Dr. Gregory Boyd "Is God to blame? Beyond pat answers to the problem of suffering"
Ex. 4:11 (paraphrase of a few of his thoughts):
Some say infirmities are specifically willed by God. Jesus/Gospels diagnose muteness, deafness, blindness, etc. as directly or indirectly coming from the devil (warfare vs blueprint model). Jesus demonstrated God's will for the people by removing them (opposes evil vs affirm it as God's will).
- Interpret Exodus in light of the ministry of Jesus (God). The Father (supposedly controls Satan) does not oppose the Son (who opposes Satan). It is a duplicity to say that the Father's will is done by Satan and also done by Jesus who opposes Satan/Father's will?!
- Context....Moses argued against God's decision to use him to speak (he was slow of speech). God was frustrated with Moses in light of the miracles He had used to demonstrate His ability to overcome obstacles/objections. In this context, God rhetorically asks Moses "who gives speech to mortals or makes deaf/blind?" It is unlikely this statement is meant to be taken as a metaphysical explanation of why people are deaf/mute (how many become so through natural illness, injury, accidents, assaults, etc.?).
-Notice what God does not say in this passage. God speaks of the human condition in general terms. He doesn't say He picks and choses which individuals wil be born deaf or blind (many become so later in life). He simply asserts that He is the Creator of the kind of world in which some people become disabled (don't forget the consequences of the Fall and Satan).
- The point of the statement is that Moses needed to know that the Creator was able to work around all obstacles to achieve His objectives. This verse does not teach that the Lord is the direct cause of every instance of afflications (is getting AIDS from blood transfusions God's hand? Is self-castration by a mentally ill person or an assailant an act of God or His will?).
- There is one God in the OT, not conflicting gods. God is like an ancient Near Eastern Monarch, the ultimate source of everything, whether He wills it directly or not. The Lord emphasizes this to show Moses that his speech impediment is no problem. But He is not thereby denying what later revelation will make clear: namely, infirmities such as these originate from Satan (or consequences of accidents or fallen humanity or environment, etc.), and God wants to empower human mediators to free people from these infirmities. The sick will be among us (not by God's design or intention...it is not God's fault if a drunk driver maims someone). God is also among us and is able to redemptively intervene to bring God from a bad circumstance (not intended, caused, or willed by God).
