The Istari were sent to help Middle-Earth against Sauron. When Gandalf picked Bilbo to go with the Dwarves, he inadvertently set up Bilbo to intercept the ring after Gollum dropped it saving it from being found by an Orc or Goblin, guaranteeing its return to Sauron.
Did Gandalf foresee this or was it just pure chance? Or maybe divine intervention from Iluvatar?
I say pure chance. He didn’t even know it was the One Ring for a long time.
Of course, everything that happens is part of the song of Iluvatar, so chance and divine intervention are really one and the same.
Divine intervention from Iluvatar was sending back Gandalf as the White. Everything else was the natural development of the themes established by Iluvatar as executed by the Valar and then allowed to become what it was going to be.
Gandalf’s remit was to enflame hope against the Darkness. He knew that Smaug was a great evil that needed to be neutralized. That is how Gandalf found Thorin and encouraged his plans to retake the mountain. This was not chance.
Gandalf didn’t know exactly what was going to happen, but he knew (using his own semi-divine wisdom) that the Dwarves needed another companion and that Bilbo was who they needed. It was not chance that Bilbo accompanied them.
Sauron designed the One Ring to seek out power. When Bilbo entered Gollum’s domain, that was its chance to escape. (Note that the Ring had no cognition, only that its magic caused things to happen.) So it was not chance that Bilbo got the Ring once he was there.
From there, the story of the Ring has many unforeseen events, but I think little chance was involved.
In The Quest of Erebor (printed in Unfinished Tales), Gandalf explains to some extent his thinking around the time just prior to the events of The Hobbit. He says he knew that Sauron was rising again, and was concerned that Saruman was thwarting all his plans to move against Sauron. He was also greatly worried about the dragon Smaug and how Sauron might eventually use Smaug. Then he accidentally met Thorin on the road, who told him about his plans of revenge against Smaug and the recovery of the Dwarves’ treasure. Then he remembered Bilbo whom he had known for years.
Suddenly in my mind these three things came together: the great Dragon with his lust, and his keen hearing and scent; the sturdy heavy-booted Dwarves with their old burning grudge; and the quick, soft-footed Hobbit, sick at heart (I guessed) for a sight of the wide world.
Although initially feeling the idea of Bilbo going on the quest was something of a joke, Gandalf with great difficulty (more than was described in The Hobbit) persuaded Thorin to take Bilbo along. Describing their argument, Gandalf says
And suddenly I felt that I was indeed in hot earnest. This queer notion of mine was not a joke, it was right. It was desperately important that it should be carried out. The Dwarves must bend their stiff necks.
Gandalf did not foresee that Bilbo would find the One Ring on the quest. But by doing what he thought was right, he set up everything for that to happen. This is a common theme in Tolkien’s work – that by doing what you know is right, good will result, even if it is not foreseen by you. Like how the Ring was destroyed due to Frodo’s resolution and determination, even though he himself failed at the end and did not do what he originally intended.
Very, very interesting and informative replies. I think now that it wasn’t by chance.
Gandalf said to Bilbo (or was it Frodo) they he was meant to get the Ring.
He foresaw that Bilbo would play some larger part than just a burglar.
That was just him reconciling the events - had Farmer Magot found the ring - he would have said the same to him.
Frodo: ‘It’s a pity Bilbo didn’t kill Gollum when he had the chance.’
Gandalf: ‘Pity? It’s a pity that stayed Bilbo’s hand. Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play in it, for good or evil, before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many.’ Frodo: ‘I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.’
Gandalf: 'So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides that of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, in which case you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.”
‘It’s a pity I’ve run out of bullets,’ he thought.
Maybe this is a question for a theologian, but is there a difference between divine intervention and Providence? To me, “intervention” suggests Someone stepping in and changing things, while Providence suggests things happening according to Someone’s plan. And the latter sounds closer to what Gandalf was talking about when he said “Behind that, there was something else at work, beyond any design of the ring maker. I can put it no plainer than by saying that Bilbo was meant to find the ring, and not by its maker.”
I think it must be divine intervention. I don’t think Illuvatar knew exactly what was going to happen in Middle-earth. The Valar didn’t when they sang it into being. You can see that intervention whenever the Eagles appear to help. It took a long time for the Valar to step in and finally stop Morgoth because they didn’t really understand his evil. I kind of see the Valar, well except Tulkas, as being sort of naive and innocent. If Iluvatar had a plan all along, I don’t think he would have made the Valar, and even the Maiar the way he did. I think the whole thing may have just been an experiment.
Certainly the Ainur didn’t know the whole story, but I think it’s equally clear that Illuvatar Himself did. After all, He’s the one who wrote all of the themes, and wove them all together, even weaving in the discordant themes of Melkor.
We need to be more specific when talking Tolkien. By “divine intervention” do you mean by Iluvatar or by a Vala or by a Maia? Or any of them?
Intervention by Iluvatar is extremely rare. The only case I can think of is the return of Gandalf as the White. Does anyone know of another case?
Intervention by Valar is rare in the Third Age, less so earlier. As you state, the Great Eagles (probably Maiar in themselves) act on the instruction of Manwe.
Intervention by Maiar is uncommon, but easy enough to find examples. The Istari and Sauron are all Maiar and had great impact in the Third Age.
The Valar’s wisdom is limited to their own parts of the Song. (That includes Melkor as well, who never understood his limits. He defied Iluvatar, but could not change his own part.) There was definitely a steep learning curve in the First Age and into the Second. But by the time of the Third Age the Valar had learned that their intervention in Middle Earth would have great costs and so avoided it.
There are hints of divine intervention, with Iluvatar being the likely actor. Look how a representative from each of the free peoples happen to show up at Rivendell just as the ring arrives. Denethor’s sons received directions to go there from a shared dream. In Moria, the Fellowship is confronted by an evil Maia, a foe beyond all of them. Their only hope is a ‘good’ Maia of their own, and they don’t grow on trees. I imagine Legolas seeing the Balrog and saying, “Any Maia here? Raise your hand if you’re Maiar.” Frodo’s quest threaded many other needles to reach the Crack of Doom. Many needles were threaded from Elros to Aragorn getting crowned.
Yes, when the Valar called on Illuvatar to change the shape of the world .
What about when Manwe sent back Glorfindal? Was that purely at his own behest or did Iluvatar tell Manwe to do it?
That was a decision by the Valar. Iluvatar was never hinted at being involved in the decision to send the Wizard or Glorfindel.
The Valar did set aside their stewardship and called of Eä when King Ar- Pharazôn stepped onto Aman. This is when the Eä took its round shape and Númenor was drowned. Also the Undying Lands were removed from Eä proper.
(what Northern_Piper said)
My money’s on Iluvatar. Quoting Ainulindale:
The Ainur know much of what was, and is, and is to come, and few things are unseen by them. Yet some things there are that they cannot see, neither alone nor taking counsel together; for to none but himself has Ilúvatar revealed all that he has in store, and in every age there come forth things that are new and have no foretelling, for they do not proceed from the past.
I think that Tolkien would argue that intervention by Illuvatar is not only not rare, but rather, that it’s ubiquitous. It’s just that the vast majority of it is so subtle as to go unrecognized by all but the wise.
Yes, I think Bilbo finding the ring was a gentle nudge by Iluvatar. He then let the rest of it fail or succeed on its own.