What is the finger of God?

Answer

The phrase “the finger of God” is mentioned four times in the Bible, three times in the Old Testament and once in the New Testament. It signifies the supernatural power of God as it directly influences events in this world. The first mention of “the finger of God” is in Exodus. Moses had just brought about the third plague on Egypt to compel Pharaoh to release the Israelites who had been enslaved for four hundred years. The Lord instructed Moses to instruct Aaron to stretch out his staff and “strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats throughout all the land of Egypt” «And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. », (Exodus 8:16). When Pharaoh’s magicians failed to replicate the miracle, they told Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God” «Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said. », (Exodus 8:19).

The second mention of “the finger of God” also appears in Exodus, referring to the tablets of stone given to Moses. These tablets contained the covenant law, “inscribed by the finger of God” «And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.», (Exodus 31:18). Moses recounts the same incident in Deuteronomy 9:10. It is not meant that God literally touched the tablets, as God is spirit and does not have “fingers”; rather, the phrase “the finger of God” is a figurative expression.

Morphism indicating that God directly caused the commandments to be engraved upon the stone. The 1956 movie The Ten Commandments depicts the writing as coming from a finger of fire, which is probably as good a rendering of the actual act as any. However God accomplished it, the letters were devised and formed by Him, the writing was His, and the engraving on the stones was done by His own power.

The New Testament reference to the finger of God is from Jesus Himself. After freeing a blind and mute man from a demon, Jesus said to His critics, “If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” «But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. », (Luke 11:20). In a parallel passage, the phrase is the Spirit of God rather than the finger of God «But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. », (Matthew 12:28). In both accounts, the meaning is that Jesus performed miracles by the overt power of God, the same power that caused the gnats to swarm and the writing to appear on the tablets of stone.

The finger of God is a reference to God’s unlimited power as He intervenes directly in the affairs of men. The working of the finger of God is unmistakable. No device of man can compete with that power, as even the heathen magicians came to recognize in Moses’ day.