April 24- The Thorn In The Flesh

April 24, 2011

Scripture Readings:
Judges 2:10-3:31; Luke 22:14-34;
Psalm 92:1-93:5; Proverbs 14:1-2

If you enjoy the fragrance of a rose, you must accept the thorns which it bears.
~Anonymous

Judges 2:10-3:31


Before we begin today let me wish each of you a Happy Easter.  There is no greater celebration for the Christian.  Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness!!  His death paid the penalty for our sin, but oh the glorious resurrection provides our hope for eternal life spent in the presence of our Creator.  Today, I hope that you have trusted Christ as your Savior and that you are celebrating His Resurrection.  He is the first fruit of those risen from the dead.  If you are a believer, you too will resurrect one day to eternal life.  Praise God!

Have you ever worked in an office with someone who drove you crazy?  Worse yet that person actually had it out for you?  I once worked in an office with a gal who seemed to want to make my life miserable.  She was a thorn in my side.  Her goal in life was to make sure that I did not succeed in getting promoted or acknowledged for my work.  She wanted to control the environment, control the work load, and control the boss.  As a matter of fact, she was having an affair with the boss.  So she did pretty well at controlling him. Yes, I know.  The fun just never stopped.  It will not surprise you to know that I stayed at that job for only a year, but the lessons I learned during that year have lasted me a lifetime.  As I think back upon the situation, I see that God was using these trials to test my faith and sift some impurities out of my life.  The bad experience served a good purpose. It would have been nice to have realized this while I was going through it!

Today the nation of Israel starts the cycle we discussed yesterday.  The predictable cycle is idol worship, rebellion, sin, slavery, servitude, cry to God, turn to God, repent, Judge raised up, deliverance, and the nation serves God.  Here is how this generation is described in Judges 2:10,

"After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel." 

It is hard to believe how quickly history is forgotten.  Think about it. You and I do not truly have a grasp of our great grandparents' lives.  Our own family histories are a mystery to us.  The nation of Israel was like this. The surrounding Canaanites and pagan worshiping people were not completely driven out of the land by Joshua.  The Bible tells us that this was God's will. Here is the reason from Judges 2:22-23,

"I did this to test Israel- to see whether or not they would obey the Lord as their ancestors did."  That is why the Lord did not quickly drive the nations out or allow Joshua to conquer them all." (NLT)

God intended to test the nation of Israel's faith.  Do you realize that often in life when we have a thorn in our flesh that thorn is designed to test our faith?  What thorn have you been given?  How's that working for you? Are you reacting to it in faith or through your own strength?

The nation of Israel had intermarried with the people of the land. They had taken to worshiping Baal and Ashtoreth.  Remember that these pagan practices included immoral sexual activity designed to incite Baal to impregnate Ashtoreth (mother goddess earth) for abundant crops.  God was angry at this behavior and allowed Israel to be enslaved by these godless people. The Bible says that Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.  God is watching, people.  As the Lord's anger burned, He allowed Israel to become subject to a man named Cushanrishathaim.  Say that three times in a row!! 


As Israel cries out to God for deliverance, God raises up the first judge named Othniel.  He was Caleb's nephew.  The Spirit of the Lord came upon Othniel, he was victorious in battle, and there was peace in the land for forty years.

Once again, the Israelites did evil in the sight of the Lord, so God let them be enslaved by King Eglon of Moab.  Eglon was an obese man.  The Israelites were under this despot for 18 years until they cried out for deliverance and God raised up Ehud as the second judge.  Ehud was left-handed.  This factored into how he delivered Israel from the fat king.  Anyway, it is a gruesome story of one-on-one assasination.  Ehud stabbed Eglon in his big belly.  The knife went in and never came out.  After the assasination, Ehud lead Israel in a successful battle against Moab.  There was peace for eighty years.

The next judge was Shamgar.  The only thing we know about Shamgar is that he killed six hundred Philistines with an ox goad.  We would call this a cattle prod.  This dude was some kinda warrior.  Wow. 

What can we learn from the judges?

Lesson:  God uses simple people to accomplish great things.  3 simple men + God = Victory and deliverance


What battles in your life need to be fought with the power of God?  What thorn in your flesh can God deliver you from?  What if he chooses not to deliver you as in the case of the Apostle Paul?  Can you rely on God in the midst of suffering?

Luke 22:14-34

Today as Jesus sits down to eat his final Passover supper with the disciples, we see Jesus talking to Peter about Peter getting sifted by Satan. In other words, God is going to allow a thorn in Peter's flesh in order to test his faith and teach him a lesson. Listen to the words of Jesus in Luke 22:31-32,

"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to have all of you, to sift you like wheat.  But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen and build up your brothers." (NLT)

There are some extremely important things we can learn from this exchange:

• Satan, at times, needs permission to torment someone.
• God can grant that permission for a purpose.
• Jesus intercedes for us in order to preserve our salvation through faith. 
• Jesus is praying for us during our trials and testing.
• We must repent when we sin.
• We must turn back to God when we have faltered in our faith.
• He forgives us and strengthens us to do his work on earth.
• Our faith can be stronger after a sifting. 
• We can be used mightily by God because we have suffered and been tested.

In the ancient world the first step in sifting wheat was to loosen the chaff (inedible portion) from the grain by spreading the wheat onto a stone floor and beating it with a flail.  Satan was asking permission to pummel Peter, but God was using this as a means of getting to the good wheat of Peter's faith. Satan wanted to beat Peter. Jesus was interceding so that Peter could survive the pummeling and have his faith remain intact. What Satan meant for evil, God meant for good.

Do you need Jesus to intercede for you because you are being pummeled? Ask him to maintain your faith. He will answer.

One other thing to remember...our Lord was crucified wearing a crown of thorns.  He knows your pain, he has been tested and found faithful.


Psalm 92:1-93:5

This is a happy and joyful psalm.  It rings with truth!

Proverbs 14:1-2

"A wise woman builds her house; a foolish woman tears hers down with her own hands."  Wow.  How true is that?

What did you see today?

Blessings,

Jubilee Gal
Kathy Fullerton
© 2011