Thorns, Snares, Traps, Pains, & Pricks

I was listening to the radio this morning and learned something new to think about as far as Paul's Thorn in the Flesh is concerned. I has always thought that this was a physcial illness given to Paul to keep him humble. I also believed his thorn in the flesh was an eye disease since the Bible documents Paul's bad eyesight not to mention the scales that were on his eyes for 3 days after encountering Jesus on the road to Demascus.

However, there is another way to look at this and that is as a figure of speech. Much like we say people that get on our nerves are a "pain in the neck" it doesn't mean we have an actual illness in our neck; it is strictly a figure of speech. To look at what happened to Paul I think it is wise to look at it in the symbolic, figure of speech kind of way. In Numbers 33:55 "But if you will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which you let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein you dwell."

Joshua 23:13 "Know for a certainty that the LORD your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the LORD your God has given you."

Judges 2:3 "Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you."

Acts 9:4-5 "And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks."

In the context of these passages it is easy to see that this is speaking figuratively as literal people were not sticking out of their eyes and sides.


The point of this entire post is to say that the more you read the Bible, no matter how many times you may read the same passage, God will reveal new things to you and allow you to see the passages in a whole new way. So dig into the Bible often and be amazed at what God will reveal to you.