Vindicating God Ministries: Exodus 4:11

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Exodus 4:11

EXODUS 4:11

“And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?” (Exodus 4:11; kjv)
How it should have been translated:“The Lord said to him, ‘Who made man’s mouth? Who can restore his ability to speak when he’s dumb or his hearing when he’s deaf? Who can restore his sight when he’s blind? Only I, the Lord.’” (Exodus 4:11; The Clear Word: A Paraphrase by Dr. Jack Blanco)

Commentary:

“Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?” (Matt. 12:22-23; see also v. 28; Matt. 9:32-35; Mk 9:17, 25)

The New Testament shows that these handicaps were satanic. God is not partnering with Satan. He came to destroy Satan’s works (1 John 3:8). Ex. 4:11 should be read in a permissive and not a causative sense.

“In the deterministic idiom of the culture, actions that were simply permitted by God …. creating handicapped babies (Exod. 4:11) …. are an accommodation to the mindset of the culture ….his involvement may be more indirect than the language of the text suggests. The situations described may reflect His permissive will, rather than his ideal or his moral will.’” Howard, David M.; Grisante, Michael A. Giving the Sense: Understanding and Using Old Testament Historical Texts, p. 58