picture of a
rose thorn by Fran Meservy
THORNS
By Frances M. McCrory-Meservy 1988
WHO ARE
THORNY PEOPLE?
Thorns represent worry of things of this
world. Jesus said not to even worry about where our food and
clothing would come from because he would provide it. Jesus wore
a crown of thorns so we could cast our worries on him. The thorns
represent our worries.
I have heard people pray for God to surround them with a hedge of
thorns. I asked them if they enjoyed worrying and if not, why
they wanted God to surround them with worry? A hedge of
protection is OK but thorns are not.
Luke 6:44-45 "For every tree is known by its
own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they
gather grapes from a bramble bush. "A good man out of the good
treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of
the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the
abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Prov 15:19 The way of the lazy man is like a hedge of thorns, But
the way of the upright is a highway.
Prov 22:5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; He
who guards his soul will be far from them.
Mat 13:7, 22 "And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang
up and choked them. "Now he who received seed among the thorns is
he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the
deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes
unfruitful.
Judg 9:8-15 "The trees once went forth to anoint a king over
them. And they said to the olive tree, 'Reign over us!' But the
olive tree said to them, 'Should I cease giving my oil, With
which they honor God and men, And go to sway over trees?' "Then
the trees said to the fig tree, 'You come and reign over us!' But
the fig tree said to them, 'Should I cease my sweetness and my
good fruit, And go to sway over trees?' "Then the trees said to
the vine, 'You come and reign over us!' But the vine said to
them, 'Should I cease my new wine, Which cheers both God and men,
And go to sway over trees?' "Then all the trees said to the
bramble, 'You come and reign over us!' And the bramble (a bramble
is a thorn bush) said to the trees, 'If in truth you anoint me as
king over you, Then come and take shelter in my shade; But if
not, let fire come out of the bramble And devour the cedars of
Lebanon!'
Num 33:55 'But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the
land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let
remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides,
and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell.
Thorny people are people who are lazy,
perverse, & rebellious. They seek after things of this world &
what money will buy, want to be leaders and harass people who are
around them. They do not bear the fruit of the Spirit [Love (do
what is best for the other person), joy (celebration that
constantly bubbles up inside us), peace (boldness: quite
confidence), patience (excitedly wait), kindness (forgiveness),
goodness (useful), faithfulness (doesn’t give up no matter what),
gentleness (does no harm), self-control (possession of one’s
self: control of one’s emotions).]
WHAT HAPPENS TO THORNY PEOPLE?
Isa 27:4-5 Fury is not in Me. Who would set
briers and thorns Against Me in battle? I would go through them,
I would burn them together. Or let him take hold of My strength,
That he may make peace with Me; And he shall make peace with Me."
Heb 6:7-8 For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes
upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is
cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns
and briars, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is
to be burned.
If you have a field and thorns grow in
it and choke your crop, we burn the field, plow it up and burn
the roots also. God tries to burn the thorns in our life away so
we can bear the fruit of the Spirit. Thorny people are burned in
the pit of fire come judgment day.
THERE IS HOPE!
Mat 27:29 When they had twisted a crown of
thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand.
And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail,
King of the Jews!"
Hosea 2:5-20 For their mother has played the harlot; She who
conceived them has behaved shamefully. For she said, 'I will go
after my lovers, Who give me my bread and my water, My wool and
my linen, My oil and my drink.' "Therefore, behold, I will hedge
up your way with thorns, And wall her in, So that she cannot find
her paths. She will chase her lovers, But not overtake them; Yes,
she will seek them, but not find them. Then she will say, 'I will
go and return to my first husband, For then it was better for me
than now.' For she did not know That I gave her grain, new wine,
and oil, And multiplied her silver and gold; Which they prepared
for Baal. "Therefore I will return and take away My grain in its
time And My new wine in its season, And will take back My wool
and My linen, Given to cover her nakedness. Now I will uncover
her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, And no one shall deliver
her from My hand. I will also cause all her mirth to cease, Her
feast days, Her New Moons, Her Sabbaths; All her appointed
feasts. "And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, Of which
she has said, 'These are my wages that my lovers have given me.'
So I will make them a forest, And the beasts of the field shall
eat them. I will punish her For the days of the Baals to which
she burned incense. She decked herself with her earrings and
jewelry, And went after her lovers; But Me she forgot," says the
LORD. "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, Will bring her into
the wilderness, And speak comfort to her. I will give her
vineyards from there, And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope;
She shall sing there, As in the days of her youth, As in the day
when she came up from the land of Egypt. "And it shall be, in
that day," Says the LORD, "That you will call Me 'My Husband,'
And no longer call Me 'My Master,' For I will take from her mouth
the names of the Baals, And they shall be remembered by their
name no more. In that day I will make a covenant for them With
the beasts of the field, With the birds of the air, And with the
creeping things of the ground. Bow and sword of battle I will
shatter from the earth, To make them lie down safely. "I will
betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me In
righteousness and justice, In loving kindness and mercy; I will
betroth you to Me in faithfulness, And you shall know the LORD.
Jesus wore a crown of thorns to show
people that he would carry all their worries (cares of this
world) so they would not have to. The Holy Spirit draws them to
Jesus and they can be born again. Thorny people are close to
being saved. They know about God and are sitting on a fence half
way between the world and heaven. They will go one way or the
other. They need to learn to trust Jesus with everything & all we
can do is remind them.
HOW TO TREAT THORNY PEOPLE:
Ezek 2:6-8 "And you, son of man, do not be
afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers and
thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be
afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are
a rebellious house. "You shall speak My words to them, whether
they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. "But
you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious
like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give
you."
2 Tim 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power
and of love and of a sound mind.
Isa 55:11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It
shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I
please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Prov 22:5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; He
who guards his soul will be far from them.
Jer 4:3 For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:
"Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns.
Don’t allow them to scare you by their
words or looks & speak only God’s words to them regardless of
what they say or do. We should never invite a thorny person into
our home or to live with us. We are not to sow to people who are
thorny. If someone else has already sown on thorny people, we are
to only speak God’s words to them and pray for them: God will
take care of it from there.