Advice

 

    Advice is the wisdom, opinion, or desire of another on how you should handle a situation.  It is always biased, so it is not always reliable.  Listen and take inventory of what people say, but the choices that you make are your own.  Pray over the advice that other people give and the advice that you give to keep it pure and honest.  

    David had experience as a king and he had good advisors that he trusted.  Absalom on the other hand was very green and he had to figure out whom advice he was going to listen to and follow.  Athithopel advised Absalom to pursue his father and he liked the plan.  He just wanted to hear Hushai's advice first.  Everyone knows that you need more than one perspective, even if it is the same outcome.  It gives more of an advantage.

    Hushai gave opposing advice with solid points to back it up.  The council all liked his plan, so it was decided to wait for David to come to them.  God was frustrating Athithopel's plans for all the evil intent in his heart and to protect David.  His plan would have probably worked otherwise.  They all seemed to forget that David could stay in hiding for years.  

    Absalom's decisions would bring disaster upon himself.  Hushai sent messengers to David to give him the plan against him.  Athithopel could not handle the shame of being overlooked, so he got his business organized and killed himself.  Absalom's rule was already beginning to fall apart, but he could not see it.  God provided for David and his men while Absalom's people went hungry.

2 Samuel 17