The Crushed Worm

1
The Crushed Worm

• Come, lets 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
  118 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.