41. Some People Are More Equal Than Others

Having demonstrated that only man enjoys individual providence, the Rambam proceeds to elaborate on the idea that this providence correlates directly with the intellectual influence that one receives from God. [III, 18] If this is the case, it follows logically that the greater share one has of the latter, the more he will receive of the former. This divine influence can be inborn, like intelligence or strength, or it can be developed and honed.

In the case of prophets, for example, their connection to God is very strong, so they enjoy a large amount of His providence. Of course, it would vary based upon their degree of prophetic ability, just as it would vary based upon a person's piety. All this is because it is God's influence that directs a person to perfect himself in prophecy or piety. The amount of providence enjoyed by people on the end of the spectrum far from God, however, drops until it approaches that of animals. For this reason, various verses compare such people to animals. (See, for example, Psalms 49:21.)

The Patriarchs had extremely close connections to God and we see that they enjoyed an equally-abundant amount of providence. God told Avraham, "I am your shield" (Genesis 15:1). To Yitzchak, he said, "I will be with you and bless you" (26:3). Yaakov was told, "I am with you and will keep you" (28:15). Similar promises were made to Moshe (Exodus 3:12) and Yehoshua (Joshua 1:5). In all of these cases, the amount of providence received was directly proportionate to the high degree of personal perfection they had achieved.

We see throughout Tanach that God's providence protects good and wise people, but not the wicked and foolish. This idea is explicit in I Samuel 2:9, "He will keep the feet of His righteous and the wicked will be silent in darkness; no person will prevail through might." So when one person survives a disaster and another succumbs, we must not attribute it to differences in their physiologies or skills because "no person will prevail through might." Rather, it is the result of God's providence, which comes from one's connection to Him.

Many other verses support the principle that God extends greater providence to those who are closer to Him. Such verses include Psalms 34:16, "The eyes of God are upon the righteous," and Psalms 91:15, "He will call upon Me and I will answer him."

This is the way divine providence was taught to us by the prophets: each person enjoys his or her own individual portion relative to the degree of perfection he or she has achieved.