puricare chronicles: Commitment

Showing posts with label Commitment. Show all posts

Friday, February 19, 2021

GRAPES FROM THORNBUSHES - Trash is debris from plant materials, something worth little or nothing, and something thrown away. Trash is an excellent symbol for individuals who make a commitment to Jesus; then, quit living a Christian life because worldly cares choke their commitment. God’s judgment will fall on people who treat God and his laws as worthless, i.e., as if they are trash. If individuals want to be something thrown away like trash, God will allow them to be this way. God will give them over to a reprobate mind. - In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus averred that a man can’t gather grapes from thorn bushes. The second time that Jesus spoke of thorns in gospels was in the familiar parable of the sower and the seed. In the first century many farmers, scattered (broadcast) seed on top of the soil rather than plow soil, scattered seeds, then re-plowed soil to cover seeds. The challenge with broadcasting seed is that seed falls various places, i.e., on a pathway, in thin soil, among thorns. Seeds sprouted and grew; but, thorns can surround good seedlings and choke their growth. First century Palestine contained several types of thorns and thorn bushes. In Israel, buckthorns grow in wood, shrub-lands, and the mountain vegetation of Mount Hermon. The buckthorn is a slow-growing shrub, rarely reaching a height of six feet. The Palestine buckthorn is evergreen. It grows with a many-branched, tangled form, and velvety thorns.

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Grapes from Thornbushes

Trash is debris from plant materials, something worth little or nothing, and something thrown away.

Trash is an excellent symbol for individuals who make a commitment to Jesus; then, quit living a Christian life because worldly cares choke their commitment. God’s judgment will fall on people who treat God and his laws as worthless, i.e., as if they are trash. If individuals want to be something thrown away like trash, God will allow them to be this way. God will give them over to a reprobate mind.

Carolyn Roth Ministry

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus averred that a man can’t gather grapes from thorn bushes.

The second time that Jesus spoke of thorns in gospels was in the familiar parable of the sower and the seed.

Most of us can recite this parable:

“A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty” - (Matthew 13.3-8 ESV).

In the first century many farmers, scattered (broadcast) seed on top of the soil rather than plow soil, scattered seeds, then re-plowed soil to cover seeds.

The challenge with broadcasting seed is that seed falls various places, i.e., on a pathway, in thin soil, among thorns.

Seeds sprouted and grew; but, thorns can surround good seedlings and choke their growth.

Jesus’s interpretation of seed which fell among thorns is: “As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful” (Matthew 13.22 ESV).

Thornbush

First century Palestine contained several types of thorns and thorn bushes.

The Bible names several to them, i.e., Jotham’s thorn tree in Judges, crackling thorn bushes in Ecclesiastes, and Isaiah’s buckthorn (Rhamnus lycioides, R. palaestinus).

In Israel, buckthorns grow in wood, shrub-lands, and the mountain vegetation of Mount Hermon. The buckthorn is a slow-growing shrub, rarely reaching a height of six feet.

The Palestine buckthorn is evergreen. It grows with a many-branched, tangled form, and velvety thorns.

Young stems are green; with maturity, bark turns gray.

The buckthorn fruit is a small (1/4 inch), oval berry.

Initially, the berry is green, but, turns black when ripe. Berries are poisonous to humans, but a good source of food for birds.

Symbolism: Trash

A Hebrew word for thorn is shayith which translates as trash, scrub, and thorn.

Trash is debris from plant materials, something worth little or nothing, and something thrown away.

Trash is an excellent symbol for individuals who make a commitment to Jesus; then, quit living a Christian life because worldly cares choke their commitment.

God’s judgment will fall on people who treat God and his laws as worthless, i.e., as if they are trash.

If individuals want to be something thrown away like trash, God will allow them to be this way (Romans 1.28).

God will give them over to a reprobate mind.

Reflection: How do you behave in a “trashy” manner?

Carolyn Roth Ministry (CarolynRothMinistry.com) offers research, education, and consultation to individuals and organizations who want to deepen their understanding of the Bible.

Welcome to godasagardener.com

As the site editor, participants should know I am a spiritual woman with a deep belief in God. Many friends would describe my Christian perspective as orthodox. I believe in the inspired, written word of God. I live in Roanoke, Virginia. I am a Virginia Master Gardener and a Tree Steward.

This website/blog glorifies God within the context of earth as His garden, describes Bible and other growing plants, and applies them to our Christian walk in the 21st century. On Creation day 3, God created vegetation, e.g., trees, herbs, flowers. On this site, the word plant will be used to encompass all types of vegetation. God created plants right after He created the heavens (Day 2) and before He created the sun, moon, and stars (Day 4). This creative order demonstrates that God valued and had a purpose for the varied flora in our world. Our response to this creative process should first be love for the Creator and second a reverence for this earthly garden.

https://godasagardener.com/2019/02/20/grapes-from-thornbushes/

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