As the finger of the Lord stretched forth to touch each stone, the veil was lifted so that the astonished brother of Jared could see the finger and it appeared to be flesh and bone as though it were a human finger. It was part of the Hebrew tradition that no man could look upon the glory of God's being and survive. Therefore, when the brother of Jared realized he had seen the very finger of God he fell to the ground, virtually petrified with fear.