(Key verses: Gen 37:12-17; Gen 38)

The theme of spiritual glorification is intimately connected to the caring for God’s flock and the salvation of all, as we also see typified in the life of Joseph. The following words come from the mouth of Joseph as written in scripture. These are words Joseph spoke to his brothers after they sold him to slave traders who brought him to Egypt, where he eventually, through much tribulation, ended up as ruler in Egypt under the Pharaoh:

Gen 45:5 Now do not be troubled or angry with yourselves for sending me away, because God sent me before you to be the saviour of your lives. (BBE)

Gen 45:5 Now do not be upset or blame yourselves because you sold me here. It was really God who sent me ahead of you to save people’s lives. (GNB)

Gen 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

Joseph was sent ahead of his brothers by God not only to supply food for his own family, but eventually to save many people’s lives. This is what God’s elect are called to be – saviors. However, they are admonished by scripture to be diligent even in the process of caring for those who have been given to them in this age (Oba 1:21, Joh 21:15-17, Rom 12:10, Gal 6:10, Php 2:4, Tit 1:5-10, 1Ti 5:8, 1Pe 5:2-4):

Pro 27:23 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.

The elect of God are called to be good shepherds, among other things, but we all need to be aware that there are also thieves and robbers who are indeed strangers and bad shepherds among God’s flock whom we need to be able to discern (Joh 10:1-5). The distinction between the good shepherd and the stranger is something few are given to discern properly in this life. The basic distinction is first given to us in the lives of the first two sons of Adam and Eve – one who loved to feed the sheep, which points to an honest caring attitude for others. The other son was more focused on “the ground” – focused on the self and ensnared in what man thinks and says (Deu 1:17, 1Sa 15:24, Pro 29:25, Gal 2:12):

Gen 4:2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper [Hebrew: “râ‛âh” = feed/pastor/a companion] of sheep, but Cain was a tiller [Hebrew: “âbad” = servant/in bondage/worshippper] of the ground [Hebrew: “ădâmâh” from “âdam” and link to “âdâm” = man].

This distinction between the two types of shepherds becomes more disguised and needs much deeper discernment as we are all fooled by our own deception (Jer 17:9). This is also what we learn through the family of Jacob while they lived in the promised land. Under the direction of God, Jacob gathered a special breed of flock for himself in the last six years of the twenty years he worked for his uncle Laban in Haran (Gen 31:10-12). Back in Canaan Jacob trusted the care of his flock to his sons, but they did not always inform their father concerning the wellbeing of these flocks. Jacob had a keen interest in his flock and regularly inquired as to the wellbeing of this flock and the welfare of the sons, as he also appointed his favourite son, Joseph, to help in this regard:

Gen 37:1 And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
Gen 37:2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.

Gen 37:12 And his [Joseph’s] brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.
Gen 37:13 And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.
Gen 37:14 And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

In this instance, Jacob was under the impression his sons were attending to his sheep in Shechem, but Joseph could not find them there. They were not at the appointed place. Even a certain stranger whom Joseph met in the field knew more about the whereabouts of these ten sons than Jacob knew at this point in time:

Gen 37:15 And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
Gen 37:16 And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.
Gen 37:17 And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.

The manner in which these ten brothers cared for the flocks of their father became more apparent when we read that they even killed a kid of one of the goats of Jacob to cover for their evil deed of selling Joseph to the slave traders:

Gen 37:31 And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood.

The way they treated Joseph, their own brother, is a further testimony against these brothers’ shepherding and caring attitudes. These brothers of Joseph not only had no respect for the life of Joseph and the father’s flock, they also saw no problem in using lies and deceit in the process of reporting to their father on the status of their own brother and the flock:

Gen 37:32 And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no.
Gen 37:33 And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
Gen 37:34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
Gen 37:35 And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.

Although Reuben, the eldest of the twelve sons of Jacob, was the first to save Joseph’s life by giving his fellow brothers the idea to cast Joseph in a pit, the role of one of the other brothers, namely Judah, also becomes very interesting:

Gen 37:26 And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?
Gen 37:27 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.

The words “for he is our brother and our flesh” reveals something about Judah’s caring heart which will become more apparent as we follow this man’s life, as he also distanced himself physically from his brothers after this ordeal with Joseph:

Gen 38:1 And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.

It is especially through the story of Judah, and his life away from his brothers, that certain aspects of Judah’s life are brought to our attention. We also know through Jacob’s words on his deathbed that Judah’s future role in his own family and in God’s plan becomes clearer:

Gen 49:8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.
Gen 49:9 Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
Gen 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

It is through the generations of Judah that the true kingly offspring and pastoral leadership of the physical Jews came, as we also see in the life of king David. This, of course, typifies the rulership of Christ and the role of God’s elect who will be kings and priests (shepherds) for God in the symbolic thousand-year reign on earth and judges in the spiritual eon (1Co 6:2-3, Rev 20:4-15). Judah took leadership among his brothers in many instances, especially on his return to the family later in negotiations with Joseph, whom they did not recognize at that time (Gen 37:26, Gen 43:8-10, Gen 44:14-34, Gen 46:28). The word “Jew” is an abbreviation of the word “Judah” which gives us an idea how his leadership eventually covered all the twelve tribes of physical Israel, also in the unified kingdoms under David and his son Solomon. Here again we see the relationship in the roles of Judah and Joseph and why both these typify vital aspects of our own position of rulership within the spiritual kingdom of God:

1Ch 5:2 For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph’s.

So while Joseph would endure thirteen years of hardship in Egypt, the spirit of God brings our focus to Judah’s life in this same time period. Before Judah’s leadership was further entrenched among his brothers, however, he mingled with the uncircumcised of the land and had an intimate relationship with one of their daughters in his time away from his brothers:

Gen 38:2 And Judah saw there [when he was with his friend Hirah] a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah [in Hebrew this means ‘wealth’]; and he took her, and went in unto her.

Spiritually Canaanites symbolize the false shepherds who have uncircumcised hearts, meaning also our own time when we are still filled with pride and the lusts of the flesh although we understand spiritual things and are within the promised land (Gen 24:3, Gen 27:46, Gen 28:1, Deu 7:3, 2Co 6:14-16, 1Jn 2:16). Through this marriage of Judah, he fathered three sons, which also indicates the process through which our own heart is revealed to us and how we will be established as a true shepherd of God:

Gen 38:3 And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er.
Gen 38:4 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan.
Gen 38:5 And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him.

The place where Judah lived at this time was called “Chezib”, which means “falsified” relating to living a lie. The names which Judah gave to these three sons are also significant in terms of this falsified state of his thinking at this stage. We all encounter this part of our journey when God works out the old false shepherd in our own hearts to establish the characteristics of the true Shepherd in us. The first characteristic of a true shepherd in the flock of God is revealed through the name which Judah gave to his first son – he called him Er, and it means “to be watchful”. Er married a certain Tamar whom Judah chose for Er as a wife:

Gen 38:6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar.

Tamar means “palm-tree” which is also the stature of the bride of Christ as seen on the doorposts, doors and walls in the spiritual house of God, which is His temple and His heavenly city (Son 7:7, 1Ki 6:29-33, Eze 40:16, Eze 41:23-25). Here are a few characteristics of the palm tree and the true shepherds who are watchful:

Psa 92:12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Psa 92:13 Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.
Psa 92:14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;
Psa 92:15 To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

This stature of the true shepherds is a reflection of God’s righteousness with unfeigned love of the brethren:

1Pe 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.

Not to be watchful and sincere in our love and care for our heavenly Father’s flock is a wicked thing, and what happened to Er is a serious admonition to God’s shepherds:

Gen 38:7 And Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.

God admonishes His true shepherds to always be diligent in taking “heed unto thyself” first of all, but also in their watchfulness in leadership within the flock of God as we are our brother’s keeper (1Co 16:13-14, Eph 4:11-12, Col 4:2, 1Th 5:6, 1Ti 4:16, 2Ti 4:5, 1Pe 4:7, Rev 3:1-3). The sheep need a constant watchful eye because the spiritual wolves are always busy bringing their worldly care, which is just a camouflage to enlarge their own profile (1Sa 17:34-35, Isa 40:11, Joh 10:11, Heb 13:17, Rev 7:17):

Act 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Act 20:29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Act 20:30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

Er was the firstborn of Judah, and he died without fathering any children. This also links to our own firstborn, our flesh and its failure to be a true shepherd of God’s spiritual offspring. There is truly little profit in fleshly care as that will not bring us to spiritual glorification (1Co 15:50, 1Ti 4:8):

1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

The second son of Judah was named “Onan”, which means “to be strong or courageous.” This is another important characteristic of a true shepherd, especially seen in the life of David, who is another example of a true shepherd of God (1Sa 17:34-36). Judah gave Onan a special command:

Gen 38:8 And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother’s wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.

To raise seed for one’s brother was also codified later in the law of Moses (Deu 25:5-6). This is just another way of saying that life comes through death, which the flesh is also incapable of producing (Joh 6:63, Rom 5:12-21). It is only through Christ, the life-giving spirit, that anyone can be a good shepherd to do the Father’s commandments (Joh 15:16). The true Shepherd is strong indeed and will see to it that the sheep will be cared for and that they will produce and bring forth the fruit of the spirit to the glory of the Father (Gal 5:22-23). However, Onan revealed cowardice and a selfish spirit and did not honour his father’s request:

Gen 38:9 And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.

This spirit in Onan also reveals how those fleshly shepherds are “measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves” (2Co 10:12). Flesh is selfish and is always looking for its own glory and whatever benefits it can get hold of as quickly as possible. Self-centeredness runs in every fiber of the first Adam, and no one is immune to that. This is the spirit that rules in the false shepherds who live from the sheep instead of caring for the sheep:

Eze 34:2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
Eze 34:3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.

Onan was also slain by God as flesh can never please God in terms of the true caring for others (Mat 7:22-23, Rom 8:8):

Gen 38:10 And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also.

Another characteristic of a true shepherd is revealed through Judah’s third son, whom he called Shelah, which means “to make a request or petition.” True shepherds always look for green pastures for their sheep. Spiritually this also links to being meek and humble in making petitions on behalf of our brethren in Christ with words of encouragement and deeds of compassion (Psa 23:1-2):

Gal 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
Gal 6:2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

Tamar typifies the church and its elected shepherds who are patient to be rewarded with an offspring (1Co 15:58, Gal 6:9, Jas 5:7-8):

Gen 38:11 Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father’s house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.

Judah reneged on his promise to Tamar and his duty to look after the welfare of his daughter-in-law, whom we have seen is a type of the church. Judah was more concerned with the preservation of his own physical offspring, which again admonishes God’s true shepherds as to where their compassion and care should be:

Mat 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

Judah’s own wife died afterward, and after his time of mourning, he and his friend Hirah went to Timnath to his sheepshearers there. Again this theme of shepherding is taken to another dimension through the life of Judah:

Gen 38:12 And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah’s wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath [Hebrew: “timnâh” from “mânâh” – to count/an assigned portion], he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.

True shepherds are more interested in feeding the flock to the glory of God and for the benefit of the Father, as typified in many of the Old Testament types like Abel, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and David (Gen 4:2, Gen 37:2, 1Sa 17:15, 1Pe 5:1-3). Shearing of our flocks, in its negative application, reveals our desire to benefit personally from God’s works in being preoccupied to give ourselves a reward in this life (Gen 31:19, 1Sa 25:1-4, 2Sa 13:23-24, Isa 53:7). The false shepherds are more attracted to the shearing, or fleecing, of the sheep – receiving benefits for themselves (Gen 31:19, 1Sa 25:2-3, 2Sa 13:23-24, Eze 34:1-8). This fleecing and covering ourselves with wool is not allowed in the clothes of God’s true priests who serve the inner court of the temple:

Eze 44:17 And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court [of the temple], they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within.

This fleecing of the sheep of God is also connected to the covering provided by a self-righteous heart and the glorification of self and our own fleshly works, as also seen typified in the life of Job:

Job 31:19 If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering;
Job 31:20 If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep.

We are admonished to recognize that all things are of God, and to Him we bring honor and glory for His covering of righteousness for us (Rom 11:36):

Deu 15:19 All the firstling males that come of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy sheep.

Tamar heard about these activities in the life of Judah, and she removed her own clothing of mourning (that is when we stop to die to self), and wanted to get what is rightfully hers as was promised by Judah:

Gen 38:13 And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep.
Gen 38:14 And she put her widow’s garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife.

Tamar is indeed a type of the church, and here she shows the road we all must travel, even playing our part in the veiled harlot church which we cannot recognize as such when we are in that state of delusion, as seen here through Judah’s inability to recognize Tamar. Tamar in her blinded state sexually seduced her own father-in-law to enable her to be impregnated by his seed.

Gen 38:15 When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face.

Judah in this context also represents the false shepherds in that harlot church who are veiled from the truth:

Gen 38:16 And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me?
Gen 38:17 And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it?

Judah’s payment for this was a kid from his flock which he pledged with his signet, bracelets and staff which he gave to this veiled woman who was also unknown to him at this stage:

Gen 38:18 And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff [Hebrew: “maṭṭeh”/“maṭṭâh”] that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him.
Gen 38:19 And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.

Two of these symbols, the signet and the staff, point to election, strength and rulership in the scriptures (Isa 14:5, Exo 7:12, Num 17:2):

Hag 2:23 KJV In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts.

Psa 110:2 The LORD shall send the rod [Hebrew: “maṭṭeh”/“maṭṭâh”] of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.

The bracelets connect to divine authority and leadership as the same Hebrew word is also translated as the blue laces which were to be found in the attire of the high priest in the physical temple (Exo 28:28, Exo 28:37, Exo 39:3). Judah’s leadership role among his brothers, typified by these three symbols as seen in the scriptures, was transferred in this sense to Tamar and the offspring that would be conceived through this act (Gen 37:26, Gen 43:8-10, Gen 44:14-34, Gen 46:28). When Judah wanted to fulfill this pledge to this harlot, she was nowhere to be found:

Gen 38:20 And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand: but he found her not.
Gen 38:21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place.
Gen 38:22 And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place.
Gen 38:23 And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.

Afterward the veiled lady was revealed to Judah as Tamar, his own daughter-in-law, to the shame of Judah.

Gen 38:24 And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.

The false shepherds in Babylon are very zealous, but not according to knowledge because they cannot even see that they are intimately involved in spiritual harlotry (Rom 10:2). The false shepherds want sinners to burn forever in the literal hellfire because they have no love in their hearts, but when we see that we are that harlot church, the focus shifts inside. We all are ashamed of our deeds and words spoken in spiritual Babylon when this harlot is revealed to us (Rev 18:1-24):

Gen 38:25 When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff.
Gen 38:26 And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.

God always uses evil for good, and twins were born to Judah through Tamar:

Gen 38:27 And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb.
Gen 38:28 And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first.
Gen 38:29 And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez.
Gen 38:30 And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah.

The concept of a twin here all points to Christ, and it shows that Christ is both the first and the last (Rev 1:8, Rev 1:11). Pharez (or Phares) was a forefather of the fleshly Christ whom we meet first (Mat 1:3, Luk 3:33). The name of the twin brother of Pharez was Zarah, and it means “rising” or “east”, even as our spiritual Sun rises in the east “afterward” with spiritual healing for all (Mal 4:2, Rev 22:16).

1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

Zarah showed his hand first which points to the spiritual Christ which was first with the Father, but appeared to us as the second born (Col 1:15-17, Rev 3:14):

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.

Detailed studies and emails relating to these foundational themes in Scripture are available on the iswasandwillbe.com website, including these topics and links:

Numbers in Scripture
Who Spiritually is Tamar?
Awesome Hands Part 27 – Twins Were in Her Womb
Awesome Hands Part 28 – He Thought Her a Harlot
God’s Four Sore Judgments – Part 3, Famine-A
Colors in Scripture – Red, Part 2
Numbers in Scripture – Three, The Process of Spiritual Completion

Both Adams Are Red

We have seen how the name ‘Adam’ is the same as the word ‘adam’ and that both mean earthy, of the ground and red. We have demonstrated that this word ‘adam’ whether speaking of mankind, the earth, the ground, or the color red, are all to be recognized spiritually as that part of the man of God which is rejected of God and is in rebellion to the laws of God. Above all we have seen that this is not ‘without’/outwardly and in the lives of others only, but it is first and foremost within the lives of every believer at its appointed time to dominate and later to be dominated. The negative application of the color red is that which first dominates us in the flesh. The positive application of the color red, is the domination of the flesh by the spirit. Both are typified by red.

Isa 1:18  Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

There is also the much less discussed but equally important, positive application of the color red. It is the same root ‘adam,’ but called ‘admoniy’. This word also is used to describe both God’s rejected anointed and God’s elect anointed:

Gen 25:25  And the first came out red [admoniy – H132], all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.

1Sa 16:12  And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy [red – admoniy – H132], and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.

Why are both the lost and the saved pictured as red? It is because no one is lost ultimately. It is because all men must endure that which is temporal before any will come to that which is eonian, leading to that which is immortal. Red, then is the best of the temporal man of God, that which is earthy and first and red, is also therefore necessarily connected with that which is to become immortal.

Crimson and Scarlet in Scripture

There are other words in God’s Word which have this same ‘red’ concept but are not derived from the word Adam. That is what we will cover in today’s study.

The two other words which convey the color red are crimson and scarlet.

2Ch 2:7  Send me [King Solomon] now therefore a man cunning to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson [H3758: karmiyl – red], and blue, and that can skill to grave with the cunning men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father did provide.

2Ch 2:14  The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson [H3758: karmiyl]; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father.
2Ch 3:14  And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson [H3758: karmiyl], and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon.

Isa 1:18  Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet [H8144: shaniy], they shall be as white as snow; though they be red [H119: adam] like crimson [H8438: tola ], they shall be as wool.

Here is Strong’s definition for ‘tola,’ the word translated ‘crimson’ in Isaiah 1:18.

H8438
tola  to le a h  to la ath  to la ath
to-law’, to- lay- aw’, (3, 4) to- lah’- ath

From H3216; a maggot (as voracious); specifically (often with ellipsis of H8144) the crimson grub, but used only (in this connection) of the color from it , and cloths dyed therewith: – crimson, scarlet, worm.

Look at how it is used by King David:

Psa 22:6  But I am a worm [tola, red grub], and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.

Here is a “man after God’s own heart”, the man who is to replace God’s rejected anointed King Saul, who recognizes that he is nothing more than a little red grub “despised of the people.”

This should remind us all of another inwardly applied scripture:

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

The color red should remind us all that we are all Adam, and all that is in Adam is in us by right of birth. It should remind us that we are all in Babylon before we “come out of her:”

Jer 4:30  And when thou [God’s rejected anointed – Babylon] art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson [H8144: shaniy – same word translated ‘scarlet’ in Isaiah 1:18], though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.

Rev 17:4  And the woman [Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots] was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

It takes nothing less than the resurrection from among the dead to change this ‘red’ Adamic nature within us all. Only then can we become ‘ruddy’ as God’s new accepted kings and priests. The flesh is always before the spirit:

1Co 15:46  Howbeit that [was] not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

Christ had to come in the flesh before He could come in us in spirit.

Gen 38:21  Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place.
Gen 38:22  And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place.
Gen 38:23  And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.
Gen 38:24  And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.
Gen 38:25  When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff.
Gen 38:26  And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.
Gen 38:27  And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb.
Gen 38:28  And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first.
Gen 38:29  And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez.
Gen 38:30  And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah.

Pharez, breach; “Pharez, division; rupture,” according to Hitchcock’s dictionary of names, came out first and thus became the father of Christ “according to the flesh.” Here is that part of Christ’s genealogy in Luke:

Luk 3:33  Which was [the son] of Aminadab, which was [the son] of Aram, which was [the son] of Esrom, which was [the son] of Phares, which was [the son] of Juda,

What does the scarlet thread on the hand of Zarah mean? What it means is that Zarah typifies the second Adam. It typifies Christ after the spirit:

2Co 5:16  Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more [after the flesh].

That is never first which is spiritual. Pharez was first and was the physical father of Christ, but the promise of the spirit came afterward:

1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46  Howbeit that [was] not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

Zarah was “afterward that which is spiritual.” Why did Zarah put forth his hand first? He did so to tell us that Christ was first with His Father. He did so to tell us that even though both Pharez and Zarah are born of Judah, who was born of Adam, nevertheless even the first Adam also was “of God.” It is all right here in 2Corinthians 5, only two verses after telling us that we are to “know no man [including Christ] after the flesh” we have this verse:

2Co 5:18  And all things [both Adams – Adam after the flesh and Adam after the spirit] are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

Rom 11:36  For of him, and through him, and to him, [are] all things: to whom [be] glory for ever. Amen.

‘Adam’ means “earthy, red.” The “last Adam” has a “scarlet thread” around his hand and stands for the beauty and health of God’s elect in Christ, who was here before the first Adam. In spite of His preeminence, He, too, was “out of the ground:”

Gen 2:9  And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Zarah, too, was “out of the ground.” Zarah does not mean “division or rupture” as Pharez means. According to Hitchcock’s Dictionary of names, Zarah means:

“East; brightness.” And who is the brightest of them all?

Rev 22:16  I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, [and] the bright and morning star.

As much as the Adversary wants us to believe otherwise, God truly brought and is bringing us our savior “of our own brothers,” out of the red earth, “out of the ground.”

Deu 18:15  The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
Deu 18:16  According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.
Deu 18:17  And the LORD said unto me, They have well [spoken that] which they have spoken.
Deu 18:18  I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
Deu 18:19  And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require [it] of him.

Zarah’s “scarlet thread” foreshadows all of this. Of all of God’s creation, Christ alone was spirit first, and is truly “the same yesterday, today and forever.”

Heb 13:8  Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

Red Blood Both Stains and Washes White

Isa 1:18  Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Isa 63:1  Who [is] this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this [that is] glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.
Isa 63:2  Wherefore [art thou] red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?
Isa 63:3  I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people [there was] none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.
Isa 63:4  For the day of vengeance [is] in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.

What Makes Scarlet and Crimson Sins White?

Rev 7:13  And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
Rev 7:14  And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Christ was Mocked in a Scarlet Robe

Mat 27:28  And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.

Why a scarlet robe? Because scarlet is the color of earthly royalty and rulers. Look at the colors of this ruler:

Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

Who is riding this “scarlet colored beast?”

Rev 17:4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

Jer 4:30  And [when] thou [art] spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; [thy] lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.

Yet crimson is the color of the veil of the temple:

2Ch 3:14  And he made the vail [of] blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon.

So both the lost and the saved are pictured as red because no one is lost ultimately, and because all men must endure that which is temporal before any will come to that which is eonian, leading to that which is immortal. Red, then, is the best of the temporal man of God, that which is earthy, and first, and red is also therefore necessarily connected with that which is to become immortal.

1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

The color red connects the spiritual with its “of the ground” origins.

[Next study in this series is here.]