I Am a Worm
“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
Why are You so far from helping Me,
And from the words of My groaning?
O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;
And in the night season, and am not silent.
But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel.
Our fathers trusted in You;
They trusted, and You delivered them.
They cried to You, and were delivered;
They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.
But I am a worm, and no man;
A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
‘He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him;
Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!’ ”
Psalm 22:1–8
The nature article in the July issue of LandMarks was a brief view of the life of the crimson worm and its spiritual symbolism. What follows expounds upon the incredible life and death of this remarkable worm and the spiritual symbolism attached to it.
It is traditionally held that Psalm 22 is a song that represents the thoughts of Jesus as He hung on the cross. Indeed, He quoted the opening line of the psalm as He paid the ultimate price for the sins of mankind—your sins and my sins.
In verse six, there is a word that bears a closer examination. It is the Hebrew word tôlā’ * [to-law] that occurs 43 times in the Old Testament. Thirty-four times it is translated as red or crimson and eight times as worm or worms.
Verse six is one of the eight places it is translated as worm. If you looked up this word in a Hebrew dictionary, you would find that it refers to a particular kind of worm—a crimson worm.
The common Hebrew word for worm is rimmah*. That is the word used in Exodus 16, where God instructed the wandering children of Israel about gathering manna. He told them to gather what they needed for the day and no more. If anyone gathered more than they needed for that day, what happened?
“And Moses said, ‘Let no one leave any of it till morning.’ Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank.” Exodus 16:19, 20
To me, and probably to most folks, the thought of any food infested with worms is not a pleasant thought. Worms, as we just read, grew in the manna that the people tried to save. Also, in describing the consequences of disobedience, God warned the children of Israel after they had settled in Canaan that if they disobeyed, worms would eat their produce:
“You shall plant vineyards and tend them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.” Deuteronomy 28:39
This is also the worm which was appointed by God to attack Jonah’s shade plant which then withered:
“And the Lord God prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So, Jonah was very grateful for the plant. But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered.” Jonah 4:6, 7
One of Job’s counselors, Bildad, challenged Job’s righteousness, equating this worm [rimmah] to a maggot:
“How then can man be righteous before God?
Or how can he be pure who is born of a woman?
If even the moon does not shine,
And the stars are not pure in His sight,
How much less man, who is a maggot,
And a son of man, who is a worm?” Job 25:4–6
Isaiah makes a similar comparison:
“Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,
And the sound of your stringed instruments;
The maggot is spread under you,
And worms cover you.” Isaiah 14:11
Later in the book of Isaiah, he notes that this [rimmah] worm is the worm that eats the dead bodies of those who rebel against the Lord.
“And they shall go forth and look
Upon the corpses of the men
Who have transgressed against Me.
For their worm does not die,
And their fire is not quenched.
They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.” Isaiah 66:24
Rimmah, however, is not the word used for ‘worm’ in Psalm 22:6; instead it is tôlā’, referring to a different kind of worm—not the maggot that infests rotting food or decaying flesh, but a crimson worm, a red worm, a worm the color of blood.
This tôlā’ worm in Hebrew and crimson worm in English, is a red worm found primarily in the Middle East, which produces a brilliant red dye. This is the brilliant red color used in the yarn that the curtains of the tabernacle were woven from and that was used in the ephod of the high priest.
Because this brilliant red is derived from this worm is why tôlā’ is most often translated as “scarlet” in the Bible instead of “worm.” When God says “Use scarlet yarn,” He is not merely saying “Use worm yarn,” or “Use red yarn.” He’s saying to use tôlā’ yarn; use the yarn died with the crimson red you get from the tôlā’ worm.
What is so significant about this crimson worm and the color derived from it? Why is the specific crimson designated in the construction of the trappings of the tabernacle and the garment of the high priest? An examination of the life cycle of the crimson worm provides an answer.
When the time comes for the female tôlā’, crimson worm, to bear her young, she goes through a remarkable process to give birth, protect her young, and sustain them. Here’s how the process develops:
The female worm attaches herself to a tree so securely that she is physically unable to detach herself. While doing so, she makes a hard shell to protect the eggs that she is going to lay under her body. When the larvae hatch, they live protected under the mother’s body that is fastened so inextricably to the tree. As they develop and grow, they feed themselves on her body. After several days, of course, the mother dies. A scarlet liquid then leaks out of the protective shell the mother has made, runs down the tree, and stains the baby larvae a bright crimson, the color of blood. This color is permanent and the larvae remain that way for the rest of their lives, hence the name “scarlet worm.”
Once the mother is dead, her body begins to decay and over the course of three days, the scarlet red liquid that has leaked out of the protective shell turns into a white waxy substance.
Understanding this process helps us to understand why Psalm 22 uses the word tôlā’ rather than the more common word rimmah. It is hard not to see the symbolism here as we think about the sacrifice Jesus made to assure the possibility of our salvation.
Jesus, like the worm, was “attached” to a tree in order to die there for the sake of His offspring. This tree was the place where redemption would be purchased and where Jesus would become the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him.
Peter, in his first epistle, understood this symbolism:
Jesus “… bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.” 1 Peter 2:24
Jesus’ heart-felt desire is to protect His offspring. Like the worm, Jesus creates a sort of spiritual “shell” of protection around those “born again” newborns and children who are His, and who are helpless without the protective covering that He, by faith, provides. Jesus is so constrained by His love for us, His offspring, that He hung on the tree for the sake of our salvation. This protection cost Him, in His humanity, everything. Like the mother crimson worm, He died so that His offspring might live.
The mother worm not only provides covering and protection from the assaults of the world, but she also provides sustenance through herself, as her offspring feed off of her very body. As she gives up her life, she becomes the source of life for her offspring. So, it is with Jesus. He stated, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this Bread, he will live forever; and the Bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.” John 6:51
A Sealed Covenant
A covenant is sealed with blood, blood being the sign of a confirmed covenant. Thus, to be stained with blood is to be sealed by covenant.
The covenant of salvation was sealed with blood by the first animal sacrifice when God made coverings of animal skin for Adam and Eve.
God sealed His covenant with Abram with blood in Genesis 15, His promise was to make of him a great nation, though at the time he was childless.
God confirmed this covenant with Moses:
“Then he [Moses] took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, ‘All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.’ And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, ‘This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words.’ ” Exodus 24:7, 8
The last supper was a symbol of the sealing of the New Covenant between God and His people—symbolically in the wine, and then fully completed by the blood of the cross. Those who enter into the covenant agreement and surrender to the will of Christ receive the purifying and sanctifying work of His blood, and are thus “stained” by it for the rest of their lives, just like the worm’s offspring.
It takes three days for the crimson remnant of the worm’s lifecycle to turn snowy white. Jesus spent three days in the tomb, and it is His crimson blood that washes away our sin and secures eternal redemption, making His people pure, sinless, and clothed in garments of white light. Isaiah writes, “ ‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the Lord, ‘though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’ ” The Hebrew word that is translated “crimson” in this text is the same Hebrew word that is translated “worm” in Psalm 22:6.
David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, used the word tôlā’ for worm in Psalm 22, rather than the common Hebrew word rimmah for a reason, and that reason explains the very basis of our salvation.
It is only when our sins are washed away by the crimson blood of Christ that we can stand before our Maker clothed in the spotless, snow-white robe of Christ’s righteousness.
How awesome, indeed, is our God! Not only has He devised a plan for the redemption of our fallen race, He has symbolized that process in nature.
Who knows now what other wonders creation groans to reveal to us. Only eternity will tell.
* The Hebrew words תּולע (tôlâ‘) and רמּה (rimmâh) are written phonetically for ease of reading.
John R. Pearson is the office manager and a Steps to Life board member. He can be reached by email at johnpearson@stepstolife.org or by phone at 316-788-5559.