“A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation. They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, that He has done this.” Psalm 22:30-31
He Has Done This!
Easter is a glorious time of year. The earth is awakening from the winter’s long sleep and life appears in a grand display of greenery with buds and leaves and flowers. Temperatures warm and spring breezes blow gently. A newness of life is being made evident.
There was in the heart of the eternal God a purpose and a determined will to rescue mankind from sin, hell, and death. He planned it in every detail and He purposed it for salvation and glory. He proclaims newness of life. We celebrate the triumph of that divine strategy at this time of year. He initiated this victory and He Himself accomplished it. It is weighted with meaning and significance.
Psalm 22 is about the suffering and praise of the Lord. It speaks of a testimony that will endure through the ages even to a people yet to be born. It is a graphic description of crucifixion. In Psalm 22:6 we read, “I am a worm and no man.” What does that mean? I had penciled a note above this passage and had no idea what it meant. I had written the Hebrew word tola. I began to research it, curious as to why I had written it there. This is what I found. This information originally came from the *Alpha Omega Institute website.
Usually in the Bible, the Hebrew word for a worm is rimmah, which means a maggot. But the Hebrew word used here for worm is tola’ath which means Crimson Worm.
The Crimson Worm is a very special worm. When it is time for the female to have babies, she finds the trunk of a tree or a wooden fencepost. She then attaches her body to that wood and makes a hard, crimson shell. She is so strongly and permanently stuck to the wood that the shell can never be removed without tearing her body completely apart. The Crimson Worm then lays her eggs under her body and the protective shell. When the baby worms hatch, they stay under the shell. Not only does the mother’s body give protection for her babies, but it also provides them with food. The babies feed on the living body of the mother.
After just a few days, the young worms grow to the point that they are able to take care of themselves, and the mother dies. As the mother dies, she oozes a crimson or scarlet red dye which not only stains the wood she is attached to, but also her young children. They are colored scarlet for the rest of their lives. After three days, the dead mother’s body loses its crimson color and turns into a white wax which falls to the ground like snow.
The analogies are stunning. Jesus died once for all; He deliberately allowed Himself to be affixed to a cross of wood; He has given us a new birth; we live because He sacrificed Himself for us; we feed on His living Word and truth; the stain of His blood marks us forever; after three days His sacrifice for our sin was accepted by a just God evidenced by His resurrection; and finally, our sins which were as scarlet are made white as snow and fall away.
He has done this! Resurrection life! Glorious Easter!
Father, You have done great things. We celebrate Your Son and His overcoming victory. Amen.
How awesome is our Creator!!! He is risen!
He is risen indeed!
Beautiful reminder and analogy! Thank you for writing! Happy Resurrection Day!
Such a good reminder to read the Bible s-l-o-w-l-y! (See, Pastor Bryan—we do listen!) 😀 Thank you for sharing this.
Incredible!
A great devotion, how awesome!