Thorns, a byproduct of the fall in the Garden of Eden when man sinned, becomes a symbol of what God used to redeem His people through His Son Jesus Christ. When man sinned, the ground was cursed with “thorns and thistles” (Ge.3:18). Although they were not a part of creation, God still used this negative imagery to weave a beautiful redemptive story.  

People do not find thorns captivating or beautiful. No one seeks them out, they keep people away, are harmful to the touch, and they don’t seem very useful, except to God.

The next time we see thorns is when God reveals Himself to Moses in the burning bush at Horeb (Mt.Sinai). Jesus and Stephen refer to the bush as a thorny bush (Luke 20:37/Acts 7:30). Why would God choose to appear in a flaming thorny bush? The One who appeared in the Garden and pronounced the curse of thorns now reappears amidst thorns, promising deliverance. The irony of God who pronounced a curse that resulted in thorns, now reappears in them to promise deliverance to His people from Egyptian bondage. 

Thorns appear again when God instructs Moses to construct a tabernacle. One of the raw materials used in the tabernacle was acacia wood (Exodus 25:5). It is a small to medium tree or bush that have branches covered with long thorns. Being resistant to decay God instructs of its’ use and the need for it to be covered with gold (Exodus 26:29). God use again of thorns for His earthly dwelling place among His people is astounding and redeeming. 

The last place Israel encamps before entering the Promised land is Shittim “the acacias”, a place of thorns (Numbers 25:1/Josh.2:1). From the field of thorns, Joshua leads the people into the Promised land. What man could not accomplish (Moses’s disobedience) God does by using Joshua to foreshadow the ultimate work of Jesus. Joshua means “Jehovah is salvation”. God makes the connection in Matt.1:21 when the angel of Lord says to Joseph, “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus [Iesous (Greek) Yehoshua (Hebrew)], for he will save his people from their sins.”Jesus will ultimately lead His people to Paradise, a place of eternal life, joy and peace.

Thorns appear in the climax of the redemptive narrative of God’s people. The “thorns and thistles” of Eden’s Curse became the mocking crown of the Savior. Matt.27:28-31 “And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.”

Remembering this gracious act of love, Romans 5:15 says, “But there is a great difference between Adam's sin and God's gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.”