| November 26, 2000 |
Vol. III, No. 30
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When it came time for Moses to lead the Hebrew people out of Egyptian bondage, God enabled him to work various miracles to convince Pharaoh and the Egyptian people to free them. But initially, the Egyptian magicians had been able to seemingly duplicate Moses’ miracles by use of their “enchantments” (secret arts, NASB, RSV, NRSV). They perhaps used slight of hand, smoke, vapors, mirrors, etc. But when Moses by the power of God, produced the plague of lice, the magicians were not able to do anything to even seemingly duplicate the miracle. Lice, after all, are not as easy to “palm” and manipulate as frogs or snakes. “Now the magicians so worked with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not. So there were lice on man and beast. Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, ‘This is the finger of God,’” but Pharaoh refused to accept the truth, even when the magicians had to admit it! (Ex. 8:18-19).
“The finger of God.” That was their way of saying, “This is an act of God.” “This was done by the power of God.” The magicians perhaps could have held their own with the best of their peers, but their enchantments were no match for the power of God! The Bible tells us several things that have been accomplished by “the finger of God.”
THE FINGER OF GOD IN CREATION. David reflected on the mighty acts of God thusly: “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him...” (Psa. 8:3-4).
Moses tells us in Genesis, chapter 1 that “in the beginning God created” all the material substance that constitutes the entire universe, vs. 1-3. On the third day of creation, He brought plant life into existence, vs. 11. On the fifth day, God created birds and water creatures, vs. 21. On the sixth day, God created the land animals and man, vs. 24-27. Everything in this universe exists today because of the finger of God in creation.
THE FINGER OF GOD IN DIVINE LAW. When God had finished speaking with Moses “on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God” (Ex. 31:18). See also Deut. 9:10. That law did not come from the mind of Moses or other men. It was a Divine manifestation. The finger of God! But even earlier, God had given what we often call “natural law.” For instance, at the time of creation, God had set in order the law that like begets like, Gen. 1:11, 14, etc. He also, from the outset, gave ethical and spiritual responsibilities -- moral and spiritual law. See Gen. 2:15-20, etc. After the Israelite nation had repeatedly violated the Law given on Mt. Sinai, God promised to someday give a new law or covenant to His people, Jer. 31:31-34. The Hebrew writer shows that what we call the New Testament is that new spiritual law God has given to His new spiritual people. God has also ordained civil law, that societies may be governed in an orderly way, Rom. 13:1ff.
THE FINGER OF GOD IN MERCY AND COMPASSION. There are many recorded cases of Divine intervention into human history in which God has shown His mercy and compassion. Though the basic purpose for the miracles recorded in the New Testament scriptures was that of confirming that the message of Jesus and His apostles had come from God, most of the miracles they worked utilized God’s power in mercy for those who were suffering. So far as we know, Jesus only walked on water once. Numerous times, He reached out His hand in mercy to heal those who were sick, afflicted, tormented, and demon-possessed. See John 8:3-12; Mark 7:33; Luke 11:20-22, etc.
THE FINGER OF GOD IN JUDGMENT. In our initial text in Exodus 8, we were viewing one of a series of plagues God used in temporal judgment of the nation of Egypt. The finger of God in judgment. In Dan. 5:1-5, 26-28, we see the finger of God in forewarning a judgment to come on the nation of Babylon. In Rev. 20:10-15, the apostle John foresaw a judgment where the small and the great are “standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books... And they were judged, each one according to his works... And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”
“When the roll is called up yonder” will your name be found in the Lamb’s Book of Life? Only the finger of God can write it there. Jesus longs to welcome you to heaven. He died to make it possible. But He can only say, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” if you have become a servant, and continued to serve Him faithfully. For those whose names are not in the Book of Life, the finger of God brings judgment and destruction. “Depart from Me, I never knew you.”
–CRJ
I am a nice stranger. I never complain, I never create a scene. When I attend church services, I never object if I have to walk all the way to the front of the building to find an empty seat while everyone cranes and stares to watch my embarrassed march.
No. I just take a seat in the manner of a lady or gentleman. I am a nice visitor who never complains. Not even when I have to push by the feet of selfish members who occupy the aisle seats, and wouldn’t move out of their favorite place for anyone. I just sit down meekly and quietly.
I am an ideal stranger. I don’t complain when those in the nearby seats talk and whisper to each other during the sermon, or when someone is busy “cooing” at the babies instead of listening to the sermon. This does make it so I cannot hear the sermon, which I was interested in, but I don’t complain.
I wouldn’t hurt someone’s feelings, or embarrass a mother by asking her to keep quiet so that I, who am not a member, can hear the preacher. I am a nice stranger. I never create a scene if, at the close of the service, nobody speaks to me. No, when they gather in their little groups, it doesn’t bother me. I am a nice stranger, and I am too cultured to say anything about all of this. I JUST DON’T COME BACK.
--author unknown, Enon Endeavor, Webb, AL, July 23, 2000
In Matt. 18:12-14, Jesus says, “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains and seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”
This parable is in a context where Jesus has warned His followers about setting proper examples. He had indicated that it would be better to die young than to live long enough to lead one of His humble followers astray.
He further indicates that if a person should misbehave in such a way as to cause one of Christ’s followers to stumble and fall away, that person would be contradicting the purpose for which Jesus came to earth. “The Son of Man has come to save that which was lost” (Vs. 11).
On another occasion, Jesus spoke basically the same parable to the Pharisees and scribes “who murmured, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’ So He spoke this parable to them saying, ‘What man of you having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.’ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance’” (Luke 15:2-7).
It is interesting that Jesus used this same illustration to His detractors, the scribes and Pharisees when they murmured about His association with tax gatherers and sinners that He had used with His disciples when they argued among themselves about which of them would be the greatest. See Matt. 18:1 and following.
There are a number of lessons we should note as we seek to follow and please Jesus. First, His purpose in coming to earth was to save sinners. As His followers, that should be our primary interest.
Second, we cannot be effective in reaching those who are still lost in sin by spending our efforts trying to impress each other, or by seeking personal greatness in the kingdom of God. In fact, though it is essential that we not become partakers in the sin of others, we must yet maintain some contact with them or else we have no chance of helping them find forgiveness in Christ.
Third, our influence is extremely important -- not only with regard to those who have not yet become Christians -- but toward our brothers and sisters in Christ as well. Our wrong example could cause another to stumble and fall, endangering his soul, and our own
–CRJ