214. God's Foreknowledge of Our Actions
Teshuvah 5:5
One might ask, since God knows everything before it happens, doesn’t He know whether a person will be righteous or evil? And if so, doesn’t God’s knowledge make the outcome inevitable? The answer is, “Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea” (Job 11:9). As explained in Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah chapter 2, God’s knowledge is not something external to Him as a person’s is. Rather, He and His knowledge are one. Human knowledge cannot grasp this, the same way that human knowledge cannot grasp God’s nature as per Exodus 33:20, “No one can perceive Me and live.” So, too, we cannot comprehend God’s knowledge. This was stated in the Book of Isaiah (55:8), “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not My ways.”
This being the case, we must accept that we simply lack the ability to understand the way in which God knows His creations. What we do know is that a person’s deeds are of his own making and God does not force a person’s hand. We know this not only through tradition but also through clear proofs from Scripture. The prophets taught us that a person is judged for his deeds, whether they be good or evil.
Teshuvah 6:1
A number of verses in Tanach seem to contradict the idea of free will. This causes many people to err and think that God does in fact decree that a person follow the path of evil or that of good. These will be addressed in 6:5. But first, some background information:
When an individual or the residents of a country sin, they do so with knowledge and intent, so it is appropriate for God to punish them, which He knows how to do. Some sins call for punishment in this world. This could be through a sinner's body, his possessions, or his small children. The latter is because children lacking intellectual maturity who are not yet obligated in mitzvos are subordinate to their parents. This idea is suggested by Deuteronomy 24:16, “A man will die for his own sins.” This is only true of one who has reached the age of majority. Other sins call for punishment in the Next World and no retribution is exacted in this world. Still other sins call for punishment both in this world and the next.