Wellness by Miracle Food

A time when God intervened most directly in the lives of the most people is the escape from Egypt as recorded in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. What is recorded there gives us a special glimpse into the choices we can make about wellness that are most directly in tune with God’s plan for our wellness. This brief note will offer a beginning point, but the main effort is up to you – after all, it is your own wellness that you are the one most concerned about and steward of.

The most familiar aspect of wellness of the children of Israel during the exodus is manna. The Passover is important, but it recurred only once a year, while manna was the daily staple for the forty years they were in the wilderness. We do not have a chemical analysis of manna, but from the description provided in Scripture, I believe that manna was the perfect food, sufficient for nutrition and wellness. Exodus 16:31 “… it was like coriander seed, white, and its taste was like wafers with honey.” Numbers 11:7-8 “Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. … and its taste was as the taste of cakes baked with oil.”

The Lord also provided quail for the people to eat, but that was in response to their grumbling about the manna. I firmly believe that manna was sufficient for everything except their greed. Numbers 11:4 “And the rabble who were among them had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, ‘Who will give us meat to eat?’” My belief is reinforced by the results of their eating the quail that God provided: Numbers 11:33 “While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very severe plague.” Sometimes God will allow us to have something that is not good for us, just because we ask. That does not mean that He desires us to have it. Rather, imitating Jesus, let us ask that His will be done in our lives.

Recent research supports those who, through the centuries, chose to avoid consuming animal products. T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D., spent decades analyzing the effect of diet on wellness and published his conclusions as The China Study. What he found, and it is affirmed by many physicians who have studied the effect of diet on wellness, is that the more animal products and processed food one consumes, the higher the probability of developing the common western diseases of aging (heart disease, cancer, diabetes, etc.). My understanding of Scripture is that we have liberty to eat anything we choose. But our freedom does not eliminate the consequences of consuming food that leads to illness.

I encourage you to be a wise steward of whatever degree of wellness you have.