Pruning No More

“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.” (Eze 28:24 AV)

That’s exactly what the world is to us.  A prickling brier and grieving thorn!  God used the nations around Israel as a means to purify them.  They were not to associate with them to the point they began to be like them.  Israel was to affect their neighbors.  Not the other way around.  These nations became the influence over Israel. When they did, God used them as a means to try to get Israel back to where they needed to be.  They were the means of God’s correcting hand.

I know a bit about prickling briers and grieving thorns.  Having spent thousands of hours in the woods, chasing the elusive whitetail and wild turkey, running into briers and thorns was a regular occurrence.  There were thorn apple trees, briers, and a particularly nasty single stem tree with tiny thorn on is that send fire through the veins!  We used to hunt grouse in years gone by.  Unfortunately, grouse hide in the thickest part of the wilderness.  If you don’t use a dog, there will be a blood trail through the woods and it won’t be that of wounded animal!  These thorns have a purpose.  For the wildlife, it is protection.  For man, it is to guide us in the simplest, and pain free path from point a to point b.  It may not be the shortest.  It may not be the flattest.  But it will be the one least likely to cause pain.

There will come a time when we no longer need the reminder of the briers and thrones.  For me, I have learned to use patience and foresight while going through the woods.  This also makes one a better stalking hunter.  We notice more sign, listen more intently, and even notice movement of game that we otherwise would have missed.  However, the briers and thorns will have no use when the LORD changes us perfectly and wholly into the image of Christ.  No more school of hard knocks.  No more prickling briers.  No more bloodletting on the branches and vines.  No more!