Jesus quoted a part of David’s 22nd Psalm when He was on the Cross and those words were the ones that should have come out of our mouth:

Ps 22:1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? ESV 

These are words that every one of us remembers and I dare say that we can’t read them without a thought of “what if.” What if God hadn’t given them to David as a precursor to them being uttered by His Son on the Cross? What if they had been on our lips instead of His?

But thank God Jesus took it all upon Himself by becoming one of us.

Last time we thought about paying attention to detail and here in the details of Psalm 22 we have the opportunity to see the infinite and omniscient hand of God. His mysteries reach down into the most insignificant parts of life where He reveals His loving truth.

Ps 22:6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. ESV

 The Hebrew word translated “worm” is tolaith. In Hebrew the word is both used for worm and “scarlet” because the tolaith was the worm from which red dye was extracted. It would reproduce  by attaching itself to the limb of a tree and would die in the process of giving birth. The baby worms would then eat the body, leaving a small red spot on the limb of the tree. After about 3 days the spot would turn “white” and flake off like snow.

Isa 1:18a … though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. ESV

The Word tells us that great is the mystery that God became a man (1 Tim 3:16), but consider the greater mystery. “The Man” became “The Lamb” and The Lamb became a “Worm” to die on a tree and shed His blood to save you and me; to turn our scarlet sins white as snow. As David so often said… Selah (pause and meditate on that).

Truly are the mysteries of God the most profound revealers of  His eternal plan. In His Word are hidden all the secrets of the universe. Just consider His perfect positioning of the earth. The earth has been put in the only place in the universe that can perfectly support life; our life. Yet, even more importantly, it has been placed in the very spot that provides the maximum opportunity to view and explore the rest of the universe; all of His creation… all He has created for us. And so is the truth of His Word. It puts us in the perfect place to understand all that He has done to give us “true life,” and in it He has revealed all His mysteries that reward our faith when we take the time to discover them. The mystery of the tolaith is just one of them. It has strengthened my faith in God and encouraged to me spend time in His Word… discovering more of His hidden mysteries.