"Since the Lord had decreed that Ahithophel's good advice be undermined in order to bring about Absalom's ruin, Absalom and all the men of Israel said, 'The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than Ahithophel's advice.'"
2 Samuel 17:14
Ahithophel used to be king David's wisest adviser, but he was lured into working for Absalom, the traitorous son, instead. Hushai, another of David's advisers, was sent to Absalom's court as a double-agent, with orders to pretend allegiance to Absalom, but undermine Ahithophel's advice. In doing so, Hushai gives advice to Absalom which seems to be better than Ahithophel's, and he gains the respect of "king" Absalom while setting him up for defeat.
If you enjoy stories about spies and misinformation, the book of 2 Samuel is a must-read!
Whether you find particular fancy in these types of stories or not, the most important thing to be learned here is that God's will was done, even though a thorough analysis of the two advisers' plans would have revealed that Hushai's advice wasn't very good.
Question of the Day:
Have you ever noticed times in your own life, or the lives of those around you, when God's will has been so apparent even when all the circumstances seemed so obviously to lead down a different path? Have you ever had your heart changed by God so dramatically that you wondered how you could have ever been "that other person" all along?
Prayer of the Day:
Thank You, Lord, for building me up and making me more like You, and less like the other guy. Help me learn to manage my temperament in such a way that I can use all of Your gifts for good, even if they may seem on the outside to be less than ideal. Allow my apparent faults to be used like the espionage in this chapter, like the Hulk's unstoppable anger, like Batman's dark past - to make this world a better place, and to change the lives of the people You put in my path. Amen.
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