Jesus & The Finger Of God (part 2)

Working backwards through the Scriptures, the “finger of God” is encountered in the book of Daniel, when “the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the royal palace wall” (5:5b), with this occurring during a great banquet being hosted by King Belshazzar of Babylon.  In an era in which the book of Daniel commanded a great deal of attention, and which was quite obviously on Jesus’ mind, owing to His constant reference to Daniel’s Son of Man, this instance of usage is quite worthy of the attention of all eager students of Jesus and Scripture. 

In the story, Daniel is called upon to interpret what the finger has written, eventually informing the king that it pronounced his doom.  Daniel informed the king that “God has numbered your kingdom’s days and brought it to an end… you are weighed on the balances and found to be lacking… your kingdom is divided and given over to the Medes and Persians” (5:26b,27b,28b). 

Now, it cannot be overlooked that at this banquet “Belshazzar issued an order to bring in the gold and silver vessels---the ones that Nebuchadnezzar his father had confiscated from the Temple in Jerusalem---so that the kings and nobles, together with his wives and concubines, could drink from them…  As they drank wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone” (5:2b,4).  The writer reports that it was “At that very moment the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote.” 

It must be noted that Belshazzar was drinking from that which had been plundered from the Temple, doing so as a strong man, fully armed, guarded in his own palace, and seemingly safe with all of his possessions.  However, it was “in that very night Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, was killed.  So Darius the Mede took control of the kingdom” (5:30-31a).  A stronger man attacked him and conquered him, surely plundering all of Belshazzar’s once safe possessions.  Might this very story have been on Jesus’ mind as He spoke of and acted out the finger of God?   

The finger of God is also referenced in conjunction with the delivery of the Ten Commandments.  In Deuteronomy, Moses reports that “The Lord gave me the two stone tablets written by the very finger of God, and on them was everything He said to you at the mountain from the midst of the fire at the time of that assembly” (9:10).  Likewise, in Exodus, it is recorded that “He gave Moses two tablets of testimony when He had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, tablets of stone written by the finger of God” (31:18).  By making mention of the finger of God in reference to Himself, Jesus brings the hoped for and ultimately inevitable comparisons to Moses into play. 

Though Matthew’s presentation of Jesus as the new Moses is quite explicit, Luke’s is more subtle.  Where Matthew has Jesus referencing a commandment by saying “you have heard that it was said, and then adding the rejoinder of “but I say unto you,” Luke’s Jesus is less forceful and less overt.  A perfect example from Matthew has Jesus saying “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘hate your enemy’” (5:43), before offering up His response of “But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you” (5:44).  In Luke, Jesus says “But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who mistreat you” (6:27), omitting the “you have heard that it was said.”  The “you have heard that it was said,” making reference to the Mosaic law and the interpretation of that law, is implied. 

Remembering Egypt (part 1 of 2)

…that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt. – Deuteronomy 16:3b  (ESV)

In the book called Deuteronomy, the fifth and final book of what are commonly referred to as the “books of Moses,” we find the above statement made in connection with the celebration of the Passover.  Now, it is often said that we should forget the past and put things behind us, and we are routinely told not to dredge up old memories, because doing so is not useful or helpful.  Yet here, Moses tells the people of Israel, God’s covenant people---those that are called a chosen and treasured possession to whom God has gone out to reveal Himself and to make a people for His praise and His glory, to actively call to mind their day of deliverance from the place of their captivity and servitude.  The instruction to them is to do this “all the days of your life,”  and this charge is given this quite seriously.  Moses is presented as being so insistent about this directive, that throughout the book of Deuteronomy, which is set forth as Moses’ final address to the people of Israel, we find Moses consistently reminding the people of their time in Egypt.  In fact, Egypt is mentioned nearly forty times through the course of Deuteronomy. 

The people had said, “Because the Lord hated us He has brought us out of the land of Egypt…to destroy us” (1:27).  Moses told them “The Lord your God will fight for you, just as He did for you in Egypt” (1:30).  He reminds them that “the Lord has taken you…out of Egypt, to be a people of His own inheritance” (4:20), and references the “trials…signs…wonders…war…mighty hand…outstretched arm…deeds of terror…which the Lord your God did for you in Egypt” (4:34), to bring them “out of Egypt with His own presence, by His great power” (4:37).  Moses reminds them again of the very words of the Lord, which had been “I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (5:6), before recounting for them the “Ten Commandments.”  To these, he then adds, “take care lest you forget the Lord, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (6:12).  In association with these commandments, the people were instructed to tell their children, “We were…slaves in Egypt.  And the Lord brought us out of Egypt...And the Lord showed signs and wonders…against Egypt” (6:21-22).

Moses speaks of God’s faithfulness to His people, telling them that “it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that He swore to your fathers, that the Lord has…redeemed you from the house of slavery…of Egypt” (7:8), adding a reminder of “the evil diseases of Egypt” (the plagues) that did not come upon Israel.  The people are charged to remember “what the Lord…did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt” (7:18).  As we move forward, we find Moses warning the people against unfounded pride in their prosperity, prophesying that their hearts will “be lifted up,” and that they would “forget the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (8:14).  He tells them to “Remember and do not forget how your provoke the Lord your God to wrath…From the day you came out of the land of Egypt” (9:7), as a reminder of His longsuffering nature. 

With that, Moses has them call to mind their rebellion, and informs them that even when the Lord speaks, He reminds the people what has been done for them, speaking to Moses of the “people whom you have brought from Egypt” that “have acted corruptly” (9:12).  With that said, when Moses speaks to God, he even takes it upon himself to make mention of Egypt in connection with His people, turning that around and calling them the people “whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand” (9:26).  These very people, whom God brought out, were the evidence of God’s covenant faithfulness, as they “went down to Egypt seventy persons,” and “the Lord” made them “as numerous as the stars of heaven” (10:22).  Even when they thought of their vast multitudes, they were made to remember Egypt.