The Crushed Worm

1. The Crushed Worm “Come, let’s talk this over! says the Lord; no matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can take it out and make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you white as wool!” Isaiah 1:18 TLB

2. The Facts, Please: • For many thousands of years man has improved the looks of fabrics, paper, leather, and other materials by coloring them with dyes. At first, there were only natural dyes, make from plants and animals. Later, man learned to make dyes from minerals of the earth. Today most dyes are man-made.

3. The Facts, Please: • In Bible times, dyes were made by preparing a solution of water, potash, and lime. After two days the colored pigments were added. The dyeing was done in stone basins or in earthenware pots. After that, the colored yarn or skin was rinsed in clear water and hung up to dry.

4. The Facts, Please: • In Bible times, there was a worm called the tola. It was a small grub the size of a pea. It got its nourishment by piercing plants like the oak. Swarms of these little worms were beaten off the plants and caught in a container. Then they were crushed. Their blood produced a brilliant crimson dye. It took the bodies of 70,000 worms to make one pound of the dye.

5. The Facts, Please: • The dye from the tola worm was so difficult to make that crimson colored clothes were too expensive for anyone to buy, except those who were rich, great, or noble.