I was recently, yet once again, challenged on why I focus “so much” on food. This time Scripture was thrown around. Misguided, misunderstood, taken out of context Scripture. The worst kind. If you’re going to take someone’s words then use them in the correct context.
But first, let me tell you a bit about the importance of not just food, but health. You see, it’s not just food that’s involved here, it’s health. It’s the health of our bodies, our minds, our spirits. It’s the health of our neighbours, their bodies, their minds, their souls. It’s about the health of our planet. Yes, yes that’s a real thing. Whether you believe in global warming or not we can all see how our planet earth is deteriorating in many ways. And it has a lot to do with our choices we make as humans. Every single one of us. If you live on planet earth, then your choices, your actions, they impact not just yourself, but those around you, your environment, and yes, even your relationship with our amazing, intelligent Creator. Ach! The amount of “rabbit trails” I could go on when it comes to health! It’s endless! WHY? Because it’s all interconnected. And it all matters.
“But this world is cursed! Who cares!” While this statement is quite possibly very true, that doesn’t negate the fact we need to do our best to make the wisest decisions we can. Every.Single.Day. With every single choice we need to be aware of the impacts. And no, I don’t mean we need to sit and mull-over every little detail of our lives, but we do need to be aware of our choices and the impacts they do indeed have, large and small.
So, the question still remains, why all the focus on “food”? In part, food saved my life. You see, once you begin to understand how interconnected we are, you begin to see and understand that yes, what we eat, what we consume, has either a positive or negative effect on our bodies, our minds and yes, even our spirits. I’ve written about this before, and I’m pretty open about it now, not too many years ago I had major postpartum depression. It was a pretty bad bout of it, and it lasted much longer than I would have wanted it to, and I’ll be the first to admit, it was not all because of food. BUT while I prayed and prayed and cried out for help, wondering what the heck was wrong with me and why I couldn’t get it all together, that prayer didn’t “fix” me; that prayer didn’t change everything that was going on. Did it help? You bet. Through all of that prayer was I given the wisdom in how to move forward? Absolutely. And do you want to know what helped me climb out of it? Yep. Better nutrition. I started off with doing a fresh apple juice cleanse for three days. I hadn’t felt that good, heck I couldn’t even remember the last time I felt that good. And then, I added exercise back into my life, and I began to feel even better, more like myself. After that, from more research, I experimented with taking grains out of my diet; so much of the brain fog disappeared. It was incredible. My mood improved, my mental state improved, my energy improved. And with all of my improvements, my little family began making improvements too. Our relationships changed. Things got better. Why? Because of the wiser health decisions; That I honestly believe were made from the wisdom given to me from my intelligent Creator. After this things didn’t become perfect, and there were most certainly still some challenges, and my kids were sick far more than they should have been for our lifestyle. Once we moved out of our last house, that moldy house, my children weren’t nearly as sick all the time. I can actually count on 1 hand the amount of times they’ve been sick this past year we’ve been living in our new place. It wasn’t their sin that caused them to be sick all the time, it was a moldy house. Again, health related.
And, the thing is, I’m not the only one who has had their life transformed by changing what I consume and what I do with my time. You can easily go and find stories of men and women who got sick and tired of being sick and tired and took the time to change their diet, and add exercise and self-care into their lives. And they transformed their lives. All with intelligently designed health knowledge from The Creator of everything.
Did you know, according to American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association Inc., 50 million Americans have an autoimmune disease? In Canada, some of the leading causes of death include cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease. If you actually choose to look into how to prevent these diseases, nutrition is pretty darn high on the list. According to the CDC, in 2014 up to 40% of the 900,000 deaths from each of the five leading causes of death that occurred in the United States were preventable. Upwards of 40%! So what does this mean? How are they preventable? Well the CDC explains it this way:
“Modifiable risk factors are largely responsible for each of the leading causes of death:
Heart disease risks include tobacco use, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, poor diet, overweight, and lack of physical activity.
Cancer risks include tobacco use, poor diet, lack of physical activity, overweight, sun exposure, certain hormones, alcohol, some viruses and bacteria, ionizing radiation, and certain chemicals and other substances.
Chronic respiratory disease risks include tobacco smoke, second-hand smoke exposure, other indoor air pollutants, outdoor air pollutants, allergens, and exposure to occupational agents.
Stroke risks include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, overweight, previous stroke, tobacco use, alcohol use, and lack of physical activity.
Unintentional injury risks include lack of seatbelt use, lack of motorcycle helmet use, unsafe consumer products, drug and alcohol use (including prescription drug misuse), exposure to occupational hazards, and unsafe home and community environments.”
Many of these risks are avoidable by making changes in personal behaviors
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/p0501-preventable-deaths.html
Did you catch that? A lot of our troubles are in our own hands. In an article on Medical News Today, it tells about the top 10 leading causes of death in the United States, and would you like to know what’s in the majority of the sections which talk about if the cause of death is preventable? Yep, eating a healthy diet. Not smoking, getting regular exercise and other lifestyle factors were also on the list to help with prevention. Now, while I most certainly do not agree with everything the article says, I’m amazed that even a site that gets a fair amount of their information from the FDA and the CDC can see that nutrition is a key factor in living a healthy life. You see, when we deviate from the Creators plan, it shows, we suffer. And I wonder, can we truly live out our purpose and love Him with all that we are when we’re sick and tired all time? When we’re continually struggling with dis-ease? I’m personally leaning on no…
So you may be wondering, OK, but really? How does Scripture and spirituality really fit into this? Well, to truly see this, we’ve got to start at the very beginning…all the way back in The Garden.
“And Elohim said, ‘Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” Genesis 1:29-30 English Standard Version (ESV)
I don’t know about you, but I don’t find anything in there about eating twinkies, wagon-wheels or cheeze-whiz in there. Nothing processed actually. And, I have to wonder, if food wasn’t all that important, and wasn’t something we should think about at all, then why is it mentioned, in the very beginning of The Word? Hm. We find in Genesis 2 it tells us about how YHWH planted a garden and caused trees that were both pleasing to the eye and good for food to grow. Among these trees was also the tree of knowledge of good and evil; a mixed-seed tree, which they were specifically told not to eat from. Interesting, isn’t it?
Not too much after this we find the “original sin” was about disobeying YHWH about eating from a certain tree; the tree YHWH specifically told Adam and Eve not to eat from. Now I’m not going to tell you I know what the fruit was exactly {although I know what we’re conditioned to think it is…} but I still find it very, very interesting to think that the first sin was about eating something we were told not to eat. And then some of the consequences were food related:
To Adam He said, “Because you listened to what your wife said and ate from the tree about which I gave you the order, ‘You are not to eat from it,’ the ground is cursed on your account; you will work hard to eat from it as long as you live. It will produces thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat field plants. Genesis 3:17-18 CJB
Again, I don’t read “you can eat anything made in a plant,” I read, you may eat plants, that you grew and harvested; and the growing and harvesting was going to be done laboriously because of the sin. Yes, we have to work for our food, not grow fake food-like substances in a laboratory. And, clearly, there are consequences to not following YHWH’s instructions.
So are there more biblical references to health and food? Yep. We’re actually told specifically about which type creatures we can eat and which we cannot in both Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14.
Leviticus 11:1-8 “Yahweh said to Moshe (that is Moses) and Aharon (that is Aaron), ‘Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘These are the living creatures which you may eat among all the land animals: any that has a separate hoof which is completely divided and chews the cud – these animals you may eat. But you are not to eat those that only chew the cud or only have a separate hoof. For example, the camel, the coney (a rock rabbit) and the hare are unclean for you, because they chew the cud but don’t have a separate hoof; while the pig is unclean for you, because, although it has a separate and completely divided hoof, it doesn’t chew the cud. You are not to eat meat from these or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.” {Continue reading the rest for all of the dietary laws}
Leviticus 11:46-47 “Such, then, is the law concerning animals, flying creatures, all living creatures that move about in the water, and all creatures that swarm on the ground. Its purpose is to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and between the creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.”
Deuteronomy 14:3 tells us specifically: “You are not to eat anything disgusting.” That is to say, you are not to eat anything unclean, and what was unclean was described in Leviticus 11 and verses 4-21 of Deuteronomy 14. Yahweh has provided us with dietary and health guidelines/laws/commandments…using intelligent design.
Interestingly, Rabbi Hayim H. Donin has this to say about the more important reason for kosher law:
The terms used in Hebrew to designate the clean and unclean animals are tahor and tamai. These are terms that are never used to describe physical cleanliness or uncleanliness, but rather a spiritual or moral state of being. The term tamai is used only in relation to moral and religious deficiencies that contaminate the soul and character of man, particularly incest and idol worship, and to characterize the absence of ritual purity. It is often also translated as defilement. The creatures designated as tamai were not only forbidden as food, but also for sacrificial purposes. The English words clean and unclean are therefore to be understood as purity and defilement in a spiritual-ritual sense. (To Be a Jew 99)
Yahweh connecting the physical and spiritual together. They truly are inseparable.
But what about Yahshua (Jesus) & Peter & Paul?!
When it comes to “Old Testament” ways, the vast majority who say they follow Jesus believe that the law was abolished once Christ died on the cross. On this particular note, I’ll say one thing, and then I’ll address the usual bible verses thrown around when it comes to food. First, it is very important to remember who Yahshua was: a Torah-observant Jew from the tribe of Judah. In Matthew 5, Yahshua (Christ’s real Hebrew name; He was Jewish and therefore He had a Hebrew name) gave what is known as the sermon on the mount, and according to Messianic Jewish scholar Arnold Fruchtenbaum:
In its context-in the Jewish frame of reference in which it was spoken-the Sermon on the Mount is the Messiah’s interpretation of the standard of righteousness which the Torah demanded, put in contrast with some of the Pharisaic interpretations. A better title for this “sermon” would be “The Messiah’s Interpretation of the Righteousness of the Torah.” Simplistically stated, the difference is between mere external conformity in contrast to internal conformity that naturally lends itself to external conformity to Torah.
Christ was giving deeper understanding to the Law which was given to Moses. Many like to say that Yahshua abolished the Law, which would include the dietary laws, once He died claiming that He fulfilled it, thus we no longer need to follow it. And many go from this verse: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Matthew 5:17 ESV. They are saying that the word “fulfill” means “do away with.” You don’t have to do them because I did them all. Well…that’s not actually the case. Here’s how the CJB has it, continuing on through verse 20 because those verses contain some pretty important information:
Don’t think that I have come to abolish the Torah (The Five Books of Moses) or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud (Yodh, jot – the 10th and smallest letter in the hebrew alphabet) or a stroke will pass from the Torah – not until everything that must happen has happened. So whoever disobeys the least of these mitzvot (commands) and teaches others to do so will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys them and so teaches will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness is far greater than that of the Torah-teachers and P’rushim (Pharisees), you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven!” Extra parentheses added.
OK, so I know there is A LOT in those verses, and I’m not going to go into great detail them right now, but I want to point out a couple of things. What He’s saying is that He came to “to make full” (from the Greek pleroo), that is to carry out the meaning of what the Torah says; He came to complete our understanding of it. So if He didn’t do away with the Laws given to Moses by Yahweh, then this would include the dietary laws.
OK, but what about Mark 7? Yahshua Himself even said “…’whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?’ (Thus he declared all foods clean.) Mark 7:18b-19 ESV. Sure, that’s partially correct; but the phrase “thus he declared all foods clean” wasn’t actually in the original, it was added in. And, if you read the entire chapter it’s easy to see what was actually going on. Yahshua was talking to Jews, Jews who followed the Law given to Moses, so clean or unclean foods wasn’t even the topic of conversation here. The issue had nothing to do with food itself, it had everything to do with the Pharisees {an exclusively religious sect of Jews} choosing their own rabbinical traditions over Yahweh’s commandments. In verse 5 they ask Him why His disciples don’t walk in accordance with the Tradition of the Elders and instead eat with ritually unclean hands; the Pharisees were upset that Yahshua’s disciples didn’t perform what was known as n’tilat-yadayim, ritual hand washing. This hand washing ritual had nothing to do with hygiene though, it was about what if they had touch some ceremonially unclean in the marketplace, then they wanted to wash away the impurity. Remember back in Leviticus 11 when Yahweh gave the rules for clean and unclean foods, and if you touched an unclean animal you too became unlcean? Well they wanted to make sure they weren’t unclean by accident, but they took it to a human level and made man-made rituals about it. Again, the issue wasn’t about scripturally unclean food, it was about dirty, unwashed hands, and choosing to put human tradition above God’s commandments. If we choose to read the entire chapter, and not focus on the one sentence that was added in we get what was actually going on here.
Ya, but Peter had that dream!
This is a popular one…that is always taken out of context because most stop reading after they read “What God has made clean, do not call common. Acts 10:15b ESV” So what’s going on here? Peter was a Law-abiding, Yahshua-following Jew. He had fallen into a trance and had a vision in which he saw a large sheet come down filled with a variety of creatures in it, and Peter heard to get up, slaughter the animals and eat them. Peter refuses to do it saying he’s never eaten any food that was unclean. He then hears the Voice tell him not to make unclean what He’s called clean; this happens three times. So usually, this is the spot everyone stops on; they forget what they read above and blankly read through the rest of the chapter. BUT if we read the beginning of Chapter 10 we find a man named Cornelius, who was Roman, a Gentile, but who feared Elohim, also had a vision in which he was told to send some of his men to go find Peter and bring him back. Now, Cornelius was a guy who Peter wouldn’t have associated with because he wasn’t a Jew, he was a Gentile. So Cornelius’s men go to Peter’s house and “While Kefa’s (Peter’s Hebrew name) mind was still on the vision, the Spirit said, ‘Three men are looking for you. Get up, go downstairs, and have no misgivings about going with them, because I myself have sent them.” Acts 10:19-20 CJB So Peter invites the men in, and the next day he goes with them to see Cornelius.
As he talked with him, Kefa (Peter) went inside and found many people gathered. He said to them, “You are well aware that for a man who is a Jew to have close association with someone who belongs to another people, or to come and visit him, is something that just isn’t done. But God has shown me not to call any person common or unclean; so when I was summoned, I came without raising any questions. Tell me, then, why did you send for me?” Cornelius answered, “Three days ago around this time, I was at minchah prayers in my house, when suddenly a man in shining clothes stood in front of me and said, ‘God has heard your prayer and remembered your acts of charity. Now send to Yafo and ask for Shim‘on, known as Kefa; he is staying in the house of Shim‘on, a leather-tanner, by the sea.’ So I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. Now all of us are here in the presence of Elohim (God) to hear everything Elohim (the Lord) has ordered you to say.” Then Kefa addressed them: “I now understand that God does not play favorites, but that whoever fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him, no matter what people he belongs to. Acts 10:27-35 CJB Bold text and parentheses added.
Peter then goes on to share the full gospel with them. This vision had nothing to do with clean or unclean foods, and no laws were changed because of this vision. Peter didn’t start eating all the pig and crab he wanted; no he understood that Yahweh was telling him that He wasn’t just for the Jews, like many believed, but rather He was for all and no man should be seen as unclean, and discrimination between Jew and Gentile wasn’t allowed. Peter then needs to explain his actions for “hanging out” with the Gentiles and therefore he goes on to once again explain his dream in chapter 11. So, not about food, but about men.
OK, fine, but Paul Said...
Oh Paul. Did you know that Peter himself says that Paul is hard to understand sometimes? Check it out:
And think of our Master’s patience as deliverance, just as our dear brother Sha’ul (that is Paul) also wrote to you, following the wisdom Elohim gave him. Indeed, he speaks about these things in all his letters. They contain some things that are hard to understand, things which the uninstructed and unstable distort, to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. 2 Peter 3:15-16 CJB parentheses and bold type added.
This is precisely the very thing that happens today. Too often Paul is misquoted, misunderstood and taken out of context. Now, I can see how long this post has become {and if you’re still reading…good for you and thank you!}, and I haven’t even touched on several points I was originally going to {I’ll save it for another post}, so I’m not going to address everything about Paul. I will however address the verse that was given {actually, it was sent to my husband this time; I was bypassed but still questioned}. The verse is found in Romans 14:17, the ESV reads: “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” See! Right there! Don’t focus so much on food! It’s not of the Kingdom! Let it go, who cares, remember what goes into the body doesn’t defile us!
Oh vey! That’s not what is says at all. To understand what Paul is talking about, you need to understand who Paul was, who he was talking to and what he was talking about. We cannot just throw around Scripture verses without understanding the context. If you say you’re “studying the bible” then study it, and not just cherry-pick verses to suit your argument. In Chapter 14 Paul is addressing an issue about meat sacrificed to idols; he wasn’t talking about kosher or non-kosher foods; he was addressing ritual uncleanliness. Paul is also addressing fasting and vegetarianism. Verse six tells us: “He who observes a day as special does so to honour Yahweh. Also he who eats anything, eats to honour Yahweh, since he gives thanks to Elohim; likewise the abstainer abstains to honour Yahweh, and he too gives thanks to Elohim.” CJB To fully understand this we need to be aware of the setting of the day: Paul isn’t talking about how we can now just eat whatever we want; he was in no way saying the dietary laws are now abolished. Back then, there was a practice among the Jews of choosing different days to fast; some chose Monday’s while others Thursdays. So Paul isn’t saying “hey, you can chuck out the Law of Moses and just do whatever you want,” he’s saying those man-made traditions aren’t as important; you can choose Monday or Thursday, it’s not in the Law of Moses. He’s saying the important thing to do is to seek righteousness, peace and joy, and not to argue about eating or not eating foods that are scriptually acceptable. We honour Yahweh when we pursue righteousness, and what is righteousness? Deuteronomy 6:25 tells us exactly what righteousness is: “It will be righteousness for us if we are careful to obey all these mitzvot (commands) before Yahweh our Elohim, just as He ordered us to do.” (Boldness added.) And Psalm 119:172 says: “Let my tongue sing of your promise, because all of your mitzvot (commands) are righteous.” Therefore, righteousness is following Yahweh’s commands, and His commands include dietary laws.
So perhaps I still haven’t made a clear enough argument about why the focus on food. Perhaps you’re still wondering why all this focus on food? Well, because I can see the importance of it from a Scriptural standpoint, and I can see how it’s impacted my life, and I can see how damaging it is when we choose not follow our Creators dietary laws; eating scavenger/cleaner-upper animals, processed, genetically engineered chemical laden, hormone filled {faux} foods was never His plan. And I can see the blessings when we do take care of ourselves and respect our Creator and choose His way over ours. And that is when we become more of who He created us to be.
YHWH is the one who created us, and He intricately designed human anatomy and physiology, therefore He knows what works best in our bodies and what doesn’t; He knows what will make it operate the absolute best what will damage it. He is the one who created and designed the foods which will make us the healthiest and feel the best. Genesis 1:29 & Leviticus 11 are our guidelines for optimal health.
If we are feeling our best, then we can do the best work for Him that He calls us to do. What we eat is directly linked to how we feel and how we “show up” in life: garbage in, garbage out. Good in, good out. Food sensitivities and allergies affect not only our guts, but also our moods, our brain function. What we eat affects our: weight, our skin, our organ health, our hair, our brains, cognitive health, heart health, moods, long-term effects for future health-related conditions {cancer, diseases, etc.} It’s all interconnected. What we eat not only affects our own bodies, it also affects the world around us: the animals are treated poorly {conditions that are far from Yahweh’s original design for them}, the environment and workers: the chemicals used today are incredibly toxic: hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, herbicides. Many are known carcinogens. Again, it’s all interconnected. And if I say I care about my fellow man, then you’re darn right I’m going to support business owners who do not directly put their employees in harms way, to the best I can.
We are designed to eat foods in the original design Yahweh created them, whole and fresh, not altered by genetic engineering, hormones, chemicals, antibiotics, etc. {And no, I’m saying we all need to be raw vegans.} Think about it: how many are sick? Diseased? Cancer-ridden? Have mental disorders? Hormone issues? Cognitive issues? Obesity? The list of issues and health concerns is endless, and new diseases are “created” all the time. WHY? If food doesn’t matter so much, if what we consume doesn’t matter, then why do we have so much disease and sickness, that’s growing? The more chemicals that get sprayed on the food, the more diseases we have show up. I’d like an explanation for all of this, and I’m sorry but the answer “this earth is cursed” just doesn’t cut it in my books. We are meant to do the absolute best we can with what we have been given, and that includes how we take care of our self, those around us and our food supply.
I know that when I choose not to take care of myself, I notice, and others notice. And I personally believe no amount of praying is going to change things. Why? Because I’m deliberately choosing to neglect self-care. If I’m choosing not to eat the way my body responds best, if I’m choosing not to take the correct supplements & vitamins I know help me to function optimally, if I’m choosing not to eat the way our Creator intelligently designed us to eat, WHY would He choose to make me better? He’s not a puppet master. He’s not Santa Clause. He’s not some genie in the sky. He intelligently designed us and the food He provided for us to eat. And when we come into alignment with Him, and with His intelligently designed diet, we truly become more of who He created us to be. We are free to do the work He’s calling us to do, because we’re happier, healthier, full of His joy; becoming more like Yahshua, which is *what should be* the goal of every follower of Yahshua Messiah {Jesus Christ}. When we become more like Yahshua, that means we become like Him in every manner, which allows us to do whatever it is He’s calling us to do, without some man-invented disease trying to hold us back. Now I’m not saying our lives will be perfect once we come into alignment with our Creators original dietary plan, but I am saying things will be better in a lot of aspects of our lives.
You see, taking care of our bodies according to the way of Yahweh is a form of worship. Back in Genesis 1:27 it tells us: “So Elohim created man in His own image, in the image of Elohim He created them; male and female He created them.” Therefore it’s out of respect, love and honour that I take care of my body, for it is a gift from my Heavenly Father. And I am made in His image; what an incredible gift that is! Out of respect, love and honour for my Heavenly Father, the Creator of everything, I choose His eating plan. I choose His way of doing things. Because, at the end of the day, He knows best, so I choose Him and His ways. And I choose to believe {quite firmly} YHWH has always cared about what we eat, and He always will.
So why all the focus? Because it affects not just myself and my little family, but so, so many around me. And I feel called to help others become more of who they’re truly meant to be, so that they can do the what it is that Yahweh created them to do, and part of who they’re meant to be is following our Creator more diligently in the original way He intelligently designed and created things to be.
My hope & prayer is that we all begin to become more aware of how our Creator intelligently designed and created things to be, and therefore becoming more of who He truly created us to be, in body, mind and soul. And, like Paul tells us to do in 1 Corinthians 10:13: “Well, whatever you do, whether it’s eating or drinking or anything else, do it all so as to bring glory to God.” And I choose to do so to the best of my ability.
For this article I used information from my own studies, my own beliefs and from The Complete Jewish Study Bible (CJB), the English Standard Version bible translation and the Restoration Study Bible. Most of the biblical references were using the CJB unless otherwise noted.
Everything in this article is of the authors opinion. The information provided in this article is not intended to cure, diagnose or treat; it is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not meant to replace your relationship with your trusted healthcare practitioner. To see the full disclosure please go here: Disclaimer.
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