How does God's "finger" in Exodus 31:18 connect to other biblical miracles? The Finger of God on Sinai • “When He had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone written by the finger of God.” (Exodus 31:18) • The law is not merely divinely inspired; it is divinely inscribed. God’s own finger etches His covenant terms into stone—permanent, personal, unmistakable. Miraculous Pattern: A Divine Signature • Throughout Scripture, “finger” language surfaces at critical moments. • Each scene reveals the same truths: God’s nearness, authority, power, and intent to reveal Himself. Plagues in Egypt: Deliverance and Judgment • “This is the finger of God,” Pharaoh’s magicians confess when they cannot replicate the plague of gnats (Exodus 8:19). • The phrase marks a miracle of judgment and mercy—judgment on Egypt, mercy toward Israel. • Connection: The same finger that wrote the law also dismantled Egypt’s idols, proving His supremacy. Creation: The Cosmos as God’s Fingerwork • “When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place—” (Psalm 8:3). • Creation itself bears the imprint of God’s touch. • Connection: The tablets declare God’s moral order; the heavens declare His cosmic order. Both come from the same artistic “hand.” Belshazzar’s Feast: A Warning Written by Divine Fingers • “The fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall…” (Daniel 5:5). • God writes again, but now in judgment on a proud king. • Connection: Sinai carved life-giving law; Babylon receives a death sentence. The finger can bless or condemn, depending on response to His Word. Jesus and the Kingdom: Finger of God in Flesh and Blood • “But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Luke 11:20) • Matthew’s parallel reads “Spirit of God” (Matthew 12:28), equating the “finger” with the Holy Spirit’s power. • In Jesus, the same divine finger that wrote the law now liberates the oppressed, proving He is God-with-us. • Many see a quiet echo when Jesus “bent down and began to write on the ground with His finger” before pardoning the adulterous woman (John 8:6). The Lawgiver also becomes the merciful Redeemer. Key Takeaways for Today • God’s finger signifies direct, hands-on intervention—no intermediary. • Whether carving commandments, toppling idols, scripting cosmic beauty, pronouncing judgment, or casting out demons, the signature is the same. • The miracles form a unified testimony: God’s word is sure, His power unrivaled, His covenant unbreakable, and His redemption available through Christ. |
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