Tola
“But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people.” Psalm 22:6 CSB
I was reading the book of Judges in my morning devotion, and I came across two interesting verses that I have read before but never noticed. During the time of the Judges, the people really got further and further away from the generation that entered the Promised Land with Joshua and Eleazar, the High Priest. It’s been generations now, and the children of Israel were living as everyone felt was okay according to their own standards. It caused a lot of problems. In fact, Gideon’s son, Abimelech, murdered 70 of his brothers. Things were not looking good for the Israelites. Families were at each other’s throats, literally. Idolatry was running rampant, which meant sexual immorality was too. Idolatry and sexual immorality go hand in hand. Then we come to Judges 10:1-2, and it says: “After Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in the mountains of Ephraim. He judged Israel twenty-three years; and he died and was buried in Shamir.” That’s it. Two verses sum up one Judge’s life, whose name is Tola. We are told only that he was from Issachar, his dad was Puah, and his granddad was Dodo! Ha! And that he lived in the mountain area of Ephraim. For 23 years, he judged, he governed the people, and they had peace. In fact, the verse says Tola arose to save Isreal! I found that interesting. Save them from what? Well, Abimelech’s sudden death left them without a leader, leaving them open to their enemies attacks. Not having a covering made them feel vulnerable. But they were also left to their own sin again and needed saving. Now, what blew my mind is that Tola’s name in Hebrew means “worm.” You could read the verse like this: “There arose to save Israel... Worm.” When I read that verse, I immediately said, “Where have I read ‘worm’ before in the Bible?” Ah! Psalm 22:6, one of the great Messianic Psalms! That Psalm is about Jesus Christ coming. In the midst of that incredible Psalm, which I encourage you to read, King David pens this same word, Tola, in verse 6. How is Judges 10:1 connected to Psalm 22:6, a Messianic Psalm? You see, Jesus would come on the scene, and Psalm 22 describes in incredible detail the events of Jesus’ death on the cross, a thousand years before it took place! It is connected because, like Tola, the worm guy, Jesus would arise and also save His people! He would be despised and rejected by man. He would be a reproach to them, like a worm. There is an interesting fact about a worm in the Middle East, called the scarlet worm. When this specific worm is crushed, it has a crimson blood that runs out of it and stains. They used to use this worm’s blood to dye clothing. Jesus crimson blood stains our lives, covering us in His blood. His blood washes over us as he was crushed on the cross of Calvary. It is so incredible to me to see the crimson thread flow through the pages of Scripture, even from an obscure man life like Tolas. His life was pointing to Jesus, the One who rises to save you and me. The Bible is so awesomse, it is living and active. It is one book, telling one story, His-Story our Savior Jesus Christ who became a Tola for us!
Agape,
Frank
