mad cow disease, flesh eating staph, functional dyspepsia, hypertensive kidney disease, diabetic macular edema, and the list goes on and on and on. Does it make you wonder why God did not provide some way to help keep us from so much and many kinds of sickness? Well wonder no longer. God did provide for our health and wellness and somewhere along the way man got into the middle of it and just took over and look where it has gotten us!
Hosea 4:6 states "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you."
This statement addresses two things. One, that without knowledge (knowing accurate facts) we are destroyed. It can mean that we either destroy ourselves or let others destroy us. Just the same being destroyed is destroyed. So without knowledge, we are in big trouble. The other thing is that when we do get knowledge and if we reject it, by not accepting it or ignoring it, we are also in big trouble because God treats us as we treat His gift, the gift of knowledge. This leaves one conclusion, which is if we want to prevent being destroyed (which also applies to our health), then we must acquire knowledge (concerning health) and not reject it, which also means that we must utilize it in order to benefit from it. This makes sense just as if we have a car and need to go buy something and we just sit in the car, we will not go anywhere and not accomplish buying what was needed. God has provided both the knowledge and the means to have the blessings of health and wellness. It is His desire that we be healthy and this is reflected in:
1 Cor. 6:19-20 "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."
If we are therefore supposed to honor our body (take care of it), then God must have provided a way and means that will allow us to do just that, and guess what? He did and if you will read on, you will find out exactly what it is and how you too can be blessed with the health and wellness that God desires so much for us to have.
So:
Rule #1 is: we must acquire knowledge to prevent from being destroyed (our health), and
Rule #2 is: that we must utilize knowledge in order to receive the blessings that are stored within it.
And:
Fact #1 is: God wants us to be healthy,
Fact #2 is: God has provided the knowledge of how to be healthy, so therefore
Fact #3 is: God must also have provided the means for us to be healthy. [and He did]
God has provided us sustenance (foods) and healing (herbs) so that we can live healthy lives. We have been given everything we need. It is man who has changed our health patterns and status by defiling the foods that God has created.
Ezekiel 47:12 states: .".. its fruit (from trees) shall be for food, and its leaf (herbs) for healing."
Genesis: 9:3 states: "Every moving thing that lives will be food for you. As the green herb, I have given everything to you."
Psalms 127:1,2 states: .".. unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who builds it."
Unless we use what God provided to build our temples (body) we will not and can not have optimum health."
Jeremiah 30:13 states: .".. you (man) have no healing medicines."
Jeremiah 45:11 states: .".. in vain you will use many medicines (man's); you shall not be cured."
Do the facts that today our soils are depleted and deficient in essential nutrients, that people are more obese than ever and eating more and having less health make any sense? No they do not add up. There are reasons as to why this is the case and we were informed that this would happen many thousands of years ago
Hosea 4:3,10 states: .".. the land will mourn (man's abuse of it), and everyone who dwells therein will waste away... they will eat and not have enough."
The foods will not be able to provide adequate nutrients. Man has also defiled God's food and it has adversely affected health. An example of defiled food is described in Daniel 1 when the king's dainties (defiled food) were offered to Daniel and he choose pulse (crops like peas and beans - natural unadulterated foods) and he thrived above and beyond the other children who ate the king's food.
So:
Rule #3 is: in order to be as healthy as possible, we must use what God intended and provided.
And:
Fact #4 is: that God has provided what we need to be as healthy as possible.
Fact #5 is: that man has abused the land and defiled most of our foods.
Fact #6 is: we are eating more and not getting what we need.
And:
Fact #7 is: by consuming man's foods, our health is wasting away even generation to generation.
God is in the business of performing miracles and it appears that He loves to do so, however, it also appears that He expects us to be accountable and that He will not do for us when we are not being obedient, nor placing Him first and extracting favor from him by utilizing what He has provided for us. This is obvious as seen in the following verses: Revelation 22:2 ... The leaves of the trees were for healing and John 9:11 ...Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight." Jesus could have preformed the miracle without using anything, but what He did was to acknowledge that God had provided other means for the healing as He has with herbs and foods and when we do and do not use these things, the consequences can be observed as with Asa and Hezekiah: Asa became deathly ill and went to the physicians (relied on man) and not God and he died (2 Chronicles 16:12-13) whereas Hezekiah became deathly ill and went to God and 15 years were added to his life, by utilizing a fig poultice (provided through nature by God, and the knowledge given to the prophet, Isaiah)(2 Kings 20:1-11). It is plainly seen in Jeremiah 17 where it states: "Cursed is the man who puts his faith in man.... and blessed is the man who puts his faith in God." Consider what analogy Exodus 34:7 can refer to: "He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations." There are many conditions such as ADD and ADHD, juvenile diabetes, etc that are caused from generations of poor and defiled foods consumed for nutrition and by falling short (sins/iniquity) on God's nutritional provisions and consuming man's foods (which fall short of wholesome and complete) our children have been affected with poor health and an enormous amount of health challenges.
So:
Rule #4 is: in order to restore and maintain health, you must obtain favor from God by using what He provided for our health and wellness and
Rule #5 is: you must put God first to obtain favor from Him which also involves obedience and faith
We are told in:
1 Timothy 4:3-5 ."... foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth...received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer."
So:
Rule #6 is: God's foods are empowered by receiving them with thanksgiving and are sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
God desires for us to live longer and healthier then we currently do. His desires are clearly presented in Peter 1:3 "According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness." and Genesis 6:3 ."..his (man's) days will be a hundred and twenty years."
So:
Rule #7 is: you will live the healthiest and longest possible by accepting the facts God has provided and by following His rules for health and wellness.
May you be abundantly blessed with health, wellness and longevity.
- Healthfully yours, Dr. J. Michael Ernest
For those who would like more references and details, the following has been compiled. Biblical health references: What are God’s provisions for our health & wellness? CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING in regards to your greatest earthly wealth, your health!
Ezekiel 47:12
12 By the river on its bank, on this side and on that side, shall grow every tree for food, whose leaf shall not wither, neither shall its fruit fail: it shall bring forth new fruit every month, because its waters issue out of the sanctuary; and its fruit shall be for food, and its leaf for healing.
NOTE: Did God provide for our nutritional needs as well as for our healing?
Hosea 4:6
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, that you may be no priest to me. Because you have forgotten your God's law, I will also forget your children.
[Can what you do not know hurt you?]
NOTE: Are we forsaking knowledge God has provided and therefore (our health) being destroyed? Are our children and their children suffering from our actions (ADD, ADHD, juvenile diabetes, etc)?
Psalms 127:1-2
1 A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, To sit up late, To eat the bread of sorrows;
[God provided natural nourishment to build our temples – man alters God’s provisions and makes synthetic substances to build our temples: Do we labor in vain by using man’s rather than God’s? Unless we build our house with God’s food, do we labor for health in vain?]
NOTE: Are we building our house (body) with what God intended or what man has produced and if so, is it laboring in vain to try to establish a healthy house with man’s foods rather than what God provided?
1 Corinthians 3:16,17
16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
NOTE: Are our bodies special to God? And if so, then would He also provide everything we need for our bodies to be as healthy as possible? Also, if we do not take care of God’s temple, will it be as healthy and strong as possible and will God protect it from being destroyed or will He let it be destroyed?
Titus 1:16
16 They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.
[To know God is to desire His favor through obedience and thus receiving all of the blessings He desires us to have]
NOTE: Concerning our health, do we put our faith and actions in God, what He provided in nature (whole complete natural foods and herbs) and call upon Him for healing OR do we place our faith and actions only in man’s unnatural processed, altered food stuffs, pharmaceutical drugs and man and therefore disqualify ourselves for health and wellness?
Jeremiah 17:5-14
5 Thus says the Lord: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord.
6 For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited.
7 "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord.
8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
10 I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.
11 "As a partridge that broods but does not hatch, So is he who gets riches, but not by right; It will leave him in the midst of his days, And at his end he will be a fool."
12 A glorious high throne from the beginning Is the place of our sanctuary.
13 O Lord, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You shall be ashamed. "Those who depart from Me Shall be written in the earth, Because they have forsaken the Lord, The fountain of living waters."
14 Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved, For You are my praise.
NOTE: Is our health a byproduct of our trust in man and man’s manipulation of God’s foods (both produced by nature and artificially developed by man), do we have more control over our health than we believe, and do we trust in others (man) for our health? Consider what are our ways and the fruit of our doings. Are we taking responsibility for our health or are we giving it to others and at the mercy of their desires (profits and financial gains)?
Jeremiah 30:13,17
13 You (man) have no healing medicines.
17 For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds,' says the Lord,
NOTE: Do man’s medicines heal, or do they only address symptoms? Is God able and willing to restore our health and if so has He provided what is needed?
Jeremiah 45:11
11 "Go up to Gilead and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt; In vain you will use many medicines (man’s); You shall not be cured.
NOTE: Are we supposed to take natural (balm) rather than medicines (man made) because they do not cure and taking them to correct health is in vain (hopeless, worthless, futile, useless, ineffective, unsuccessful)?
Hosea 4:3,8,9,10
3 Therefore the land will mourn, and everyone who dwells therein will waste away. all living things in her, even the animals of the field and the birds of the sky; yes, the fish of the sea also die.
8 They feed on the sin of my people, and set their heart on their iniquity.
9 It will be, like people, like priest; and I will punish them for their ways, and will repay them for their deeds.
10 They will eat, and not have enough. [could this be what is happening today?]
NOTE: Is man ruining the land, poisoning the animals and fish, is our health wasting away, our we eating more and getting less of what we need – i.e. the suggested number of servings of vegetables has gone from three per day to five per day?
Corinthians 8:4-10
4 Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no other God but one. [is our food being sacrificed to (for) the idol – money/profit?]
5 For though there are things that are called "gods," whether in the heavens or on earth; as there are many "gods" and many "lords;"
6 yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we live through him.
7 However, that knowledge isn't in all men. But some, with consciousness of the idol until now, eat as of a thing sacrificed to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.
8 But food will not commend us to God. For neither, if we don't eat, are we the worse; nor, if we eat, are we the better.
9 But be careful that by no means does this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to the weak.
10 For if a man sees you who have knowledge sitting in an idol's temple, won't his conscience, if he is weak, be emboldened to eat things sacrificed to idols?
NOTE: Are we consuming substances (food stuffs) that have been sacrificed (devitalized for increased profit) to an idol or god (for money) and our body being defiled (nutritionally deprived) and those of us who have knowledge, are we being a stumbling block by continuing to consume the food stuffs?
Consider two men who were deathly ill - Asa and Hezekiah.
Asa placed his faith in man and Hezekiah placed his faith in God:
Asa (Asa went to the physicians and not God and he died)
2 Chronicles 16:12-13
12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet; his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he didn't seek Yahweh, but to the physicians.
13 Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign.
Hezekiah (Hezekiah went to God and 15 years was added to his life, by utilizing a fig poultice provided through nature by God, and the knowledge given to the profit, Isaiah)
2 Kings 20:1-7
1 In those days was Hezekiah sick to death. Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, "Thus says Yahweh,' Set your house in order; for you shall die, and not live.'"
2 Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed to Yahweh, saying,
3 "Remember now, Yahweh, I beg you, how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in your sight." Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 It happened, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle part of the city, that the word of Yahweh came to him, saying,
5 "Turn back, and tell Hezekiah the prince of my people,' Thus says Yahweh, the God of David your father, "I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day, you shall go up to the house of Yahweh.
6 I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my own sake, and for my servant David's sake.'"
7 Isaiah said, "Take a cake of figs." They took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
NOTE: Could this be an example of God wanting us to place our faith in Him?
1 Timothy 4:3-5
3 foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving;
5 for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
NOTE: Did God inform us that He has created foods for us and is part of the truth being that God’s foods are better than those that man has created?
Genesis 1:11-12,29-30
11 God said, "Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with its seed in it, on the earth;" and it was so. (Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)
12 The earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with its seed in it, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. (Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)
29 God said, "Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food. (WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)
30 To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;" and it was so. (WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)
Genesis 3:18
18 Thorns also and thistles will it bring forth to you; and you will eat the herb of the field. (WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)
Genesis 9:3
3 Every moving thing that lives will be food for you. As the green herb, I have given everything to you. (WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)
Psalms 104:14 He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man:
NOTE: Has God provided for our nutritional needs as well as for our wellness?
John 9:1-11
1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? {3} Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. {4} I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, {when no man can work. {5} As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. {6} When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, {7} And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing. {8} The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? {9} Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he. {10} Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? {11} He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight.
NOTE: Jesus preformed miracles without the assistance of anything, could this be an example demonstrating that God provided the tools to address and correct health issues?
Daniel 1:5-21
5 The king appointed for them a daily portion of the king's dainties (deceitful/deceiving appealing foods), and of the wine which he drank, and that they should be nourished three years; that at its end they should stand before the king.
6 Now among these were, of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
7 The prince of the eunuchs gave names to them: to Daniel he gave the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of
8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's dainties, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
9 Now God made Daniel to find kindness and compassion in the sight of the prince of the eunuchs.
10 The prince of the eunuchs said to Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse looking than the youths who are of your own age? so would you endanger my head with the king.
11 Then said Daniel to the steward whom the prince of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:
12 Prove your servants, I beg you, ten days; and let them give us pulse (Crops such as peas and beans) to eat, and water to drink.
13 Then let our faces be looked on before you, and the face of the youths who eat of the king's dainties; and as you see, deal with your servants.
14 So he listened to them in this matter, and proved them ten days.
15 At the end of ten days their faces appeared fairer, and they were fatter in flesh, than all the youths who ate of the king's dainties.
16 So the steward took away their dainties, and the wine that they should drink, and gave them pulse.
17 Now as for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
18 At the end of the days which the king had appointed for bringing them in, the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.
19 The king talked with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king.
20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding, concerning which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters who were in all his realm.
21 Daniel continued even to the first year of king Cyrus.
NOTE: Is there a difference in man’s (the king’s) food and that which God provides?
Revelation 22:1-2
1 He showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb,
2 in the middle of its street. On this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruits, yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
NOTE: Could the leaves be for healing of the body?
2 Peter 1:3
According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
(Because by his power he has given us everything necessary for life and righteousness, through the knowledge of him who has been our guide by his glory and virtue;) BBE Bible in basic english
NOTE: Could this also mean that God has given us everything necessary for health?
Genesis 6:3
3 ... his days will be a hundred and twenty years."
NOTE: Could this mean that God intends for us to live longer than we currently do?
Jeremiah 23: 1,2,36
1 "Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!" says the Lord. 2 Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: 36 …for you have perverted the words of the living God,
NOTE: Could this also pertain to perverted the foods of the living God that are feed to and destroying His people’s health?
Exodus 34:7
He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations."
NOTE: Could the sins or iniquity resulting in repercussions visited generations also pertain to genetic illness (falling short nutritionally due to man perverting God’s foods and thus causing illness with genetic ties going on for generations)?
Psalms 104:10-30
10 He sends the springs into the valleys; They flow among the hills.
11 They give drink to every beast of the field; The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 By them the birds of the heavens have their home; They sing among the branches.
13 He waters the hills from His upper chambers; The earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works.
14 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the service of man, That he may bring forth food from the earth,
15 And wine that makes glad the heart of man, Oil to make his face shine, And bread which strengthens man's heart.
16 The trees of the LORD are full of sap, The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
17 Where the birds make their nests; The stork has her home in the fir trees,
18 The high hills are for the wild goats; The cliffs are a refuge for the rock badgers.
19 He appointed the moon for seasons; The sun knows its going down.
20 You make darkness, and it is night, In which all the beasts of the forest creep about.
21 The young lions roar after their prey, And seek their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they gather together And lie down in their dens.
23 Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening.
24 O LORD, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions
25 This great and wide sea, In which are innumerable teeming things, Living things both small and great.
26 There the ships sail about; There is that Leviathan Which You have made to play there.
27 These all wait for You, That You may give them their food in due season.
28 What You give them they gather in; You open Your hand, they are filled with good.
29 You hide Your face, they are troubled; You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
30 You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth.
NOTE: Could this also refer to God having provided everything we need and that man was not supposed to alter or change things without suffering loss or repercussions?
Now that knowledge of the above has been provided, the final question is also a decision, one that will change your whole life, it is: Do I put my faith and trust in God or man for my health & wellness & utilize what God intended & provided, or what man has altered and defiled (for profit)? It's your Life, your Health and your Decision!
May you be blessed with the wealth of health and happiness.
- Healthfully yours, Dr. J. Michael Ernest
Disclaimer: "If you are experiencing any health problems, it is your responsibility to seek the advise of a licensed health care practitioner. The statements contained herein have not been evaluated nor endorsed by the FDA."