Gimel

g The gimel is said to represent a rich man running after a poor man. It is drawn with a vav w and a yud.y where the yud begins on the lower horizontal and meets the vav above the horizontal.The word of God has reached the earth, but man has his own earthly viewpoint, originating with himself, that interprets the word. God has initiated the relationship which is received by man on his own terms rather than on God's terms. Man has his own ideas.

The gimel is a difficult letter to understand since words using it can mean two things which are complete opposites. 'Ga' means both 'majesty' and 'pride'. 'Gb' is both a 'high place' and a 'pit'. It is almost as if two letters got mixed up and combined into one. If you rotate the gimel 180 degrees, the hieroglyph would show Christ returning to glory as he is exalted in holiness and love. Since God is in control of all the jots and tittles, He intends to teach us something from this.

The very thing that exalts Christ is the thing that brought him to the pit. God is exalted when he declares his love for us.

Ex 6:7 And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

Le 26:12 And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.

Jer 7:23 But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.

He is the rich man who pursued us, the poor men, and is exalted when we acknowledge him as God and give him thanks. In the midst of it, we had our own ideas:

Ro 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Ro 8:7 Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

Christ's glory is the cross. It is where his holiness meets his love.

Jesus knew the meaning of the letter and used it in a pun. A rich young man came to Jesus a poor man and called him 'good'. On the surface there is a rich man running after a poor man. Jesus tells him that no one is good but God and that he must keep the commandments to get into the kingdom. The proper thing for the rich man to do was to acknowledge Jesus as God (since he was good) and repent of his sin. Instead, he had his own ideas and made himself to be God.

He was told that no one is good but God, and he insists that he is good. This is called 'threading the needle'. It is defining the law so narrowly that your own sins get ignored and you justify yourself by the law.

He was told to give up all that he possessed, which he couldn't. Christ is the real 'rich man'. He only told the rich man to do what he had done himself. He gave up everything to save mankind.

Jesus summarized the event by punning. He said that it was easier for a literal camel (gamal) to pass through the eye of a literal needle, than for this rich man (gimel) who came running after Jesus, to enter the kingdom of heaven by justifying himself by the law.

Though many have said that the lesson is only for rich people, and we poor don't have to worry about it, Jesus's admonition is the same for us. We must give up everything and follow him.

Mt 16:24 ¶ Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Mr 8:34 And when he had called the people [unto him] with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Lu 9:23 And he said to [them] all, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

gg The gimel when doubled means roof. The rich man is running after us in heaven and on earth. This tells of God's extraordinary care for those who are his. We do not seek God, he seeks us. If God cannot find us when he is actively running after us, then we are lost indeed! But this is not so! He finds every last one of us.

Lu 15:4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?

Joh 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

God's active pursuit of his people covers his house as it's roof. We are covered by the blood of Christ.

gwg When the word of God is added to the 'roof' or the active pursuit of God for his people, the word means 'mountain'. It is the place where God gave his people his word. God intended for Israel to stay with him on the mountain, to stay within his word covered by his 'roof'.

Ex 3:12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this [shall be] a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

But because they did not recognize the holiness of God, he separated them from his presence on the mountain, and sent them to the land promised to Abraham. This is the same kind of punishment that Adam received in the Garden to teach him that God is Holy (separate). And he kept running after them.

rwbg When the rich man is added to the son (br) rb with the word in his heart (bvr) rwb, the word means 'mighty man'. And when the vav w 'word ' is replaced by the yud y, the 'infinite potential of God's creative power' (gbyr), rybg it means 'Lord'. Jesus is Lord, the son with God's infinite potential who pursues after the poor man to the glory of God.