Psalm 22 is one of the greatest prophetic messianic psalms and gives a very graphic description of the crucifixion of our Lord. David wrote this psalm 1000 years before crucifixion became a Roman method of capital punishment. The very first verse of Psalm 22 in fact, was quoted by Jesus on the cross. For this study I am looking at the word worm in verse 6. The word is from the Hebrew word towla and in the Strongs it is listed as H8438. There are many different kinds of worms but the word used here refers to a very particular kind of worm. It is the scarlet or crimson worm. In fact, wherever the bible speaks of the word scarlet, as in your sins may be as scarlet, they are referring to the color and shape of this particular worm. Remember how the bible describes the cloak that they put on Jesus.
Matthew 27:28 And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.
Read and be amazed at how Jesus truly is found on every page of the Bible.
Here is part of the entry for how it is used in this particular psalm:
worm, scarlet stuff, crimson
a) worm - the female 'coccus ilicis'
b) scarlet stuff, crimson, scarlet
1) the dye made from the dried body of the female of the worm "coccus ilicis"
The following gives a better explanation...
"When the female of the scarlet worm species was ready to give birth to her young, she would attach her body to the trunk of a tree, fixing herself so firmly and permanently that she would never leave again. The eggs deposited beneath her body were thus protected until the larvae were hatched and able to enter their own life cycle. As the mother died, the crimson fluid stained her body and the surrounding wood. From the dead bodies of such female scarlet worms, the commercial scarlet dyes of antiquity were extracted."
What a picture this gives of Christ, dying on the tree, shedding his precious blood that he might 'bring many sons unto glory' (Hbr 2:10)! He died for us, that we might live through him! Psa 22:6 describes such a worm and gives us this picture of Christ. (cf. Isa 1:18)" (Henry Morris. Biblical Basis for Modern Science, Baker Book House, 1985, p. 73)
Pretty amazing...
