Good point DesiredHaven!
Looking at other passages that mention, "thorns,"
Numbers 33:55 But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be
pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.
Ezekiel 28:24 And there shall be no more a
pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
Micah 7:3 That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.
Micah 7:4 T
he best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.
There are several verses that mention, "thorns." Thank you for pointing that out.
Spending some time tonight reading through the different passages.
I cannot say for sure, in the sense that we ourselves can bring forth thorns (not being fruitful) in that sense, then we have the picture of people (likewise) being the same ( even as you show it) . Then what we see as
given to Paul (a thorn in)
the flesh (as if
unrelated to either or) but is still referred to as
a messenger of Satan right? So even if we might say, wait a second Paul also spake of an inifimity (in his flesh) of some kind (but is somewhat unclear) we have that also which was by Satan in the woman who had
a spirit of inifirmity (in her flesh) which could also be understood to be
a messenger of Satan in that regard as something sent and by Him (but which is also inclusive of
an infirmity of the flesh) of some kind. In her case Jesus says its a spirit of inifirmity (although she is still a daughter of Abraham) before Jesus looses her from this thing (which thing was not removed from Paul) These seem to keep them unable to "lift themselves up" in either case (phyisically or spiritually so). But then we have what Paul calls the "
temptation in his flesh" see how that is worded? But things of all three it seems as if they can be of one thing looking at all the examples given us. First called ,
a messenger of Satan (so it is sent) of Satan (so permitted, as it was in Jobs case). Second, we have
an infirmity (which Paul says he had) then look at
the spirit of inifirmity and that brings in the messenger of this thing (something sent, into the flesh) by another. Just as Satan was allowed
to touch Jobs flesh (with his expressed intention to tempt Job) thus a temptation in Jobs flesh (in that way, as I am seeing it). Whether he touches flesh and bone or flesh or bone. Like the woman bent over, with a bad back, being unable to lift herself up (for 18 years). Her bone would seem more like that which was touched (and herself bound by Satan there) by a spirit of infirmity (in just that thing).
But back to Job the temptation (as sent into Jobs flesh) comes by the mouth of Satan (towards you) God-ward that if Job's flesh (and/or bone) were touched that he would what by it? Curse God to his face (the temptation in his flesh then). The more I look at it the more I received and it seems to be speaking of these in combination. See how all three pictures combine together to show a bigger thing (together)?
I just caught the fact the his wife (who is Jobs flesh and bone also) was whispering the same thing in his ear Satan desired of Him when she said, hold fast to thine integrity? Curse God and die! And so I have been puring through various verses where you can somewhat see how his own wife was taken captive at his will (in this situation) which is the snare of the devil in this. He seems to go after the wives in these things to snag the men huh?
Anyway, I had thought of those verse on one level many years ago, but I wasnt getting it to mesh together and the other places where really unifying for me and now I sort of see these coming together much differently, and you always know your on the right path as everything begins to interlock and fold in together and contradictions fade and bigger pictures emmerge (and all of that). Now I am really bad at articuling things into my own words (and sort of hate to do that) I feel the scriptures are more precise, and I have these in just scripts alone, but they are a tad hard to follow if you dont see them as putting them together as one thing.
But thats where I am at with this, but we all have to be persuaded for ourselves, and we labor to be that I think, and thats where I was headed (in a nutshell).
God bless you
