Examining the Three Times God Wrote With His Own Finger

Tiff Shuttlesworth opened the program by stating his intention to show the only three times in the Bible where God personally wrote with His own finger. He emphasized that these instances offer deep insights into God's character and His interaction with humanity. These historical moments are crucial for understanding the divine presence and communication throughout biblical history.

The narrative in John 8:1–11 describes Pharisees and teachers of the law bringing a woman caught in adultery before Jesus. They cited the Law of Moses, which prescribed stoning for such an act, intending to trap Jesus. Their aim was to force Jesus into a theological dilemma, hoping to find grounds for accusation against Him, rather than being concerned with justice for the woman.

In response to the accusers, Jesus challenged the crowd by stating, "All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone." This declaration directly addressed their own moral failings. Subsequently, the accusers, starting with the oldest, left the scene one by one, unable to condemn the woman without condemning themselves. Ultimately, Jesus offered the woman grace and forgiveness, rather than the condemnation she faced from the crowd.

Tiff Shuttlesworth then reviewed the three historical moments where God's finger is depicted as writing. First, on Mount Sinai, God carved His moral laws into stone tablets. Second, a death sentence was written on a king's palace wall in Babylon. Third, Jesus knelt in the temple dust, writing near a woman who had been caught in adultery, demonstrating an act of grace.

Shuttlesworth pointed out the hypocrisy of the accusers, noting the absence of the man involved in the adultery. He questioned why only the woman was brought for judgment, while the man was overlooked. This indicated that the accusers were not genuinely interested in upholding justice or the woman's life, but rather in entrapping Jesus with a difficult question.

The speaker then transitioned to the contemporary relevance of God's writing, suggesting that "the same finger of God is still writing." He posed a personal question to the audience: not whether God is writing in their lives, but what exactly God is writing. This encourages listeners to reflect on God's active and personal influence in their daily existence.

The first instance of God writing with His personal finger was the sacred script on stone, specifically the Ten Commandments. Exodus 31:18 records God handing the stone tablets, inscribed by His own finger, to Moses. This direct divine inscription, unmediated by human hands, underscores the divine origin and authority of these fundamental laws.

Moses broke the first stone tablets due to the Israelites' rebellion and idol worship at Mount Sinai. In an act of profound mercy, God re-wrote the same Ten Commandments on a second set of stones. This demonstrates God's persistent grace and His commitment to His covenant with His people, even in the face of their disobedience.

The fact that the Ten Commandments were written in stone signifies the permanence and unchanging nature that God intended for His law. Stone speaks not only of God's enduring character but also of His consistent moral code, which stands as a fixed standard independent of human philosophies or fleeting societal norms.

The law was not intended to cleanse humanity but rather to serve as a mirror, reflecting our dirt, sin, and inherent frailties. It was designed to expose our inability to live up to God's high standards. Romans 3:20 is cited to emphasize that the law's purpose is not to bring salvation but to bring awareness and knowledge of sin, highlighting humanity's need for a Savior.

Shuttlesworth emphasized that keeping the commandments alone is insufficient to earn peace with God or merit a relationship with Him. The same divine finger that inscribed the Law in the Old Testament ultimately points forward to the cross of Calvary and to God's only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus fulfilled the Law's requirements, offering humanity the true path to reconciliation and peace with God.

The second time God's finger is seen writing occurs in Daniel 5, during a wild party hosted by King Belshazzar in Babylon. This event signifies pending divine judgment against the king and his kingdom. It serves as a stark reminder of God's sovereign authority and His intervention in human affairs, particularly in response to pride and defiance.

The mysterious handwriting on the wall was interpreted by Daniel as a divine message of judgment for King Belshazzar. "Mene" meant that God had numbered the days of his reign and brought it to an end. "Tekel" indicated that he had been weighed on the balances and found wanting. "Parsin" declared that his kingdom would be divided and given to the Medes and Persians, fulfilling the divine prophecy of judgment.

Shuttlesworth reiterated the three distinct manifestations of God's finger in the Bible. The first instance involved writing the Law, establishing a moral standard. The second instance, observed in Babylon, was the writing of judgment against King Belshazzar. He noted that the third instance, yet to be fully detailed, would illustrate God's finger writing in grace in the New Testament, completing the narrative of divine interaction.

The speaker drew a parallel between Belshazzar's judgment and modern accountability before God, stating that God still weighs every life against His moral laws. He asserted that, like Belshazzar, all individuals are found wanting apart from Jesus Christ. Jesus is presented as the only path to pass the ultimate test of divine judgment, emphasizing the necessity of faith for salvation.

The third time the finger of God is seen, it is Jesus writing in the dust, an act of grace. This occurred in the context of the woman caught in adultery, as recorded in John 8. When confronted by her accusers, Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with His finger, refusing to engage in a debate about the law or punishment. As Jesus wrote, the accusers, from oldest to youngest, quietly departed, leaving the woman alone with Him. His act of writing served as a silent yet powerful challenge to their hypocrisy, ultimately leading to grace for the accused woman.

The account of Jesus writing in the dust took place during the Jewish Feast of Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles. This feast involved significant water rituals, where water was drawn from the Pool of Siloam and poured out in the temple. It is noteworthy that just before this incident, Jesus had declared Himself the 'living water,' adding a layer of contextual significance to His actions and words during this particular festival.

Some scholars have suggested a theory regarding the content of Jesus' writing in the dust. This theory posits that Jesus may have begun to write the names of the accusers in the dust. This act would connect their hypocrisy and actions to a prophecy given by the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah 17:13 states that those who turn away from God will be written in the dust. Therefore, if Jesus indeed wrote their names, it would have served as a profound and convicting reminder of their own spiritual state and deviation from God's ways, aligning their actions with this ancient prophetic warning.