Since it is said that the Creator can foresee all of our future decisions, why does He still test us?

The answer to this riddle lies in the fact that man is endowed with free will as a natural quality! He may think freely, speak as he desires and act in accordance with his own plans. However, the human spirit is subject to the consequences of each and every one of his thoughts, words and deeds. 

The Almighty neither tests nor tempts anyone! We are the ones who judge or redeem ourselves through our attitude to His unchangeable Laws. The Almighty in His Love gave us the Commandments and the Laws to help and to guide us unto paths that lead to our welfare. Obedience to these Laws leads to our happiness and makes us to become pleasing to our Creator. The Lord has provided all that works for our salvation and setting of snares for man is definitely not a part of His Works.   

Going back to man’s free will, let us picture a man holding a stone in his hand. He can decide to throw it or not to throw it. But once he throws it, he has no control over what the stone can hit or destroy. Yet the stone thrower remains responsible for any damage caused by the stone. Similarly, we freely choose what we do, but we are then bound to the consequences of our actions. These consequences are worked out in the Laws that govern the whole of Creation one of which is the Law of Sowing and Reaping which ensures that we reap what we have sown previously through our words, thoughts and deeds.

These Laws of Creation work automatically on us and all we produce and the Almighty does not need to know in advance how and what each and every one of us will   decide to do. However, what can be foreseen from Above are the consequences of our decisions which are brought about through the operation of the aforementioned Laws of Creation.

To sum up, let us always be mindful that we are responsible for all of our free decisions. This immense responsibility cannot be cast on any other person. We are not just robots playing out a pre-determined script for which we have no control and for which we are therefore not responsible. Furthermore, the Almighty does not tempt us. Temptations only come out of the darkness and even then, the decision to resist or fall for such temptations lies squarely in the hands of man himself. Therefore, even in the case of temptations, man is still responsible for his subsequent actions because his freedom to make decisions always remains in full force and effect!