Job 25:4-6 Worm

Job 25:4-6 (New King James)
4 How then can man be righteous before God?
Or how can he be pure who is born of a woman?
5 If even the moon does not shine,
And the stars are not pure in His sight,
6 How much less man, who is a maggot,
And a son of man, who is a worm?”

This passage asks how man can be considered pure in the eyes of God when even the purest in His sight is blemished. Several times in the Bible is man considered nothing more than a worm?

Two different Hebrew words for worm; the first, Rimmah, means maggots (The second is “Tola or Towla”) this is symbolic. When do you see maggots? When something is rotting or decaying. In the Bible, mankind is considered rimmah, not because they are the smallest, and most disgusting of all worms, but because of the DECAY that man is constantly undergoing. We start dying from the moment we are born. It does not denote our lowliness, but our mortal sorrow; our ever-present knowledge and fear of decrement, and death from the moment we're born. Let's face it; mankind is decaying because of our sin.


Psalm 22 Gospel Account of the Crucifixion
1. My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Matt 27:46 ...Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
7. All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake their head saying, Matt 27:39 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads
8. He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him!" Matt 27:43 "He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now ..."
12. Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me. Matt 27:27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him.
14. I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; ... And my tongue clings to My Jaws... John 19:28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I thirst!"
16. ...The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; Luke 23:33 And when they came to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
17. I can count all My bones. They look and stare at me. John 19:33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.
18. They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots. Mark 15:24 And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.

John 19:30 So when Jesus received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

Jesus' last act was to sacrifice His life for us. His last words were, "It is finished".

Now consider Psalm 22:6 in particular:
"But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people"

Christ would not associate Himself with the maggots that represent a sinful life symbolized by the word 'rimmah'. Psalm 22:6 has another Hebrew translation for the word worm. "Tola"(strong’s #8438) its full name is Tola'at Shani; or Scarlet Worm (Coccus Ilicis.) This worm is actually a scale insect that feeds on the sap of an Oak Tree.
The breed is still alive to this day and can be found in and surrounding the nation of Israel.





They were oftentimes harvested by the Israelites for the worm's brilliant crimson blood. It acted as a potent dye for wool, hence its name, the Scarlet Worm.




Extracting this dye is a very difficult task, making it extremely valuable. It would have been used only for royal or holy garments, and palace or temple decorations. In some cases, it has been recorded that it was even used as rent money.




The worm was carefully removed from the tree, taken back home, and they would crush the worms body over a glass of boiling water.

Scarlet (Tola) had to use in the Old Testament sacrificial system which pointed to Christ. Exodus 39, Numbers 4 and 9, Leviticus 14 and 19:6. In Lev. 14:4-52 scarlet (Tola), wood, and hyssop were used together.

Herod put a robe of mockery on the Lord Jesus, the color was scarlet (Luke 23:11). The veil that was torn into (top to bottom) was scarlet (Matthew 27:28).



Consider the life of this Tola worm, during her larva stage, she will do her thing on the ground until maturity, when she climbs a tree, rich with branches and sap. If not harvested she will adhere to the tree without moving until (ultimately eating herself to) death. If left to die, (not to be confused with dye) her body will actually burst right on the tree leaving behind a scarlet stain.


Stuck to a tree, dying, spillage of blood?
This blood stain actually creates a thick, sticky film. In due time, when the blood finally dries, as weather affects it, it turns as white and falls off the tree, much like falling snow.

Isaiah 1:18-
"...though your sins be as (Tola) scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like (Tola) crimson, they shall be as wool."
Psalm 51:7-
7Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
She lays eggs right before she dies. It is her last act in life, as well as her most important! Her sticky spilt blood acts as an incubator for the eggs. Once the pure white flakes fall from the tree, the eggs are ready to hatch. If she does not die on the tree her children cannot LIVE!!! --Hebrews 2:10; For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Hebrews 9:13-14 (New King James Version)
13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?


After Pilate washes his hands and gives Jesus over to the mob, they assure his innocence in the matter by exclaiming, "His blood be on us and our children!" This is a picture of a perfect sacrifice. But it doesn't end there. What happens when the burden of guilt spills upon you and your children as the mob promised above? Let me show you some other instances of the Tola translation of the word worm:

Isaiah 66:24
“And they shall go forth and look
Upon the corpses of the men
Who have transgressed against Me.
For their worm does not die,
And their fire is not quenched.
They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

Mark 9:43-48
43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— 44 where


‘ Their worm does not die
And the fire is not quenched.’
45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— 46 where


‘ Their worm does not die
And the fire is not quenched.’


47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire— 48 where


‘ Their worm does not die
And the fire is not quenched.’
Hebrews 10:29 How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?

Jeremiah 4:30; And you, O desolate one, what will you do?
Although you dress in scarlet,
Although you decorate yourself with ornaments of gold,
Although you enlarge your eyes with paint,
In vain you make yourself beautiful
Your lovers despise you;
They seek your life.


The TRUE "Worm Theology", that everyone is missing out on, has nothing to do with our self-esteem or lack there-of. If this Tola worm (Jesus) does not die; we cannot be resurrected into heaven. Hebrews 10:26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,”
Job 25:4-6 again:"HOW THEN CAN MAN BE JUSTIFIED WITH GOD, or HOW CAN HE BE CLEAN that is born of a woman?
Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in His sight.
How much less man, that is a MAGGOT? And the SON OF MAN; which is a (TOLA) worm?"

Another interesting thing about the Tola worm, its taxonomic name is Coccus Ilicis. Coccus comes from the Latin, coccinus which means scarlet. It was derived from the Greek, kokkos (berry)

Ilicis is Latin; in Latin it means “It is finished”