Hi Mike,

I’m learning a great deal from your insight. I was reading the book “Back to Eden” and read where the author made several references in scripture about herbs. Of course he was talking about the physical (Carnal) application of herbs and their benefit to the physical body. But what is the SPIRITUAL significance of herbs?

Thank you brother
D____

Hi D____,
I am delighted that you are learning from our site. Thank your for your question.
You ask:

… what is the SPIRITUAL significance of herbs?

I have not read the book you reference on this subject so I cannot comment on that, but I certainly can comment on this question, because I have read the Bible.
That is an easy question to answer because the Bible makes it abundantly clear that the spiritual significance of herbs is a lack of spiritual maturity. What we eat is what nourishes us, and scripturally speaking herbs, like milk, are always contrasted with “the meat of the word” or with “strong meat.”

Rom 14:1  Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
Rom 14:2  For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.

It is obvious that “another who is weak” is the same as “he that is weak in the faith.” In fact there was no meat even given to mankind or the beasts of the earth or the fowls of the air, until after the symbolic baptism of the flood of Noah.

Gen 1:30  And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
1Pe 3:21  The like figure [ the flood of Noah, vs 20] whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

The baptism to which Peter refers is the baptism of the spirit, and the baptism of the spirit is “the washing of water by the Word.”

Eph 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it [ His wife, His church] with the washing of water, by the word,
Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

So the spirit is the word of God. For some it is milk, for some it is herbs, and for others it is strong meat. We all receive God’s Word in each of those three forms as we are able to do so. A very good paper on this subject is Will God’s Strong Delusion Deceive You. What makes “strong delusion” so strong for many is the fact that they have tasted the milk and the herbs, but they have mistaken those forms of God’s Word for a T- bone steak. In other words, the six milk and herb doctrines of  Heb 5 and six are mistaken for “strong meat.”

Heb 5:12  For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Heb 5:13  For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
Heb 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, [ even] those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

The very next two verses contain the milk and herbs of those who are “weak in the faith,” and it is these six milk and herb doctrines which make up the totality of the doctrines of orthodox Christianity.

Heb 6:1  Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Heb 6:2  Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

“Leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ” does not mean ‘denying the principles of the doctrine of Christ.’ What it means is absorbing them, being nourished by them and going on to a more mature diet of meat and of strong meat. Paul never taught the doctrine of eternal torment, but he did teach the doctrine of “eternal [ aionian – an age] judgment, and yet he tells us that even this is only the milk and herbs of the word of God for babes in Christ and for those who are weak in the faith. That is each of us when we are both babes and are weak in the faith.
That is right , we are all, “each in his own order,” both babes, and we are weak in the faith. That is why Paul admonishes us:

Rom 12:3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

None of the apostles were converted until the day of Pentecost, as these verses demonstrate.

Luk 22:32  But I have prayed for thee [ Peter], that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
Luk 22:33  And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.
Luk 22:34  And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.

Peter is a type of each of us at our own appointed time. We all tend by nature to fail to “think soberly, according as God has dealt to each of us the measure of faith.” We all think we can walk on water, long before our faith is strong enough to sustain us. But Christ is merciful to us and bears our infirmities and our faithlessness. Christ admonished His own apostles for their faithlessness, but He went on to encourage their faith.

Mat 17:14  And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a [ certain] man, kneeling down to him, and saying,
Mat 17:15  Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
Mat 17:16  And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
Mat 17:17  Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

Christ is not chastening this poor desperate father, who had not witnessed the many miracles which His disciples had witnessed. Christ is calling His own disciples a “faithless and perverse generation.” Indeed we all are, and the sooner we acknowledge it the better off we will be.

Mat 17:18  And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
Mat 17:19  Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
Mat 17:20  And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

The disciples could not cast out the demon, “because of unbelief.” ‘Unbelief’ is “faithlessness.” We, like the disciples, are all faithless to begin with. Not one of the disciples of Christ believed that He had risen from the dead until they saw Him with their own eyes.

Luk 24:11  And their words seemed to them as idle tales [ the words of the women who had seen the risen Christ], and they [ the eleven] believed them not.

Thomas just happened to be the last to see Christ, so it is the apostle Thomas who has the distinction of being called ‘faithless.’ Yet Christ is patient with Thomas, as He is with us.

Joh 20:27  Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust [ it] into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

Earlier Christ had told his disciples that they had “no faith,” yet He continued to “bear the infirmities of the weak.”

Mar 4:40  And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

Only two chapters after being told that we ought not think that we are spiritual giants when in reality we are spiritual babies in dirty diapers:

Rom 12:3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

We are given this bit of spiritual ‘meat’ at the beginning of Rom 15.

Rom 15:1  We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, [ who eats herbs, Rom 14:2] and not to please ourselves.
Rom 15:2  Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.
Rom 15:3  For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.
Rom 15:4  For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
Rom 15:5  Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:
Rom 15:6  That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Rom 15:7  Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.

Whenever “we that are strong” do stand for the strong meat, when milk and herbs are being passed off for strong meat, then rest assured that ‘the reproaches of them that reproached Christ will fall on us,’ and the very babes whose weaknesses we are bearing will want to kill us.

Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

It is of utmost importance that we all be like minded and glorify God with one mind and with one mouth. In order to do that it is equally important that we both honor our elders in the Lord as we are admonished to do throughout the word of God, and the elders are to “bear the infirmities of the weak. Here is how that is done.

1Co 3:1  And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able [ to bear it], neither yet now are ye able.
1Co 3:3  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1Co 3:4  For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I [ am] of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

Are not all those who label themselves and anything other than Christian, “yet carnal?” Have we not all been there? Yes, we have and as such we need to “bear the infirmities of the weak,” and patiently deal with all the “babes in Christ” who are brought before us by the Lord.
After being baptized with “the washing of water by the word” we are expected to go on unto perfection and not “lay again” the ‘foundational doctrines of Christ.’ It is like going beyond the milk of the word, but it is not yet being able to receive what the scripture call “the strong meat” of God’s Word.

1Co 3:2  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

Clearly the “milk of the word” is for Christians who seldom realize that they are “yet carnal,” and completely incapable of receiving the “meat” of God’s Word.
How do the scriptures speak of those who are able to receive milk and are also able to receive herbs, but are still unable to eat spiritual “meat?” Notice how Christ addresses those who can eat herbs but cannot yet eat meat.

Joh 8:30  As he spake these words, many believed on him.
Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, I f ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 8:33  They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
 
Joh 8:37  I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
 
Joh 8:40  But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
 .
Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Joh 8:45  And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

No one who is able to receive the “strong meat” of God’s Word is offended by the weakness and faithlessness of others. Instead they always graciously absorb the reproaches of those that reproach Christ, demanding nothing of anyone.
The venom that pours forth out of the mouths and hearts of those who believe on Christ, yet are truly “of their father the devil,” speaks for itself, while ‘the strong will always graciously bear the infirmities of the weak and become offended by nothing.’

Psa 119:165  Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.

These verses in Joh 8 contrast those who are spiritual babes, eating spiritual milk and spiritual herbs, and are “weak in the faith,” with Christ Himself who lived on “strong meat” while patiently feeding every babe in Christ, with the milk and herbs he was capable of receiving.
So whether it is spiritual “milk of the word,” or spiritual “herbs,” anything less than “strong meat,” is for those Christians who cannot yet deal with, digest, or live by that “strong meat” of God’s Word.

Rom 14:1  Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, [ but] not to doubtful disputations.
Rom 14:2  For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
Rom 14:3  Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.

That is the spiritual significance of herbs in scripture. Don’t despise a babe in Christ, and on the other hand do not allow a babe in Christ to judge you for your ability to accept the things that cause us to “be hated of all men.” The “strong meat” will not make you acceptable in Babylon, whereas milk and herbs will. Strong meat cannot be received in Babylon, whereas the six milk and herbs doctrines can.
Your brother in Christ,
Mike