GOD’S WORD FOR FEBRUARY 6 ~ ~Genesis 1:30 ~ ~ “ I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so .”
Many of us have peonies in our yards. This flower is actually an herb. In fact, the ancient Greeks called it the “Queen of Herbs”
The peonies with which most of us are familiar are highly developed hybrids. They come in many beautiful colors. Greece, as well as much of the rest of the world’s temperate zone, offers many species of wild peony.
It gets its name from the Greek god, Paeon. In the legendary story, Paeon was a follower of the unnamed Greek god of medicine.
According to the myth, Paeon used the healing properties of this herb to heal Pluto, (who was worshiped as lord of the subterranean underworld) after he was injured in the Trojan War.
As the legend goes on, this made the Greek god of medicine jealous, and he wanted to kill Paeon. To save Paeon’s life, says the legend, Pluto changed Paeon into a peony plant.
According to medicinal encyclopedias dating back as far as the first century A.D., the peony was thought to offer a cure for lunacy and epilepsy. Peony roots were said to offer medication for kidney and bladder problems, and abdominal pains. The seeds were said to be effective against nightmares and hysteria.
Of course, none of these claims have been verified, nor even an attempt at it began, although some countryside people use the roots for various medicinal applications.
This herb, as with others, will probably never be proven one way or another. Big pharma isn’t interested in proving it because there’s very little profit for them in natural plant medicines, and otherwise, these herbs and their possible potential are only spread through word of mouth and administration by trained herbalists.
It’s interesting to wonder when these things started, and how they did or didn’t change through the years. Did they begin with the God of the Universe telling Adam and Eve after the fall, that some of their pain living in their new lives in a sin-filled world, could be alleviated by the use of created plants?
This is very likely, since He created them with these properties, but since the greedier-version of humanity took control, much of the knowledge was lost, so we will never know for sure in this life.
In the meantime, like all of His wonderful creation around us, let’s enjoy the sight and smell of our peonies and other plants.
A happy heart is good medicine and a joyful mind causes healing, But a broken spirit dries up the bones.
We do know at least one tree that’s for healing during the millennium. We have God’s word on it:
Revelations 22:2 ~ ~ “On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”