The Promise of the Thorns0

I am so glad that spring is upon us! It is the time of year that the weather is perfect for two of
my favorite hobbies, hiking and nature photography. We travel throughout the state of
Oklahoma visiting the different state and local parks, and it is our goal to hike all the state
parks, and we are closing in on that goal. Regardless of what side of the state we are hiking,
there is one element that seems to be common, and that is no matter the trail, we come across
thorns.
Thorns come in all shapes and sizes. Some are vines with small barbs that catch your pant leg
and will try to ensnare you as you walk by. Others are needles on a cactus, usually on the side
of the path, beautiful with their blossoms, painful with their sting. Sometimes, we will pass
trees with large, spear like thorns, protruding out the sides of the trunk, and others will be the
sneaky sandburs and goat’s head stickers. If you have ever met with one of the latter, they will
indeed make you want to curse. And it is because of a curse, that all of these even exist.
In the book of Genesis, after Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of
Good and Evil, the curse of man began. This curse however was not placed just upon mankind,
but it extended to the earth itself. Chapter 3 verse17-19 reads, 17 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. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat field plants. 19
You will eat bread by the sweat of your forehead till you return to the ground – for you were
taken out of it: you are dust, and you will return to dust.”
When we with western eyes study the Bible, we must remember that this is a book that is laid
out in a land and a culture that is extremely different than our own. There are concepts and
ideals that are alien to us and that make no sense if we try to read it from our cultural
perspective. Language and culture go hand in hand, this is why I have changed the way that I
study and am looking at the verses down to the individual words from the Hebrew perspective.
When they describe things, they are described according to their function, not what they look
like. This is part of the reason we have a hard time with understand what the scriptures actually
mean. I encourage you to do some research on the culture and language of the Hebrew people.
It will change the way you read your Bible. In taking a course on how to do Hebrew word
studies, I learned something about thorns in regard to the ancient Hebrews that I had never
heard taught before.
Being a desert land, Hebrew shepherds would gather thorns and make a corral out of them to
pen their sheep at night. They took an item birthed out of a curse and turned it into a promise
of security for their flocks. This spiky pen would keep them safe from predators, it kept the
sheep together and from wandering off. What would bring damage to one from the outside
trying to get in so that they could devour the sheep, promised safety for the sheep themselves.
When I heard this, I instantly thought of the scripture from Genesis 50:20 when Jacob revealed
himself to his brothers and said, “You meant to do me harm, but God meant it for good.” What
Satan meant to destroy when he tricked Eve into eating the fruit, resulting in the curse, God
from the very beginning already had a plan in motion to turn it for good.

God did not create the world and everything in it only to be caught off guard with the original
sin. He knew before He ever spoke the Word of creation that Adam and Eve were going to mess
it up. I can’t help but think He sat down with Jesus and the Holy Spirit and said, “This is what I
want to do. I want to create a world, a beautiful world with people that we can commune with
and have a relationship with. There’s just one problem. They’re going to mess it up, and Jesus,
the only way that it will be able to be fixed is through You. You’re going to have to endure
becoming flesh as they are flesh and undo every single thing that they are going to mess up
with this one action. You are going to suffer, You are going to have to endure pain on a level no
human could imagine, because it won’t just be physical pain, You are going to have to become
the very curse they bring into existence, sin. You are going to have to die, but in doing so, will
set them free from the curse and we will be able to have a relationship with them that will last
forever. You will be the greatest superhero ever known. Will you do it?” And then Jesus, looked
at His Father and simply said, “Yes.”

The story of redemption is greater than we even realize. For God so loved the world, that He
gave His only begotten Son, that whosever believeth in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life. John 3:16 What does this scripture speak to you? It says that God loved us so
much that He sent Jesus to die for us so that we could have eternal life, correct? Yes, but it says
even more. It says For God so loved the WORLD. He loves ALL of His creation, not just the
human part of it. So when Jesus came to reverse the curse of sin and death, it was literally for
the entire world. The Messiah redeemed us from the curse pronounced in the Torah by
becoming cursed on our behalf; for the Tanakh says, “Everyone who hangs from a stake (tree)
comes under a curse.” Galatians 3:13 What did the curse originate with? A tree, and it was by
being nailed to a tree that He took that part of the curse, becoming it, and undoing it.

This brings us back to the thorns. Have you ever wondered why a crown of thorns was woven
and placed on the head of Jesus? Who created it? You know that it was no easy feat to
construct such a crown. The hands that made it had to be pierced and cut. Their blood was no
doubt on that cursed crown. What they meant for in their mocking held a much deeper
purpose. The one who wears a crown is the one who reigns. When they in their insulting tones
said, “Here is the King of the Jews”, what they did not know was happening was this. He
became king and ruler over the curse of the earth, just as he became king and ruler over sin and
death. The promise in that crown of thorns undid the curse upon the earth. He became it and
overcame it. What He did on that tree was a reversal of everything that happened as a result of
the fall. Every detail was a reversal of the curse. He returns things to their original state! Isaiah
61:1-3 says: 1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to
preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the
acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3
To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for
mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of
righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

The thorns in your life, the things that cut and pierce you to the quick, He is king over them. He
has authority over them, He has said: Come unto me, all of you who are struggling and
burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am
gentle and humble in heart and you WILL find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, my
burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 Until He returns, we will struggle with thorns, both the
natural and the figurative, but we must never forget that IT IS FINISHED. He stepped out of
glory, became flesh and blood to redeem not just people, but all of creation. Soon and very
soon, He is coming back and those who know Him, who have accepted Him, who call Him Lord
and Savior, we be taken up with Him. Don’t be left behind. Don’t be left out! This is Passover, it
is the weekend that we celebrate the salvation of our Risen Lord! Do not look at what we call
Easter as just another day. It is the greatest day in the history of the world! It is the day that an
empty tomb stood as testimony of a conversation that took place before the dawn of time and
was now made complete. It is finished.