Was it really a choice?

I am reading the Bible, chapter by chapter, for many years.

Today was Deuteronomy 31.

16 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them. 17 Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day,‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’ 18 And I will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because they have turned to other gods.

In chapter 30, it seemed blessings and cursings was according to the obedience of Israel but now in chapter 31, God knows that Israel is forsaking him before it happens. 



Thus, was it really a choice to Israel? As in Psalm 139, all my days were written before I was born. 

You are reading this text, right?! Was it by chance or was it written by God? Not so many years ago, I was inclined to think that everything occurred by chance; perhaps even worse, I was prone to say that someone maliciously made something to put me down. For instance, when driving a car, I was looking all the others as my enemies. I could see enemies everywhere: my students, other professors, etc. Certainly, it was a not friendly world of view.

Today, it is different: my choices and the choices of others were not by accident, even the bad choices, even the sins. I still see many people behaving maliciously (as I see myself in a similar way) but I consider that everything is under God's control.  This thought relieves me from thinking too much about revenge. This thought makes me pray more: how should I behave in this situation, Sir?