איוב, פרק י״ב, פסוק ט״ז

Divine providence oversees the vast expanse of reality, governing everything from human strength to the most hidden mistakes. God holds absolute control over people's actions, whether they act with great wisdom or stumble in error. He possesses the ultimate power to strengthen or weaken any individual [מצודת דוד], standing as the very source of all existence and intelligence [רמב״ן, מלבי״ם]. True understanding, sound advice, and actions born from deep wisdom all originate from Him [ביאור שטיינזלץ, מלבי״ם]. Furthermore, God can orchestrate opposing forces at the exact same time; He might grant immense power to a person while simultaneously setting a hidden, clever trap against them [אלשיך].

This absolute control extends deeply into the realm of human mistakes, involving both the person who errs and the one who misleads them. While some view these two roles as essentially the same [רלב״ג], others draw a line between a practical physical mistake and a deeper error in thought or philosophy [מלבי״ם]. Regardless of the type of mistake, commentators offer three primary ways to understand God's relationship to human error.

The first approach centers on God's all-encompassing knowledge. He observes the private, unnoticed mistakes a person makes, just as He sees when someone secretly deceives a friend [מצודת דוד, אבן עזרא]. A second perspective emphasizes active divine control, suggesting that both the victim of a mistake and the deceiver act entirely within God's will. It is God who determines when an advisor will offer flawed guidance or when a person will be led astray [רמב״ן, תקות אנוש]. Some take this a step further, arguing that such human errors are not a matter of free choice at all, but are directly decreed by God to divert a person from their path [מלבי״ם]. A third approach takes a more specific view, identifying the misleader directly as Satan, whose designated role is to deceive the erring human being [רש״י, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

A vivid historical example of this dynamic is found during the Exodus from Egypt. God orchestrated events so that Pharaoh became the erring individual, foolishly chasing after the Israelites. In this scenario, God used Moses as the agent of deception by commanding him to have the Israelites turn back and camp at Pi-hahiroth. This deliberate strategic move was designed by God to confuse the Egyptian army and ultimately lure them into a fatal trap [אלשיך].