Written with the Finger of God is a sermon teaching us that the finger of God not only wrote of judgment for our sins but also the forgiveness of our sins.
Key verses:
Deuteronomy 9:9-11
Daniel 5:1-31
John 8:1-11
I ask you to take your Bible this morning and turn to Deuteronomy chapter nine. And then for those of you who like to be ahead of things we are also going to look at Daniel chapter five and the Gospel of John chapter eight. So, three different portions of scripture this morning.
Deuteronomy chapter 9 to begin with, I want us to read just the tenth verse and we’ll eventually go back and look at verses 9-11. Let’s look at Deuteronomy 9:10, Moses is speaking and he says:
Deuteronomy 9:10: “And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.”
I call your attention to the phrase at the beginning of the verse, written with the finger of God. I want us to focus on that this morning, the idea that we have something written with the finger of God.
Christian by the Grace of God
Dr. Jacob Gartenhaus was the founder of the International Board of Jewish Missions. We support Roy and Charlotte Lowe who have been with the International Board of Jewish Missions for over half a century now or more and are wonderful servants of the Lord.
Dr. Gartenhaus was not a professor at the school that I went to, a ministerial school, but his office was right across the street. So, he came to the campus often and spoke to us often. He was a wonderful godly man. He was from Austria.
Dr. Gartenhaus was probably as much like the Apostle Paul of anybody I’ve ever known personally. He was not a large man at all. He was a man who loved the Lord. He was a man who was fervent about spreading the Gospel particularly to his own people. And often, when he was introduced to speak, they would be talking about him, whoever was introducing him, but he would walk up and interrupt and say, “I am of age, and I will speak for myself.” And then he would tell us, “I am a Jew by birth, I am a Baptist by choice, and I am a Christian by the grace of God.”
You know, that stayed with me. Now, I can’t make that first claim, I am not a Jew by birth, but I am a Baptist by choice, and I am a Christian by the grace of God. Everyone who is a Christian is a Christian by the grace of God. There is no other kind of Christian. Ephesians 2:8-10, Paul writes:
Ephesians 2:8: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”
“Not of yourselves” – meaning you did not originate that.
Ephesians 2:9: “Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Ephesians 2:10: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
What Paul is saying there is it is God’s grace defined in the book of Titus as the love and kindness of God our Savior toward man. It is God’s grace that saves us. It is by God’s grace we are born again. We are made new creatures in Christ, and we become part of the family of God. And as God gives us His grace, then we believe, and we are forgiven, and we are saved. But we’re saved not by works lest any man should boast.
Nobody goes to Heaven and brags how they got there. Nobody talks how they are better – “Brother Pete isn’t going to Heaven. I’m here because I’m better than old Mike McClure.” He may be but he doesn’t get to brag about that.
The fact of the matter is we are there by the grace of God, the love and kindness of God our Savior toward man. And we are created for this purpose: unto good works. All the good we can do does not save us, but we are saved so that we do good. “Unto good works, which God hath before ordained” – it is God’s will that we walk in and that we should do good things.
In Act 16:30-31, Paul and Silas were down in a dungeon pit. They had been arrested. For what? For preaching. That’s happening today. Men are being arrested for preaching. We think of that as something that happened a long time ago in the New Testament times. It certainly did happen then and there. But the fact of the matter is it still goes on in the world today and in countries closer to you right now than you may think.
“What do you mean?” Well, in Canada, pastors have been arrested in recent months. “I didn’t know about that.” Check it out, you can research the stories yourself. So, that’s getting pretty close to home folks. And the fact is, I think we are going to see more and more of this sort of thing. I’m not rejoicing in that, I’m not happy about it, but I think it’s a reality.
Paul and Silas were in a dungeon, and they were down in the pit. And there was an earthquake. The earthquake happened and the jail was shaken so that the doors swung open but none of the prisoners left. The jailor, who by Roman law – if any prisoners escape it meant his life, pulled out his sword to commit suicide. Paul calls out, “Do thyself no harm for we are all here.”
Then it says the jailor called for a light and sprang in. He had to jump down to where they were and he fell down before Paul and Silas and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” – one of the greatest questions of all time. What must I do to be saved? And Paul and Silas answered:
Acts 16:31: “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
The question: What must I do to be saved? The answer: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, that doesn’t mean that once upon a time thousands of years ago there was a man who lived named Jesus Christ. It means put your faith and trust in Him. Believe that He paid for your sins at the cross. Believe that He was resurrected from the dead and trust Him to forgive your sins. That man did. “How did you know?” Because I read the rest of the chapter.
Choosing to be Baptist
However, as Dr. Gartenhaus said, being a Christian is by the grace of God, being a Baptist is a matter of choice. Now, we become a Christian by faith. We become a Baptist by believing what Baptists believe. What does that mean? There are a set of doctrines called the Doctrinal Distinctives and those are the doctrines that set a church or an individual apart as a Baptist.
I am going to read you the list but as I do understand you’re going to hear some things, “I know people who aren’t Baptists who believe that.” And you will, you will know people who aren’t Baptist who believe these things. But this set of beliefs is what designates a church or an individual as a Baptist.
“I thought you just belong to a national organization or something.” Well, our church doesn’t belong to a national organization and there are many, many Baptist churches that do not. We’re not the only one by any means. “Why is that?” Well, we’ll explain that as we go along. By the way, keep your Bible open, we are coming back to it.
Number one: The Bible is the inspired, infallible Word of God. We just sang this as our last song.
Psalm 19:7: “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.”
In 2 Timothy 3:15-17 Paul writes:
2 Timothy 3:15: “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
2 Timothy 3:16: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”
2 Timothy 3:17: “That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”
That doesn’t mean the man of God is perfect. He is “perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” It means he has all he needs because he has the inspired Word of God.
2 Peter 1:20: “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.”
That means we don’t get to read it and say, “Well, I know what it says but what it really means is something else.” No. It says what it means, and it means what it says.
2 Peter 1:21: “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
The word “inspiration” literally means breathed into. So, God breathed into the writers of scripture the words that we have in front of us today. So, the Bible then is the inspired Word of God. Now, I don’t have a problem holding this one up [holding up a Bible] and telling you this is the inspired Word of God, not just a reasonable facsimile thereof. It is the Word of God, and it is the God-breathed, or inspired, Word of God. So, number one, we are to accept the Bible as the inspired, infallible Word of God.
Number two: We are to see the Bible as our only rule for faith and practice. What does that mean? How are we supposed to believe? What are we supposed to believe? What’s in the Bible, that is what we are supposed to believe. That’s how we’re supposed to believe. And how are we supposed to practice our faith? How are we supposed to conduct our services? How are we supposed to conduct our lives? According to the Bible. The Bible is our final rule for faith and practice. If there is any discussion, any debate over what to do or what not to do always go back to the Bible.
And then baptism and membership are for believers only. Now, that’s not true in every place. I remember talking to a man years ago, a couple of men I talked to. One of them told me he was a member of a certain church not too far from here. He was in the choir of that church, and I asked him, “Have you ever been saved?” He said, “No, not yet.” But he was a member of the church and sang in the choir.
Talked to another man to present the Gospel to him and he didn’t trust the Lord at that time. I went back to talk to him a second time and he said, “Hey, since you were here last time, I want to tell you, I’ve gone to such and such church over here and I’ve not only joined the church but I’m teaching Sunday School.” I asked, “Did you ever get the matter settled about your soul’s salvation?” He said, “No, I’m still working on that.”
So, I’m telling you not everyone believes that you need to be saved, to be baptized, and to be a member of the church. That’s what we’re saying. Well, where do you get that? From the Bible. Acts 8:36, the Ethiopian said to Philip:
Acts 8:36: “And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
Acts 8:37: “And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
And then he was baptized. His faith came first. He believed in Jesus first and then he was baptized.
Well, what about church membership? Well, in Acts 2:47:
Acts 2:47: “Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”
Those who are saved become members of the church. Those who are saved are baptized.
And then there is the autonomy of the local church. That means that the local church is to be independent and self-governing. What does it mean self-governing? That’s why we’re having a business meeting here in a couple of weeks. The church is self-governing – the congregation.
Let me put that in terms that some of you might understand a little better. The building you’re sitting in, the property the building sits on, who owns that? A lot of people think I own it. I do not, I never have, and I never will. Okay, so let’s be very clear about that. I’ve had a lot of people say over the years, “You own all that property?” No, I don’t. I do not.
So, who owns it? West Park Baptist Church, that’s who owns it. Well, I’m a member of the church. Well, congratulations. Do you understand what we’re saying? Okay, so that’s the autonomy of the local church. Now, all of this is based solidly on the Word of God.
Other Baptist distinctives – the priesthood of the believer and we were talking about this in the Sunday School hour. Somebody comes and asks, “Will you pray for me?” Yes, you can pray for them, but they can pray for themselves also. You do not have to come to the minister or anyone else to get to God. You can go directly to God if you’re a believer in Jesus Christ. You have access to the very throne room of God.
Not only do you pray, but God saves your prayers, they are precious to Him. Where do you get that? Twice in the book of the Revelation, the first time in chapter five. You can look it up. God saves your prayers, and they are precious to Him.
And then there are two ordinances of the church. We do not have sacraments. The sacrament imparts grace, but an ordinance does not impart grace. It is something that God has ordained that we should do. The two ordinances of the Baptist church are baptism and the Lord’s Supper – the taking of the Lord’s Supper or some prefer to call it, Communion. Those two are the ordinances of the local church.
Then there are two offices of the local church, the office of the pastor and the office of the deacon. You find both of those in the book of Acts and in the writings of Timothy.
And then there is the separation of church and state. What does that mean? Well, here’s what it doesn’t mean. It doesn’t mean you as a Christian and as a citizen shouldn’t vote. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have any political opinions. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be involved in the government. It doesn’t mean any of that. What it means is that the church is one entity, and the government is another entity, and they are to stay out of each other’s business. That’s what it means.
Now, those are the Baptist distinctives. That set of beliefs is what makes a church or individual a Baptist. It’s not what makes you a Christian. What makes you a Christian is faith in Jesus Christ. But those are the distinctives that make a person a Baptist. It’s all solidly based on the Word of God.
Written on the Tablets
Now, I said that as a backdrop to bring you to our text. So, in Deuteronomy chapter nine we read verse ten a while ago, let’s look at verse nine. Moses says:
Deuteronomy 9:9: “When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water:”
Did you notice that? Moses went up there and he fasted forty days and forty nights just like Jesus did before He went into His temptation. Why? Because God is about to do something great. When Jesus went out for those forty days and forty nights for temptation – fasting and then tempted of the devil – He was about to launch His public ministry, that 3-1/2 year period when he preached, and He taught, and did miracles, culminating with His crucifixion, burial, and resurrection, and return to Heaven.
Here, God is about to do another great event. He is about to give the law of the Lord. He’s about to give Moses the scriptures that we call the Pentateuch, or the five books of the law, or the Torah. He’s about to give that to Moses. It is very important that we understand that the law of the Lord is given because we need a standard of what is right and what is wrong. We talked about this here before.
Why do you know what is right and what is wrong? Well, God gave us that standard. What do you do what is good and what is evil? God has given us that standard. What do you know what is truth and what is error? God has given us that standard.
So, Moses goes up to receive these stone tablets, the original Word of God given to mankind. These stones contained the covenant that God made with Israel. They contain the ten commandments and much more than that. There are actually 613 commandments in the law that God gave at this time. And these commandments are given so we could know what sin is because sin is the transgression or failing to keep God’s law.
Now, come back to verse ten. Notice again as we pointed out earlier, “And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God.” Who wrote those words on those two tables of stone? God himself wrote those words on those two tables of stone. That’s not hard to understand, is it? Look again verse ten:
Deuteronomy 9:10: “And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.”
So, all the words that we have in the law are from God and were originally written by the finger of God himself. Go to verse eleven:
Deuteronomy 9:11: “And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant.”
So, all the words, all the words that the Lord spoke on these two tables of stone and the Word of God gives us the law of God which is the standard for righteousness. So, you and I have the privilege of having personal copies of the law of the Lord, the Word of God, as written by the finger of God.
Now, in our Sunday School class, we talked about this. We don’t have those original two stone tablets. Why not? Because when Moses came down from the mountain and saw the people were worshiping an idol, a golden calf that they had made, you’ve got to think of the logic of that. You made this thing and now it’s your god.
You see, the Bible tells us that God created man. But idolatry, man creates god. Exactly opposite of the truth. And Moses was so infuriated that he broke the original two stone tablets that were written with the finger of God. He dealt with the situation of the people, and he ground up that golden idol into powder and put the powder into water, and made them drink it. Personally, I think that is a great idea.
But the truth is Moses had to go back up into the mountain and God gave him the law again but this time He made Moses write it. And they kept those stone tablets in the ark of the covenant from that time until the destruction of the temple. So, it is this Word of God that we are talking about.
Writing on the Wall
Now, leave Deuteronomy if you will and turn to the book of Daniel chapter five. We’re going to have to go quickly for time’s sake, but we are going to work through this entire chapter. Daniel chapter five. Now to get the backdrop of the story of chapter five, King Nebuchadnezzar had gone down with his armies to Jerusalem and Judah and took the people of Jerusalem and Judah captive back to Babylon and think modern-day Iraq. And they were there for 70 years.
By the time we get to chapter five, King Nebuchadnezzar, who eventually became a believer in the Lord, he is passed away. He’s passed off the scene, he’s gone. His son, Nabonidus, became king, but Nabonidus was out busy fighting a war. And so, he left his son in charge of the Babylonian Empire and his son’s name was Belshazzar. That’s where we pick up the story in chapter five, verse one:
Daniel 5:1: “Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.”
So, they’re having this great feast, the Bible calls it a feast. It became a great drinking session and Belshazzar already had quite a bit to drink and then He gets an idea.
Daniel 5:2: “Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.”
He “commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar” – his grandfather. In Middle East tradition he would say, father. Understand that what he’s done, while he’s been drinking, he’s probably already drunk, and he’s showing off in front of these thousands of guests that he has.
He says [paraphrasing], “You know what, we’re drinking out of these ordinary cups, let’s get those gold and silver vessels that were used in the temple in Jerusalem. We conquered their people; we conquered their God. Let’s get those and then we’ll drink.” Because these vessels have been made particularly for the Lord in the temple. They were not for people to drink in general. They were made for the service of the Lord in the temple. Belshazzar calls for those.
What is he doing? He’s mocking God. He’s saying, “We’ve defeated the God of Israel and I’m going to show you now, we are the reigning empire, and guess what? I am the king.” That sounds a little prideful to you, you’re absolutely right. Verse two again:
Daniel 5:2: “Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.”
Daniel 5:3: “Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.”
Daniel 5:4: “They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.”
Again, Idolatry, gods that they had created. They are taking vessels meant to worship the one true God and they are drinking wine in their drunken frenzy, and they are there mocking the God of Israel. Notice what happens next. Verse five:
Daniel 5:5: “In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.”
Can you imagine that? You’re having this drunken feast, you’re mocking the God of Israel, you’re praising the gods of wood and stone and metal, and a hand appears and begins to write on the wall. Belshazzar looked at that and says, “Huh, that’s interesting, never seen anything like that before.” Is that what he did? No. That’s not what he did at all. What did he do? Verse six:
Daniel 5:6: “Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.”
Daniel 5:7: “The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
The third ruler because he was the actual king, the substitute king. Verse eight:
Daniel 5:8: “Then came in all the king’s wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof.”
Daniel 5:9: “Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonied.”
Daniel 5:10: “Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed:”
Daniel 5:11: “There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;”
Daniel 5:12: “Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation.”
Daniel 5:13: “Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry?”
Daniel 5:14: “I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee.”
Daniel 5:15: “And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not shew the interpretation of the thing:”
Daniel 5:16: “And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
Daniel 5:17: “Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.”
Daniel is not interested in what the king is offering him. But notice what he says next, “Yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.” Watch carefully what Daniel says to the king:
Daniel 5:18: “O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour:”
“Most high God” – El Elyon. “The most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour” – He gave him this empire. Who gave it to him? God did. Verse 19:
Daniel 5:19: “And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down.”
Daniel 5:20: “But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:”
Daniel 5:21: “And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.”
So, he’s telling him, “Your grandfather who built the Babylonian kingdom was a proud man like you are, Belshazzar. But God humbled him. And he came to put his faith and trust in the one true God, the most high God. But, what about Belshazzar? Verse 22:
Daniel 5:22: “And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this;”
He had heard this before; it was not news to him. He knew what had happened with Nebuchadnezzar and he had not humbled his heart. He had not come before God and acknowledged his sin. He had not come before God and trusted Him to save him. Verse 23:
Daniel 5:23: “But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:”
He had rejected the one true God for his idols. He had mocked God and praised his idols. He knew the story of his grandfather and what had happened to him. But he rejected it all.
Daniel 5:24: “Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written.”
Daniel 5:25: “And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.”
Daniel 5:26: “This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.”
This is the interpretation of it: MENE meaning numbered:- numbered, numbered, way, divided. The truth of the matter is, Belshazzar’s kingdom, the Babylonian Empire would not last through that night. Babylon was a great walled city. They said the walls were so thick you could drive four chariots side by side across it. It had a tremendous fortification, but the Euphrates River ran under the wall and came through the city.
Cyrus, the Persian, and Darius, the Mede, attacked the city. They didn’t try to break through the gates. They didn’t try to attack the walls. They dammed up the river. When the water stopped, they came under the wall and marched into the city, and conquered it from the inside. The Medo-Persian Empire, think present-day Iran, overthrew the Babylonian Empire, present-day Iraq. Verse 27:
Daniel 5:27: “TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.”
You’ve been judged. Your case has come before God. You’ve had your trial and you’ve been judged. You’ve been found wanting. Time is up, Belshazzar. God has numbered your kingdom and finished it. And one day, ladies and gentlemen, God is going to say to each of us, your time on earth is finished. Time is up. You’ve been judged, you’ve come up short of the law, you failed to fulfill God’s will, you’ve heard the testimony of God and yet you’ve mocked Him and violated His law. The final word in verse 28:
Daniel 5:28: “PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”
“PERES” – Daniel alters the tense of the word here, “PERES”. It’s the same meaning but he alters the tense. And PERES represents the Persians.
Daniel 5:29: “Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
That wouldn’t last long. Because in verse 30 it says:
Daniel 5:30: “In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.”
Daniel 5:31: “And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.”
Sixty-two years old, he comes in and conquers the Babylonian Empire. That night Belshazzar mocked God like so many others have throughout history and like so many do today. That night, Belshazzar failed to account for the words that Jesus said in Luke 12:20:
Luke 12:20: “But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?”
And that same night in which he set himself against the one true God, he lost the kingdom, he lost his life, and he lost his soul for all eternity. That was the end of the earthly story of Belshazzar. Tonight, and today, his soul still exists in the place we call Hell. He’s been there for thousands of years. He’ll always be there. He’ll never get out. That does not have to be the end of every story.
The Word of God written with the finger of God gave us the law. The Word of God written with the finger of God gave us justice and judgment as it did for Belshazzar. But the Word of God written by the finger of God also brings fulfillment. We finished two stories, let me take you to one more, and then we’ll finish today. Leave Daniel and turn to the Gospel of John chapter eight.
Written on the Ground
John 8:1: “Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.”
During this time, He would go out to the Mount of Olives every night and reside there. The next day, He would come into Jerusalem and go into the temple, and there He would teach. That’s what we find here:
John 8:1: “Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.”
John 8:2: “And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.”
John 8:3: “And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,”
John 8:4: “They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.”
John 8:5: “Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?”
They bring a case before the Lord Jesus as He is there, teaching. He had not presumed to be a judge. They have other motives for doing this. But He came into the city, sat down, and He was teaching at the temple the Word of God so that the people could understand it.
They knew much of what the Word of God said. They grew up in the synagogues and they came to the temple. They had heard what the rabbis and the priests and the others had taught. They memorized large portions of scripture. They bound them on their right hand and on their forehead. They had them written on the doorpost of their homes.
But to know what something says, to know what the Bible says, and to understand it are not necessarily the same thing. My three sons at different times, not all at the same time, were part of a boy choir called the Florida Singing Sons. Michael and I, my middle son, were visiting Pensacola Christian College on one occasion and they had there one night, they were going to have a performance by the oldest and most famous boys choir in the world, the Vienna Boys Choir.
Before the performance that night, somebody asked us, “Do you think they’ll be able to sing in English?” I said, “Well,” and I pointed to my son who was young at the time, and said, “Their choir sings in all different kinds of languages, so yes, I’m sure these boys can sing in English.” Being able to sing the song in English or in any other language doesn’t necessarily mean you know and understand the words.
When I was a young fellow, I was taking Spanish and we were taught to sing “Silent Night” in Spanish. Don’t ask me to do it because I don’t remember it all. I can do about the first few words and that’s it. But I didn’t understand the words. I knew what they were supposed to mean in English, but I didn’t understand. And by the way, they don’t say exactly the same thing. It doesn’t begin “Silent night, holy night.” It begins with “night of peace” not “silent night”. It’s a similar meaning but not the same.
So, what I’m saying to you is the people could learn the words of the Word of God without actually understanding what it means. And they could say the Hebrew words and they could pray those words. They could chant them on occasion, that doesn’t mean they understood them.
So, Jesus went into the temple there to teach and that’s what He was doing when they bring this woman in, and they accuse her of her sin. The scribes and the Pharisees brought to Him this woman. John states she was taken in adultery. The scribes and Pharisees accused her and:
John 8:4: “They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.”
“In the very act” they said, they caught her in the very act. So, it would appear that she was indeed guilty. Then they said:
John 8:5: “Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?”
They referred to two portions of the law, Leviticus 20:10:
Leviticus 20:10: “And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.”
Notice “the adulterer and the adulteress” both of them. Again, they were thinking of Deuteronomy 22:22:
Deuteronomy 22:22: “If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.”
Note again, both the man and the woman. But the scribes and the Pharisees only brought the woman to Jesus. Now, that leaves a large question. What about the man? Had they already stoned him? Had they already killed him? Or did they let him go? Was he one of them? See, we don’t really know the answers to those questions, do we? He’s not there, he should have been there. If they are going to charge her, they should have charged him as well if they are going to keep the law. The question of what happened to the man has gone unanswered for over 2,000 years now.
But judgment and justice under the law of God were not what these men wanted. They had other motives for their actions. Look if you will, verse six:
John 8:6: “This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.”
They are not interested so much in justice regarding this woman, they want to bring an accusation against Jesus. But Jesus stooped down with His finger – He doesn’t say anything to them – with His finger “wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.” He stooped down and started writing.
Now, I heard somebody talking about this recently, he said, “Well, in the temple, the floor would have been clean. And they kept everything clean there so He couldn’t have written on the dust there.” Well, I’m not sure it would have been all that clean. A crowd of men just walked in, there was probably some dust on the floor. And I think that is probably what happened.
Now, there are other things He could have done. It was no doubt a stone floor and had He wanted to, He could have taken His finger and carved the words in the stone. I don’t think that’s what He did, I’ll make that clear to you. But He could have done that if He chose to.
They don’t care about this woman. They are tempting Him. They don’t care about the law of God and getting justice. They want Jesus to say something wrong so that they can say to their friends and to say to the world, “Don’t believe in Jesus. He’s not who He says He is. He will not save you. He certainly is not the Son of God. Follow us, we’ll teach you. Our religion is the way.” That’s what they’re doing.
They want to make Jesus not be who He is. They want Him to not be the Messiah, the Savior, not be the Son of God. They want Him not to be the one who fulfilled prophecy. They are saying don’t believe in Jesus. But He stooped down and wrote on the ground as if He heard then not. Verse seven:
John 8:7: “So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”
He didn’t wait for a response.
John 8:8: “And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.”
What He wrote we’re not told. But here’s what we do know about it. We know that at the end of this chapter, Jesus was going to say, probably to these same men, “Before Abraham was, I am.” He did not say “Before Abraham was, I was.” He did not say, “I am older than Abraham.”
They asked Him that and said, “You’re not 50 years old. You think you’ve seen Abraham?” Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” Now, He’s saying “I am” in the continual sense. He’s saying, “I’ve existed for all eternity.” And He is using the term that God used to Moses at the burning bush when he said, “Who shall I say has sent me?” “Tell them I AM has sent thee.” He is saying, “I am the eternal God.”
Well, they didn’t understand that. Yes, they did. At the end of John 8:59, it says, “Then took they up stones to cast at him.” They were going to stone Him on the spot. “How do you know that’s why they were going to stone Him?” Well, I’ll share that with you in a moment.
Right about now someone is thinking, “Preacher, aren’t you assuming a bit here? Aren’t you assuming that this reaction they took up stones to stone him, that’s an assumption? It does not say that here.” You’re right it does not say that here. But if you continue reading through chapter 9 and get into chapter 10, you are going to find that in chapter 10 verses 30 to 33, Jesus says in verse 30:
John 10:30: “I and my Father are one.”
You know what it says in verse 31?
John 10:31: “Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.”
Second time. In chapter eight they want to stone him when he says, “Before Abraham was, I am.” Now in chapter 10, He says, “I and my Father are one.” And they took up stones again to stone Him.
John 10:32: “Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?”
By the way, this is the answer to all those folks who say that Jesus never claimed to be God. Listen to their answer. He says, “Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?”
John 10:33: “The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.”
That’s why they were going to stone Him. That’s why they were going to stone Him at the end of chapter 8. They understood what He was saying. They understand in chapter 10. He is saying, “I and my Father are one.” He is saying, “I am the I am.” And they were going to stone Him. So, back to verse seven:
John 8:7: “So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”
John 8:8: “And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.”
John 8:9: “And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.”
The oldest ones got it first. They understood. What was He writing? Again, we don’t know. We could guess. Some believe He was writing portions of the law. He may have been. Some believe He wrote the man who should have been brought in with this woman. He may have done that. Some think He began to list the names of the accusers and with their names, He wrote their own sins. He might have done that. He would have known all of these things. We don’t know what He wrote. What we do know, listen, is that He wrote with the finger of God. There is no question about that.
We do know that the words that He wrote were the very words of God himself. And we know that the words that He wrote convicted these men and they began to leave. The oldest one understood first and finally, the youngest one leaves. They’re convicted by the Word of God. Now, in verse 10:
John 8:10: “When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?”
John 8:11: “She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”
He forgave her. He forgave her sins. He forgave her on the spot. Now, notice something else about that. He didn’t just forgive her. He said [paraphrasing], “I’m not condemning you; I forgive you. Don’t go and do this again. Go and sin no more.”
Now, why do I point that out? I point that out because today, many people seem to have the idea that you just come to the Lord and say, “Lord forgive me” and then, “Okay, the Lord forgave me, so I’ll just go right back to what I was doing.” It’s not what Jesus said. He said, “I forgive you. Go and sin no more.” Don’t keep doing it.
When we come to the Savior, He makes our hearts clean. But the woman, the missing man, the scribes and the Pharisees, the religious leaders of the people of Israel, they were all sinners.
Proverbs 20:9: “Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?”
The clear implication is that no one can say that. No one can say, “I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin.” But when we come to the Savior, He makes our heart clean, makes us pure from sin.
Romans 8:1: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
The Words God Wrote
The Word of God which we may hold in our hands from which we can read what is written with the finger of God gives us the words that God wrote – the law of God so that we may understand what’s right and what’s wrong, so we may understand a truth from a lie. The Word of God judges our sins and condemns the sinner.
But in that same Word written by the finger of God, we are told of the forgiveness of God. Colossians 1:14 speaks of Jesus:
Colossians 1:14: “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:”
The sins that we’ve committed, the sins that we are guilty of can be forgiven because of the blood of Jesus. So, when the time comes when you and I must stand before the Lord as Belshazzar did, as that woman did in John chapter eight, you will not be accused or condemned by other sinners.
You will not be able to say, “I may not be perfect but I’m not as bad as they are.” You won’t be able to say that. To be judged, we will be judged according to the holy scriptures which are written by the finger of God. Your hope is to turn to Him and trust Him for forgiveness. Acts 4:12, Peter says:
Acts 4:12: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
In Isaiah 43, God says:
Isaiah 43:11: “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.”
~~~~~~~
There is only one. His name is Jesus. The name “Jesus” means Jehovah is Savior. When you’ve been saved, tell others where they can find life. Tell others where they can find hope. Tell others where they can find forgiveness. Others who know that they are condemned, they need to be forgiven also. And if you and I don’t tell them, then who will?
Let’s pray together. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for giving us the very Word of God. Thank you that we have the Bible so clear, so true, so trustworthy. Lord, our faith is not in paper and ink. Our faith is in the one who gave us the Word. The words of the Lord are pure words tried in the furnace seven times.
Lord, we come to you asking you to strengthen our faith. And Lord as it may be that someone has heard us today perhaps in person or perhaps electronically, perhaps they’ll be listening later. They don’t know you as their Savior. They may have heard of you, they may have read the Bible, they may know many things, they may be religious, but they have not come to you and trusted you as their Savior.
They don’t have that blessed assurance of knowing when they close their eyes for the final time, when they take their last breath, they’ll step into your presence and be home forever. So, Lord if such a person has heard us today or will hear us later, it is my prayer right now that they would open their heart and call upon you. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
They’ll call upon you and say, “Lord, I believe. I believe that you are the Son of God. I believe that you love me. And right here, right now, I call upon you and ask you to forgive my sins that were paid for at the cross to save my soul. And as my living Savior, to give me a place in Heaven forever. Thank you, Lord Jesus.”
Maybe you prayed that prayer, maybe you didn’t, you still can. You do not have to say those exact words. God knows what’s in your heart. You call on Him and ask Him to save you. He’ll do it. I know He will because He promised to do so.
Maybe you’re here today or are listening and you’re saying, “Preacher, I’m already saved. And I suppose that is probably the case with most of you. But I want to encourage you. I want your faith to be strengthened because you know you have the very Word of God that you can read, that you can listen to through which God can speak to you. You speak to Him in prayer. You have the very Word of God, given and preserved and here for you today. Take it, use it, learn it, read it, memorize it. Hide God’s Word in your heart. Let Him guide you each step of every day.
Perhaps someone is here today and says, “I know the Lord, I know I’m saved. There’s no doubt about it. There’s something else on my heart. Maybe nothing we talked about today, but you know God’s been dealing with you. We’re about to sing a hymn of invitation. When we do, if God has spoken to you about salvation or on any other matter – you need to do business with God and God needs to do business with you – this is the prime opportunity to do it.
I’ll stand down the front and be happy to meet you there. You respond as God has led you to do. Father, bless and move this invitation time we do pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Watch the prerecorded live version of the entire service and sermon, Written with the Finger of God, on Facebook.
Written with the Finger of God — Related Sermons
You may also want to listen to or view these sermons:
(Photo: LumoProject.com)
About the Speaker
Dr. Michael L. McClure
Senior Pastor
Dr. Michael L. McClure, our lead pastor, is known for his in-depth knowledge and effective teaching style of biblical truths applicable to everyday living.