Exodus 8:19
We have four separate instances in the Bible of there being a mention of God’s finger writing something. The first is found in Egypt, when the magicians that work for Pharaoh comment that the recent plague of the dust turning to lice cannot be duplicated by their tricks, thus it “is the finger of God” (Exodus 8:19). Hence, the term “finger of God” denotes God intervening in the affairs of man to do something that no man can undo, and that no man can duplicate. What is written with the finger of man can be erased, but what is written with the finger of God abides forever.
The next three instances are actual events, not just titles used to describe events, as was the case in Exodus chapter 8. In Exodus 20, God gives Moses the 10 Commandments, which He etches into stone with His finger (Exodus 31:18). These commands are just, holy and good (Romans 7:12), but they provide no life; only death (Galatians 3:21). The first time that God’s finger appears and writes, it gives us Law, which defines God’s holiness and demands that man live up to that standard.
Many years later, God’s finger appears again, this time in the feast room of a secular king, Belshazzar. “In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace” (Daniel 5:5). The “handwriting on the wall”, as it has come to be known, revealed God’s judgment against Babylon. Specifically, the judgment stated that Belshazzar had been weighed in the balances and found wanting, meaning that God’s even-handed judgment found sin and iniquity in the rebellious Belshazzar. The same night that the handwriting appeared, Belshazzar was killed and the throne changed hands.
God’s judgment must inevitably follow God’s Law. Where the Law is proclaimed, men are held accountable for their keeping or breaking of that Law. Paul wrote, “Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them” (Galatians 3:10). God’s finger had written the Law, and now God’s finger had written the sentence for the breaking of that Law. Since both were written by the finger of God, there was no reversing either.
Then comes Jesus, sitting in the temple one beautiful morning, when the religious leaders bring Him a woman that they have just caught in the act of adultery. They cite the law of Moses as demanding that she should be stoned, which encompasses both of the first two instances of the finger of God. In the first case, God wrote, “Thou shalt not commit adultery”. In the second case, God’s finger wrote of the punishment and judgment for breaking that law, which was death by stoning. Jesus seems not to notice, instead electing to stoop down, “and with His finger wrote on the ground” (John 8:6). Do you see where Jesus is going?
The “ground” that Jesus wrote on was the pavement stones of the temple courtyard. The scuttling of many feet over the stones left the floor with a thin layer of dust, which Jesus moves with His finger, much like someone writing “Wash me” in the dust of a car window. We do not know what He wrote, but whatever it was, it caused the accusers to drop their rocks and walk away. We may not know the exact words, but based on the history of the “finger of God” and the fact that Jesus turns to the woman and says, “Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more” (John 8:11), it is obvious that this time, God’s finger wrote something like: “Grace”, and if God wrote it, no man can erase it!
We have four separate instances in the Bible of there being a mention of God’s finger writing something. The first is found in Egypt, when the magicians that work for Pharaoh comment that the recent plague of the dust turning to lice cannot be duplicated by their tricks, thus it “is the finger of God” (Exodus 8:19). Hence, the term “finger of God” denotes God intervening in the affairs of man to do something that no man can undo, and that no man can duplicate. What is written with the finger of man can be erased, but what is written with the finger of God abides forever.
The next three instances are actual events, not just titles used to describe events, as was the case in Exodus chapter 8. In Exodus 20, God gives Moses the 10 Commandments, which He etches into stone with His finger (Exodus 31:18). These commands are just, holy and good (Romans 7:12), but they provide no life; only death (Galatians 3:21). The first time that God’s finger appears and writes, it gives us Law, which defines God’s holiness and demands that man live up to that standard.
Many years later, God’s finger appears again, this time in the feast room of a secular king, Belshazzar. “In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace” (Daniel 5:5). The “handwriting on the wall”, as it has come to be known, revealed God’s judgment against Babylon. Specifically, the judgment stated that Belshazzar had been weighed in the balances and found wanting, meaning that God’s even-handed judgment found sin and iniquity in the rebellious Belshazzar. The same night that the handwriting appeared, Belshazzar was killed and the throne changed hands.
God’s judgment must inevitably follow God’s Law. Where the Law is proclaimed, men are held accountable for their keeping or breaking of that Law. Paul wrote, “Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them” (Galatians 3:10). God’s finger had written the Law, and now God’s finger had written the sentence for the breaking of that Law. Since both were written by the finger of God, there was no reversing either.
Then comes Jesus, sitting in the temple one beautiful morning, when the religious leaders bring Him a woman that they have just caught in the act of adultery. They cite the law of Moses as demanding that she should be stoned, which encompasses both of the first two instances of the finger of God. In the first case, God wrote, “Thou shalt not commit adultery”. In the second case, God’s finger wrote of the punishment and judgment for breaking that law, which was death by stoning. Jesus seems not to notice, instead electing to stoop down, “and with His finger wrote on the ground” (John 8:6). Do you see where Jesus is going?
The “ground” that Jesus wrote on was the pavement stones of the temple courtyard. The scuttling of many feet over the stones left the floor with a thin layer of dust, which Jesus moves with His finger, much like someone writing “Wash me” in the dust of a car window. We do not know what He wrote, but whatever it was, it caused the accusers to drop their rocks and walk away. We may not know the exact words, but based on the history of the “finger of God” and the fact that Jesus turns to the woman and says, “Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more” (John 8:11), it is obvious that this time, God’s finger wrote something like: “Grace”, and if God wrote it, no man can erase it!
