Thistle is not a plant that you will notice it right away. Under the economic significance section of the Wikipedia said “many are troublesome weeds”. However, it is a floral emblem of Scotland. According to one Scottish legend, an invading Norse army was attempting to sneak up at night upon a Scottish army’s encampment. During this operation one barefoot Norseman had the misfortune to step upon a thistle, causing him to cry out in pain, thus alerting Scots to the presence of the Norse invaders. This is the story how the thistle becomes Scotland’s national symbol.
Do you know the first mention of thistles in the Bible is in Genesis (the first book in the Bible) 3:18? That is right after Adam and Eve eat the forbidden tree and God curses the land for Adam. Genesis 3:17-19 “Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.’ “
The other significant verse regarding thorns and thistles can be found in Matthew 27:29. “When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!’ ”. This is part of scenes of Jesus’s crucifixion described in the Bible. The crown of thorns vividly symbolized the curse of sin being placed on Jesus’s head. He died as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, so that the curse that God had pronounced upon this earth because of sin, can be removed for those that believe in him, and that ultimately creation itself can be redeemed. If you want to get more information regarding crown of thorns, you can read What is the significance of the crown of thorns? and Why did Jesus wear a crown of thorns?
Here are the pictures of milk thistle.
薊不是一種馬上會引人注意的植物，它渾身上下都是刺，維基百科經濟效益部分還說薊的許多種類是雜草。但它卻是蘇格蘭(Scotland)的國花。傳说挪威侵略軍有一次想夜襲蘇格蘭軍隊，因為敵軍士兵在黑夜光脚偷營，正要成功之際，一個倒霉的士兵不小心踩到蓟，扎了满脚的刺，痛得他哇哇大叫，本来毫無防備的蘇格蘭軍隊聞此警訊，才能迅速反擊侵略的敵軍。懂得感恩的蘇格蘭人，因此将薊定為國花。上圖為”奶薊”。
你知道嗎聖經中第一次提到薊是在創世紀3:18。 在亞當與夏娃 偷吃了神禁止他們吃的果子後，神詛咒給亞當的土地。創世紀3:17-19 “又對亞當說：你既聽從妻子的話，吃了我所吩咐你不可吃 的那樹上的果子，地必為你的緣故受咒詛；你必終身勞苦才能從地裡得吃的。地必給你長出荊棘 和蒺藜來；你也要吃田間的菜蔬。你必汗流滿面才得糊口，直到你歸了土，因為你是從土而出 的。你本是塵土，仍要歸於塵土。“
另外一節與荊棘及薊有關的經文是在馬太福音27:29 “用荊棘編做冠冕，戴在他頭上，拿一根葦子放在他右手裡，跪在他面前，戲弄他，說：恭喜，猶太人的王阿！”. 這是聖經中描述耶穌上十字架的部分場景。荊棘冠冕象徵耶穌為我們把罪的咒詛帶在祂的頭上，祂用死為我們的罪做一個完全的犧牲，對那些相信祂的人，應罪所帶給地土的咒詛才能被挪移，最終，創造物能得拯救。
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