Study #9: MEM

MEM: THE 13TH LETTER OF THE HEBREW ALPHABET

MEM AND GOD’S NAME (YHVH)

In our previous studies,  MEM is made of two letters: VAV and KAF.

VAV and KAF have a numerical value of 6 and 20 respectively – which added together equals 26 – the numerical value of God’s most holy Name as YHVH.

In other words, MEM is uniquely linked to the essential character of God.

For example, the Hebrew word RACHAM (which has a MEM) speaks of God’s COMPASSION.

It is likened to a mother’s love for her child in her womb. Such an emotion prompts the corresponding  action of care, concern and acquiescence even if the child starts to kick her womb. Thus Isaiah 49:15 asks: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb?”.

It is also a father’s love for his wayward child. The prophet Jeremiah records God’s poignant lament over Ephraim in

Jeremiah 31:20:  “[Is] Ephraim my dear son? [is he] a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD.”

Abba Father, we can discern in RACHAM Your compassion for us like a father’s and mother’s love for their wayward children. MEM thus connects us to Your innate nature as the Father who loves His prodigal children enough to show compassion and mercy for their sins and to long for a restoration of broken relationships.