What About Birth Defects?--Exodus 4:11

Exodus 4:11--What About Birth Defects?

Exodus 4:11

"Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord?" (Exodus 4:11).

This verse from the bible deserves far more attention than is commonly given, for there are at least two major aspects of it that are often either ignored or unrecognized. One relates to the answer to this vital question: What or who is the focal point of all that exists: Is it man or is it God? And the other is the deficient worldview that many have, especially the lack of being able to see a plane of existence that is above that which they commonly see in this world.

Without question, the world's answer to the question of focus for man, is man. Man is what existence is all about. After all, is he not the brilliant jewel in evolution's crown? Has he not arisen to the supreme position in evolution's heirarchy? Is he not thus the Supreme Being, God?

This arrogant and presumptuous attitude is exposed by the world's reaction to those born with what are called birth defects, things such as those mentioned in Exodus 4:11: being born mute or blind. Atheists and others opposed to God use the birth of such "defective" human beings as proof that there is no God. How could a good God allow such lesser beings be born? The existence of these human beings with less-than-normal features is an affront to their belief system, because they elevate man to supreme status and such as these do not, in their minds, reflect that status.

How different the view of God. Though he normally gives most human beings the normal complement of faculties, he reserves the right to withhold this blessing from a select few in order that they might be a blessing that consternates those who cannot understand his higher ways. That they do not understand is revealed by their reaction to a man born blind, as recorded in John, chapter nine. When encountering this man, even his own disciples asked him what his sin was, or that of his parents, that he was born thus. They did not understand. But Jesus did. He told them:

"Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life" (v. 3).

Those who have God's vision of the higher meaning and purpose of all that exists--for God's glory and not man's--see things differently; they see things accurately, as they really are. But not all have this sight. It takes the eyes of a little child who trusts in the rightness of his heavenly Father's ways to see what is hidden from those who see only as man sees. Elsewhere, Jesus spoke about the often-hidden, higher way of God that uses this type of vision found in children to bring about the revealing of himself and his ways to a wayward world:

"At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, 'I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure'" (Lk. 10:21).

God, not man, is God, and he does not have to justify his ways to man but can mold man into whatever vessel he desires.

"This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 'Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message.

So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

Then the word of the Lord came to me: 'O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?' declares the Lord. 'Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel'" (Jer. 18:1-6).

"This is what the Lord says--the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands?" (Is. 45:11).

In today's technological world, instruments can see the unborn child in the mother's womb, and if that unborn child has any of the conditions mentioned in Exodus 4:11, or for any other reason, really, and the parents so desire, that child can be aborted. That is the world's answer to nearly every situation where something it doesn't like arises. When a person wants to have power over people but they resist, by using force he can rise to power. The world, sadly, has many examples of this being done. No one wants another to rule over him and tell him what to do, so the world decries dictatorships and the killing of people that often accompany such regimes. Yet when similar situations arise in their own lives, they readily follow the same path, as, for instance, when an unborn baby upsets the plan they have for their lives.

Whether it is because of lack of normal faculties or any other reason, if another human being stands in the way of their achieving their goals for their lives, then that human being must be disposed of. In the one case, it is called oppression of the peoples and mass murder, such as in Hitler or Stalin; in the other, it is through legalized abortion and is called a "merciful act", saving the child from going through life with what are deemed insufficient faculties, when, in reality, it is the same desire for people to have control over their lives and the lives of others. In either case, the result is the same: Those who are seen as undesirable are eliminated.

Is this the best we can do, get rid of or kill that which stands in our way of achieving control over our own lives and over the lives of others? But it is the sinful, self-centered way of fallen humanity. When confronted with One who told them the truth about themselves, that they were sinners in need of a Savior, the opponents of Jesus, who is the truth (Jn. 14:6), killed him. Rather than submit to the truth about themselves, they sought to get rid of their perceived problem by killing it. And so they killed the truth on a cross and then buried it in the ground.

"Because of rebellion, . . . truth was thrown to the ground" (Dan. 8:12).

But in truth, truth cannot be killed. It will always rise again because truth is stronger even than death. That is why Jesus said of those who believe in him and thus have the truth within them, "He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die" (Jn. 11:25,26).

The truth is that whether a new human life has the normal human faculties or not does not change the fact that it is a wondrous creation of God and it remains to be seen how He will use these special creations to glorify himself and open our eyes to yet more of his wisdom and ways. A child born without sight is not the most pitiable of human beings. That dubious distinction belongs to those who have eyes and ears but cannot see the hand of God in all that he creates.

"'Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear: Should you not fear me?' declares the Lord. 'Should you not tremble in my presence?'" (Jer. 5:21,22).