Want and Wasting Diseases
| In the desert they gave
in to their craving; in the wasteland they put God to the test. So he gave
them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease upon them. Ps. 106:14,
15, NIV. |
After more than
400 years as slaves in Egypt the Jews finally experienced God’s deliverance.
He led and sheltered them by a cloud during the day and guarded them with
a pillar of fire at night. God gave them manna—the very best food for their
journey to Canaan. Yet God’s people weren’t satisfied—they craved flesh
food!
God answered their grumbling
by sending a massive flock of quail. All that day and night and all the
next day the people went out and gathered quail. No one collected less
than 60 bushels. Self-satisfied, they sat down to eat their gluttonous
feast. What was the result? Their ravenous eating caused a “wasting disease,”
and they ended up burying those who had craved meat (Num. 11).
Today God has once again
given us the very best for our journey to the heavenly Canaan, yet many
are craving a meat diet rather than being satisfied with God’s original
diet of fruits, nuts, grains, and vegetables.
Will we suffer from “wasting
diseases” like the Israelites? Reputable scientific researchers have linked
cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes—today’s four leading “wasting
diseases”—with the high-fat, high-protein intake associated with a flesh-based
diet.
“When God led the children
of Israel out of Egypt, it was His purpose to establish them in the land
of Canaan a pure, happy, healthy people” (Counsels on Diet and Foods,
pp. 377, 378). He did this by removing flesh from their diet and giving
them manna. “Had they been willing to deny appetite in obedience to His
restrictions, feebleness and disease would have been unknown among them.
Their descendants would have possessed physical and mental strength. They
would have had clear perceptions of truth and duty, keen discrimination,
and sound judgment. But they were unwilling to submit to God’s requirements,
and they failed to reach the standard He had set for them, and to receive
the blessings that might have been theirs. They murmured at God’s restrictions,
and lusted after the fleshpots of Egypt” (ibid., p. 378).
| Are you praising God for His modern
manna—a flesh-free, cholesterol-free diet? Or are you grumbling after the
fleshpots of Egypt? What could be the consequences of your choice? |
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