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Isaiah 1:18-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.
Where I grew up in West Virginia, there was a special place in my heart for the snowy winters. The mountains always got more snow then the town, and I enjoyed looking out the windows and doors and seeing the layers of slow covering the ground.
It was beautiful!
Over the years, I have at times come to dread the winter months. The cold temperatures have gotten harder to endure with any semblance of comfort, and yet I still find myself mesmerized by the snow.
Of course, there are many lessons about “snow” from the Word of God. One of them is found right here in the Book of Isaiah. God calls upon the people to repent of their many sins, and if they would, He would forgive them and restore them. What is really fascinating is the combination of these words “white as snow” with“scarlet” and “red like crimson.” In Hebrew, there is a beautiful picture being painted here that takes us powerfully to the Savior, Jesus Christ.
Morris has this for us:
“These statements, however, hardly explain fully the identification of himself as a worm. The key seems to lie in the recognition that this was a specific type of worm the scarlet worm . As a matter of fact, the Hebrew word translated “worm” in this passage ( tolath ) is also frequently translated “scarlet” (e.g., Exod. 25:4) or “crimson” (Isa. 1:18). The reason for this odd equivalence is because the scarlet worm was the source of a fluid from which the people of ancient times made their scarlet dyes. Christ’s portrayal of himself as stained crimson on the cross thus immediately speaks to us in the words of Colossians 1:20. “Having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself.” But no doubt the deeper significance of His identification of himself as the Scarlet Worm lies in the remarkable life- death cycle of this unique animal. For when the mother worm of this species is ready to give birth to her baby worms, she will implant her body in a tree somewhere, or a post or a stick of wood, so firmly that she can never leave again. Then, when the young are brought forth, the mother’s body provides protection and sustenance for her young until they reach the stage where they can leave home and fend for themselves. Then the mother dies. And as she dies, the scarlet fluid in her body emerges to stain her body and the bodies of her progeny and the wood of the tree where they were given life by their dying mother. What a picture of the blood- stained cross, and how “it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings” (Heb. 2:10). “A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world” (John 16:21).” (Henry Morris & Henry Morris III, Treasures In The Psalms, 723-731 (Kindle Edition); Greeen Forest, AR; Master Books)
Even as I am typing this, I am astonished at the beauty of the Scarlet Worm hinted at here in Isaiah.
Yet it goes even deeper.
“When her body is crushed, it produces medicine….After three days she bends into the shape of a heart and turns white. Then she turns white and becomes a waxy substance that can be scraped off the tree and used to seal things.” (Lori Pagel, The Crimson Worm Tells The Gospel Story, 71-80 (Kindle Edition); Bloomington, Indiana; WestBow Press)
Through the working of Christ at Calvary, you and I can have our sins paid for fully by the blood of the Lamb. He can make us “white as snow.” Through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection on the third day, we can find healing for all our soul’s diseases.
Are you ready to be “as wool?”
Acts 22:16-And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’
Maybe you have wandered away from the Lord as a baptized believer. He calls you back to Him, even now. The Word of God assures Christians:
1 John 1:7-9-But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Father, thanks for Your amazing grace in Christ. We praise You. Amen.