THE FINGER OF GOD

Where in scripture this phrase is used –

• Ex. 8:19(Amp) – Then the magicians said to Pharoah, ‘This is the finger of God!’ But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and strong, and he did would not listen to them; just as the Lord has said.

• Ex. 7:1-7 – gives the background: God told Moses “See I have made you like God to Pharoah, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to speak everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharoah that he must release the Israelites from his land. But I will harden Pharoah’s heart….

o The magicians had been able to duplicate God’s miraculous power in causing rods to change into serpents (Ex. 7:8-13 – yet Aaron’s staff/serpent swallowed the others up), caused all the fish to die (Ex. 7:18-23 – the Nile stank with dead fish; yet the magicians chose to duplicate this act), multiplied frogs (Ex. 8:5-8 – they covered the land both inside and outside of dwellings), -

 It’s interesting that Pharoah summoned Moses and Aaron to rid the land of the frogs, not upon his magicians (Ex. 8:8)

o but COULD NOT, though they attempted to, reproduce ‘biting gnats and mosquitoes (Ex. 8:16-18), boils (Ex. 9:8-12). The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils for boils were upon the magicians and on all the Egyptians (v.11)

o At that point the magicians stopped trying to duplicate God’s wondrous works.

• Ex. 31:18 – And He gave to Moses, when He had ceased communing with him on Mount Sinai, the two tables of the testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

• Deut. 9:10(Amp) – And the Lord delivered to me the two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them were all the words which the Lord spoke with you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.

o God’s finger is strong enough to etch words into stones!

o God’s finger was able to stop the magicians from duplicating His signs/wonders. There’s a limit to what he will allow from spirits of witchcraft which is intended to deceive.

o God requires His priests to dip their finger into the blood of the sacrifices to sprinkle on the horns of the altar (Ex. 29:12) – speaking to us of authority of sacrifice to heal and cleanse from sin;

 before the Lord and veil of the sanctuary (Lev. 4:6) to cleanse from sins done in ignorance;

 upon the altar to purify it, sanctify it, and reconcile it (Lev. 8:15) – to consecrate and purity the priests (Aaron’s sons);

 on the mercy seat (Lev. 16:14) – as atonement for the congregation, and the blood of a red heifer directly before the tabernacle and congregation (Nu. 19:4).

o God required the Priest to dip his finger into oil and sprinkle it with right hand before the Lord (Lev. 14:15-18) for cleansing and atonement.

• Luke 11:20 – But if I drive out the demons by the finger of God, then the Kingdom of God has (already) come upon you

o This came as dialogue about signs and wonders (casting out demons was the sign Jesus chose to use to illustrate His authority vs the authority of man and religion.)

o V. 28 – But He said, Blessed – happy and to be envied – rather are they who hear the Word of God and obey and practice it!

o Acts 1:8 – But you shall receive power – ability, efficiency and might – when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends – the very bounds – of the earth.

• John 8:6 – This they said to try (test) Him, hoping they might find a charge for which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger.

o Here we see Jesus, the Son of God, bringing conviction to judgmental and accusing hearts just by using His finger to write in the dirt.

o Jesus is the one depicted in the OT scriptures of ‘priest’ who with His finger cleansed, atoned, purified, and reconciled us to Father God.

o Jesus is also depicted as the ROD of God in Moses hand which defeated the magicians in Pharoah’s court.

o So too, we have Jesus, the authority of Father God with the aid of His Holy Spirit to speak commands into us to show forth the power of the finger of God in our lives!

Conclusion: The Finger of God is like the ‘tip of an iceberg’ to our understanding of His infinite power. We see only a small portion of all that He can do. We serve a God who can do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us. – Eph. 3:20