The Finger of God Wrote Twice

The post is not about a particular sin, or the sin mentioned. It’s insight into the heart of God who wrote them both. In Exodus 31:18 God wrote, “The Law” on tablets of stone.

This time it was the finger of Jesus writing in the sand as He is asked to render judgment against an adulteress condemned by that very law.

When we think of God judging, we typically imagine Him looking down on us and pronouncing our end as we look to Him, pleading for mercy. Yet in this passage, it shows us what the judgment of God looks like.

Jesus kneels before the woman taken in adultery as He places himself in a position where He must look up into her face. Then, He stands up, having written with the finger of God, and pronounces His first verdict, directed not to the woman, but to those eager to kill the image of God in her:

“Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7) They back away and drop their stones.

He was for her, as He is for you. His judgment is His mercy. He addresses her as, “Woman”. This sounds cold to the English-speaking ear. But in short it is not dismissive in the Greek, it amounts to “my lady.”

He is, in fact, exalting her. That is what the gesture of kneeling means. He sees her as He sees us, His beloved people.