Fast-forward: 8 years later, at 25. I finally found that it was a name of destiny. After Ps Lian's message on Sunday, unfortunately I was only able to take back one main point with me- that was the real meaning of the word 'Crimson'. It was so profound that it reminded me how God was attracting me to Him, He wanted to reveal more of Himself to me, even when I had no intention to. and He did so, by hiding it in a name, so as to reveal it to kings.
Here's the story of a Crimson or Scarlet worm- that died giving birth to its offspring.
Look at the 22nd Psalm. This is the great Psalm of the crucifixion of Christ written 1,000 years before it was fulfilled. It describes in great detail the sufferings of Christ on the cross. "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" he cries out. Then down in verse 6...he says "But I am a worm (08438), and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people." What did he mean by saying "I am a worm"?...This particular worm is different from other kinds of worms.
and “… though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Is 1:18)
There is a fascinating story behind this little worm, which will explain the profound meaning of this verse. When the life of the female coccus ilicis, (or scarlet worm) is nearing it’s end, she climbs a tree and attaches her body to it, fixing herself so firmly and permanently, she virtually impales herself on the tree, and never leaves again. Just before she dies, her eggs hatch and she gives birth to her young. The eggs deposited beneath her body are now protected from predators. Then, after the larvae hatch they are able to enter their own life cycle. As the mother dies, crimson fluid from within her body, stains her own body and the surrounding wood she is attached to. She makes the ultimate sacrifice: because of her own death, her offspring are given new life. From the crushed, dried dead bodies of such female scarlet worms, the scarlet dye is extracted and used to dye wool red. This dye is referred to in the Bible as simply “scarlet” (the color), or, “crimson” (the worm).
Psalm 22:6 speaks of Christ when it says, “But I am a worm, and not a man, A reproach of men, and despised by the people” The word “worm” in this verse, is also “towla” (the word “crimson”)… the worm;crimson, the color of blood. This verse is actually saying, “But I am ‘crimson’”, referring to the coccus ilicisand the blood of Jesus Christ that would be shed for us, as He was impaled on a tree, so that we might live.
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised [crushed] for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed… For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Is 53:5, Heb 9:13-14)The scarlet thread is also referred to in the book of Joshua, when Rahab the harlot, hung a “scarlet” thread from her window, which preserved her life from the Israelite invasion to come. “And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.” (Josh 2:21 Here, the scarlet thread that had been dyed using the scarlet worm’s body, is used to identify the home of Rahab, who befriended the Israeli spies, and it spared her life and her family from destruction. In the same way, we are chosen and identified by God, through the blood of Jesus Christ that washed our sins away. Is your scarlet thread hanging from your life and boldly declaring for all to see that you identify with Jesus Christ?
By the way, did you know that in Latin, the word, “ilicis“, literally means…. “it is finished“. I wouldn’t have believed it, unless I looked it up.So, I hope, when you see red wool coats this winter, it’ll remind you of the wool of the little lamb and the little worm, “coccus ilicis”.And thus, this continues to remind and amaze me every time I type in my e-mail or user name into an account. That the crimson Lord's crimson colored blood washes my own crimson colored sin white as snow. It is only Christ's crimson blood that can was yours white. No other. Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
isn't it just like the Lord to use the smallest things- a dead worm- to conform the mighty?
Give Jesus the glory!
