What is the finger of God?

Demons had never in such numbers been cast out before the Lord's time. Such work could only be the finger of God, and it required the positive conclusion that the kingdom of God had come upon them. This great work cannot be ignored. In one aspect of it, the kingdom was at hand, but in a very real way it had already come upon them in the person of the King, to whom they gave no recognition. Satan was as a strong man armed, keeping his stronghold, his goods not disturbed so long as his strength prevailed. But a stronger than he, the Son of God, had attacked in overwhelming power, divesting Satan of his goods and armor, dividing the spoils, that is, giving to others the benefit of His victory.

(1) The substance of what is here we find in Matt. 12:22-30. The man out of whom the demon is cast is there said to have been blind as well as dumb; and the multitudes ask, "Is this the Son of David?" But there is only wonder, and not conviction; and others refer the power over demons (which they cannot deny) to Beelzebul the prince of the demons. The Lord, addressing Himself to them, shows them that He has read their thoughts, and refutes them by the argument that then Satan would be against himself. But if this were the finger of God, then it was the Kingdom of God that had come upon them.

But the presence and power of the Holy Ghost had been manifested in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and, while the disciples had yet to seek for the power of the Holy Ghost to be present with themselves, the Jewish nation were thus accomplishing their guilt in denying and blaspheming His power And indeed the possessed man was just a type of the operation of grace in power on the Remnant of the people. Others in the midst of 10,000 miracles seek a sign. The Lord in principle morally judges the nation on these two grounds, but the point of moral condemnation is, they did not hear His word. He shows, as to the first, the discernment of the thoughts of their heart, then shows the perfect absurdity and therefore pure malice of the charge. Their own sons cast them out, and they should judge their wickedness. But, for the fact was admitted, it was by the finger of God that the devils were cast out, then the kingdom of God was come among them. They would give the credit to Satan rather than admit that God had visited them in goodness. They proved themselves therein the children of Satan. The real truth was then - a great conflict was manifested between Christ by the power and finger of God, and Satan. It was not merely a question of Jewish reception, it went deeper. And this conflict really existing, they must take one side or the other. He was casting out Satan, and spoiling his goods. They must side with Satan or with God. Christ was the only Centre. No Jewish nation, nay, nor no Church could now hold this ground. It might be in blessing gathered, but could not be the One gathered to, though all the saved might be brought there. But Jewish centrality was gone indeed then. The Person of Christ under the law as giving it was the Centre, but now in flesh and in the manifestation of power. He was the only Centre. Whoever gathered not with Him scattered. By progressive rejection, the Lord becomes the necessary and manifested Centre of His own rights. It gradually ceased to have the character of benefits on rejecting Israel, and became the manifestation of His glory against those that rejected Him. And thus all was centred in Him; whoever was not with Him, etc., for they must take the one side or the other. And whoever did not gather with Him scattered.

It is significant that the next display of power in grace is to open the eyes of a demoniac who was both blind and dumb — what an expression of Israel's state! But the Pharisees once more declare that it is by the power of Satan (cf. Matt. 9:34) He cast out Satan. They do not, they could not, deny the power, but put it down to Satan. The Lord demonstrates the absurdity of it — as if Satan could be against Satan; but their children assumed to exercise that power — by whom? But it was the Lord, casting out by the Spirit (Luke, "finger") of God, the proof that the Kingdom "of God" (because it was a question here of its moral power — not dispensational form) is come to them. He had entered into the domain of Satan's power (such was Israel!) and was spoiling his goods, having first bound the strong man. It was a time of the direct conflict between Christ and Satan: sides must be definitely taken. Whoever was not with Christ was against Him — and gathering not with Him was scattering. The "wherefore" of verse 31 would depend on the power that they owned, but put down to Satan, being that of the Spirit: so to ascribe power recognized in its effects, was blasphemy against Him and not pardonable, "Neither in this age, nor in the age to come." Note, that this passes over the whole present period, which is not an "age," but the fruit of counsels before ages began. Here the principle applied in Matthew 7 to the false prophets, by which men were known, is more generally to the nation or generation.

The character of the opposition is still further dwelt upon. "As Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so these, also, withstand the truth." It was by the imitation of the miracles wrought by Moses that the Egyptian sorcerers sought to blind, and did blind, the king of Egypt. Juggling, of course, it was, and no true miracle; and no deliverance at all was even attempted by them. They could only increase the evil by what they did, and not relieve it. They could bring frogs up out of the river, but they could not take them away. They could turn water into blood, or seem to do so, but could never turn back the blood into water. Thus they could not possibly unfasten the hold of judgment upon them or upon their false gods, and there came a time in which this was fully evident, in which they had themselves to own that there was the finger of God manifest; as therefore in that which they had done there was no finger of God. Just so with the deceivers that were coming in, withstanding the truth by imitations of it, but which could not imitate the blessed salvation of God, for those in conscious need of it. As "men of corrupt mind, reprobate concerning the faith," they too would come to a point in which their folly would be fully manifest. The fruit of God's blessed word, the power of His Spirit, cannot, after all, be imitated. This has its own unmistakable evidence for every one who has eyes to see. The apostle points Timothy, in view of these things, to his own "doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, endurance," in all that came upon him. His life was formed by the doctrine, and his doctrine was in the power of the Spirit of God. Out of all the persecutions the Lord had delivered him, and "all that will live piously in Christ Jesus" must expect to suffer after the same manner, while "evil men and juggling impostors" would continually "wax worse and worse." Thus there is no hope but in the coming of the Lord Himself.

The serpent was an object of greatest adoration among the Egyptians. God began with the serpent as the representative of their whole system. By His power when Moses cast down His rod in presence of the king and the magi, it became a serpent. The magicians accustomed to the power of Satan were not affrighted, and essayed the same with their rods. God permits that their rods should likewise become serpents. But the rods of the magicians becoming serpents proves the direct agency of Satan, who had a brief moment to show his power and to strengthen man in opposition to God. He put his power in direct antagonism to God. He dared to dispute with Jehovah the place of being the object of worship, and imitates the miracle which was to prove the sovereignty of God. Before the eyes of Pharaoh the powers of darkness came into collision with the true God, and in a manner perfectly intelligible to Pharaoh. It was well; it gave irrefragable evidence, and left him without excuse. There was but one rod on the side of God, there were many on Satan's side. "But Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods." How conclusive this should have been to Pharaoh that the serpent which he worshipped was no god! There was demon power under its form. "The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils." (1 Cor. 10:20.) Man has stupidly bowed down to a creature lower than himself, and Satan clothes himself with that appearance. He did it in the garden of Eden to tempt, in Egypt to receive the homage of man. He succeeded in both. If the Egyptians could only have learnt the lesson the forbearance of God was teaching! They worshipped the serpent — what was become of their god? Swallowed up. Only Aaron's rod left. Aaron put forth his hand to take his rod, the magicians had none to take. All this took place that the Egyptians might know that "I am Jehovah." There was no form of idolatry, so widely spread, as that of the serpent. Can there be a more complete condemnation of the whole system than here in its representative? This first miracle stands by itself in this, that it was not a plague. It was simply Jehovah executing judgment upon the gods of Egypt. The last miracle, the destruction of Pharaoh's host in the Red Sea, was not so much judgment upon the false gods as upon their worshippers. The other miracles partake of both characters, that is, both judgment upon the gods of Egypt and a plague upon the Egyptians. A plague because the truth taught by the first miracle was not received, nor the command obeyed of Him whose supremacy had been so clearly proved. Israel was still retained in bondage. Yet, by Pharaoh's obstinacy, God was accomplishing His purpose of judgment against ALL the gods of Egypt. And to make His judgment more manifest, and man's persistency in opposition to the true God, the magicians were allowed to imitate the earlier miracles, until, no longer permitted to imitate, Satan's power stopped, the magicians exclaiming, "This is the finger of God." It is Satan compelled to own God's supremacy; as afterwards demons could not but own the Godhead of the Lord Jesus, forced to say, "The holy One of God."

Their imitations, however, still successfully followed Moses and Aaron and steeled the king against Israel, until Aaron brought life out of the dust of the earth. “Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, This is the finger of God.” The Holy Spirit is thus named in the gospels. It is He Who is in the children of God and greater than he that is in the world. At this sign the psychic men were brought to the dust before God literally. It is striking again to notice what was said to the “old serpent” at the beginning: “Dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.” These signs were given in view of the deliverance of God’s people; and again, when He brings Israel back to their land by and bye, it is said, “According to the days of thy coming out of Egypt will I show unto him (their enemy) marvellous things … they (those who oppose) shall lick the dust like a serpent” (Micah 7:15, 17). The power of God must triumph over every other power, and He shows it victoriously through the salvation of those who believe. Spiritists may imitate. Their familiars may say, God is unknown; but that is untrue. He is fully revealed in our Lord Jesus Christ.

The exceeding greatness of His power, too, toward those who believe, has already been shown in the resurrection of Christ, their representative Head as well as Lord. “Out of dust” man was made at the first; “out of dust” life was brought through Aaron’s rod, and this baulked Egypt’s magicians. Out of “the dust of death” the mighty power of God raised Jesus our Lord, the Head of the assembly from among the dead; and this secures the eternal overthrow through man of every opposing force, and the complete triumph of good over evil, of light over darkness, of Christ over Satan. The children of Israel marched out in triumph. They sang of the Lord’s victory on the far shore of the Red Sea! The magicians had not helped the great Pharaoh, nor had they secured prosperity for his great country by their enchantments. It was severely smitten, the mighty monarch’s power was broken, too, and the Egyptians themselves were spoiled. God’s righteous judgment fell upon that land of dark practices, and His down-trodden people were delivered with songs of gladness on their lips from the tyranny which had made them groan in cruel bondage.

Further, the Lord appeals to the evidence of God's power in opposition to Satan in Israel; for never has He left Himself without witness. By what power did they act? "If I in [the power of] Beelzebub cast out the demons, in whose [power] do your sons cast them out? Wherefore they shall be your judges." Their folly was as clear as their malice. Were they now and definitively to become God's enemies? "But if I in [power of] God's Spirit cast out the demons, then hath come upon you the kingdom of God. Or how can one enter into the strong one's house and plunder his goods, unless first he bind the strong one? and then he will plunder his house."

And so He continues with His perfect argumentation, driving it home to their hearts, as only He could do it. "But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then indeed the Kingdom of God is come upon you." It is impossible that Satan could cast out Satan. There remains, then, only one other alternative; the Spirit of God casts out the demons. Then, indeed, the Kingdom is come upon you in the person of the King who manifests this power. Alas! they knew it, but they would not have Him and the Kingdom He preached.

But the Pharisees also knew that their sons cast out demons, how frequently of course we are not told; but Luke 9:49 records the fact of one doing so in the name of Jesus. Would the Pharisees denounce this as Satan's work? Indeed, the power in that case was the name of Jesus. Therefore their sons would be their judges. But since the Lord cast out demons by the Spirit of God, it was clear that the kingdom of God had come to Israel, unprepared as they were for it. Certainly nothing like this had ever before happened on so great a scale.