I Needed an Earthworm

(and found one!)
There are some interesting, little referred to, verses about the worm in scripture.

I love that God is a God of infinite detail in all truth. That makes Him past finding out, every layer of detail leading but to a deeper layer.

When God says that we can learn things about Him and His ways by studying the things He created... He meant just that. So there is really nothing in our earth that does not hold some kind of lesson for us to learn if we just take the time to look and consider.

Take for example the earthworm.
Who as a child has not been fascinated with the earthworm? What little country boy has not looked for them to put them on his fishing hook?
But most of us never consider that this little wiggly thing might have something to teach us.

I recently read about the earthworm... not on purpose... but I stumbled upon the information by accident.

I was interested - immediately seeing the lesson.

Though it is hardly a comparison we are attracted to ... man to a worm... it is a fact in scripture that the comparison is made.
Job 25:6 "How much less ... a son of man , who is a worm."
Psalm 22;6 "But I am a worm, and no man...."
Isaiah 41:14 "Fear not, you worm Jacob.."

Why would God choose to compare man to a worm?

Perhaps for the following reasons.
The earthworm has no eyes and no ears, yet it has an inherent attraction to the darkness. Put an earthworm in the light and it is not long before it disappears into the darkness of the earth. It has a love for the darkness even though it is blind to the light.

The carnal man is not so very different , is he ?

The natural man, is spiritually blind to the light, and yet has an inherent desire for the darkness. He seeks the darkness that hides his deeds, to hide who he really is. John 3:19 "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."

How natural this tendency is - we see it in our young children, who go hide when they have done something forbidden. Just as children think they can hide from their parents, man thinks he can hide from God.
The 'darkness' is a false security - a lie from the enemy. Of course God can see everywhere and 'will bring to light the hidden things of darkness' (I Cor. 4:5)

Does this 'bent' toward the darkness disappear when our 'spiritual eyes' have been opened and we have been "delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of his love" and have been "made partakers of the inheritance of the saints of light"?

We have been delivered from the 'power' of darkness and yet our flesh still tempts us to draw back into it. The kingdom of light is governed by 'love' ... the 'darkness' is governed by 'hate'. How easily we think less than 'loving' thoughts toward someone who has slighted or wronged us. Yet the scripture warns.....
I John 2:11 "He who hates his brother is in darkness and walks and walks in darkness and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes."

There was one other thing I learned about the earthworm . His brain is so small that if it is removed, he doesn't notice -- he simply carries on.

This reminded me of what God says about people who deny His existence. "The fool has said in his heart, there is no God." (Ps. 14:1)
A fool is someone who does not use his mental ability, but prefers to just carry on with what comes naturally.
He is someone "lacking in common powers of understanding" , according to Webster.

Who would have thought that we could learn something from the simple earthworm.
But his example is an example to be avoided.
Someone once wisely said... "We do not learn best from our own mistakes, we learn best from other's mistakes".
Maybe we could rephrase that to say ... "The wise man avoids the 'teaching' of the earthworm"

"A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise council." (Prov. 1:5)