2 Corinthians 12:1-21

Today’s Reading is 2 Corinthians 12:1-21.

Verse 7 (KJV): “there was given to me a thorn in the flesh”
Paul, this great missionary of the west was handicapped in some strange way. What is this thorn in the flesh? Here are some possible explanations:
– All kinds of physical attacks (2 Corinthians 11:24-27)
– Stoning (Acts 14:19)
– Eye disorders (Galatians 4:15)

Only once and only in the Septuagint you find a “thorn in the flesh”:
“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].” (Ezekiel 28:24). There it does not refer to a physical ailment but an unpleasant situation that originated from personal attacks. So maybe verse 10 is the key:
“I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”