THE FINGER OF GOD

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

"Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the ground,' and throughout the land of Egypt the dust will become gnats." They did this, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with the staff and struck the dust of the ground, gnats came upon men and animals. All the dust throughout the land of Egypt became gnats. But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not. And the gnats were on men and animals. The magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." But Pharaoh's heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the LORD had said." Exodus 8:16-19

Lying in the face of God is never a good idea. Pharoah didn’t quite understand that when he promised to let the people of Israel go to conduct sacrifices to God if Moses would pray for God to remove the curse of the frogs. We know that Pharoah never intended to make good on his promise and he didn’t. Moses prayed, God delivered and all the frogs died but Pharoah continued to harden his heart and hold the Israelites captive. So God just continued to punish Egypt as we see in today’s scripture.

This time, God didn’t warn Pharoah about what was to come. He just told Moses to have Aaron once again use the powerful staff to "strike the dust of the ground", turning "all the dust throughout the land of Egypt" into gnats which swarmed and "came upon men and animals". Imagine how this must have been for Egypt. Hordes and hordes of swarming, flying, biting gnats, as plentiful as the grains of dust …everywhere. There was no escaping them. It had to make the bloody water and frog invasion seem almost tolerable by comparison. But there was something else very different about this latest curse from God…something that sent a powerful message to Egypt that seemed to register with everyone except…you guessed it…Pharoah.

For no matter how hard they tried, the magicians of Pharoah could not "produce gnats by their secret arts". They had been able to reproduce the water changing to blood and the creation of frogs but could not come up with the gnats. So they went to Pharoah with only one explanation for their inability to replicate what had happened. They told him, "This is the finger of God." In other words, there was no other explanation for what had happened than God. The God…Lord of the people of Israel…and Lord of the Egyptians, even if they didn’t understand or acknowledge it. Still…despite the evidence present in the gnats that bit away at him, his family and his people…despite the inability of his magicians to duplicate what God had done...despite the magicians’ testimony that the gnat invasion was from the finger of God…despite all this…Pharoah still hardened his heart and would not listen…just as the Lord had predicted.

Yes…the magicians realized it and we should as well. The finger of God is powerful and able to do the miraculous.

This very same finger will inscribe the two stone tablets of the testimony before they’re given to Moses by the Lord on Mount Sinai. (Exodus 31:18). These tablets will list the commandments of God that Moses will deliver to the Israelites…what we better know as the Ten Commandments.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus mentioned that He drove out demons by the finger of God while telling His listeners that the kingdom of God had come to them. (Luke 19:20) And indeed, through Jesus it had, just as He comes to us today.

Question: Do you ever consider the finger of God and the power it holds in your life? This finger that wrote commandments on a stone tablet can write a new way of life onto a stone-hard heart. This finger that drove out demons can still do it today. What is demonizing your spirit today as we get set to enter a new year? Illness? Financial issues? Relationship problems? Addiction? Don’t you want relief? Then turn to the only One who can help…One who is Almighty, All Powerful, All Able, All Willing and All Loving…the One who promised He would never give you a burden you couldn’t bear…as long as you turn to Him and His strength…a strength and power that can come with just a touch from His finger. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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