Lives That Met God
Today — August 26
The counsel they preferred
"And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel." — 2 Samuel 17:4 · KJV
“And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” But there was one who was not deceived—one who clearly foresaw the result of this fatal mistake of Absalom's. Ahithophel knew that the cause of the rebels was lost. And he knew that whatever might be the fate of the prince, there was no hope for the counselor who had instigated his greatest crimes. Ahithophel had encouraged Absalom in rebellion; he had counseled him to the most abominable wickedness, to the dishonor of his father; he had advised the slaying of David and had planned its accomplishment; he had cut off the last possibility of his own reconciliation with the king; and now another was preferred before him, even by Absalom. Jealous, angry, and desperate, Ahithophel “gat him home to his house, to his city, and put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died.” Such was the result of the wisdom of one, who, with all his high endowments, did not make God his counselor. Satan allures men with flattering promises, but in the end it will be found by every soul, that the “wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23.
Hushai, not certain that his counsel would be followed by the fickle king, lost no time in warning David to escape beyond Jordan without delay. To the priests, who were to forward it by their sons, Hushai sent the message: “Thus and thus did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel; and thus and thus have I counseled. Now therefore ... lodge not this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass over; lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people that are with him.”
Lives That Met God, Ellen G. White · this reading’s own page
Ellen G. White · A reading for each day of the year
A year through the people of the Bible, gathered from Ellen G. White's published writing — Adam and Enoch, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Gideon, David, Elijah, Daniel and Esther, and the men and women who met Jesus. Each reading opens with a verse and then gives her own words, unaltered, following the events in the order they happened. The selection and the arrangement are Biblion's own.
January
- January 1 — The crowning work
- January 2 — A memorial of His work
- January 3 — Rulers over the earth
- January 4 — Warned before the danger came
- January 5 — On guard against his devices
- January 6 — Do not go alone
- January 7 — Would they gain by disobeying?
- January 8 — The fruit put into her hands
- January 9 — The higher state he imagined
- January 10 — The serpent beguiled me
- January 11 — The sorrow that became her portion
- January 12 — A small thing, and everything
- January 13 — A plan that involved all heaven
- January 14 — What the angels would witness
- January 15 — The first word of redemption
- January 16 — Communion broken
- January 17 — Two altars, two offerings
- January 18 — A more excellent sacrifice
- January 19 — The worship that costs nothing
- January 20 — Angry with the Lord and with Abel
- January 21 — The first murderer spared
- January 22 — Watched by other worlds
- January 23 — Kept from the beginning
- January 24 — Two lines, kept apart
- January 25 — Adam, a witness to what sin does
- January 26 — They had every advantage
- January 27 — Enoch walked with God
- January 28 — Honoured, and still walking
- January 29 — Enoch became a preacher
- January 30 — Communion kept in a life of labour
- January 31 — God took him
February
- February 1 — Get thee out of thy country
- February 2 — The altar under the oak
- February 3 — Favoured, and in the wrong place
- February 4 — Let there be no strife
- February 5 — Lot chose with his eyes
- February 6 — Honoured among the nations
- February 7 — Few would have borne the test
- February 8 — He asked for a token
- February 9 — Lift up now thine eyes
- February 10 — A sign upon the household
- February 11 — Three tired travellers
- February 12 — He pleaded for Sodom
- February 13 — A household of a thousand souls
- February 14 — He commanded his children after him
- February 15 — How few follow that example
- February 16 — Parents who walk in it first
- February 17 — The altar at the door
- February 18 — After a lifetime of waiting
- February 19 — The joy, and the danger in it
- February 20 — Take now thy son
- February 21 — He did not hesitate
- February 22 — He told his son
- February 23 — He strengthened his soul
- February 24 — The altar and the wood
- February 25 — Alone with his son
- February 26 — The gospel preached beforehand
- February 27 — Not for himself alone
- February 28 — Lot lingered
- February 29 — Two lives, one choice apart
March
- March 1 — Two brothers, two appetites
- March 2 — What Jacob had been told
- March 3 — A birthright sold for a meal
- March 4 — The blessing schemed for
- March 5 — They gained it, and lost
- March 6 — The old man trembled
- March 7 — A stone for a pillow
- March 8 — He set up the stone
- March 9 — Twenty years of service
- March 10 — The shepherd who bore the loss
- March 11 — The night of wrestling
- March 12 — Presuming on mercy
- March 13 — Shechem, and its cost
- March 14 — Cause for deep humiliation
- March 15 — A fear upon the land
- March 16 — Rachel's last son
- March 17 — Same teaching, different men
- March 18 — He despised the covenant
- March 19 — The coat, and the brothers' hatred
- March 20 — The lad before his brothers
- March 21 — The truth flashed upon him
- March 22 — How can I do this great wickedness?
- March 23 — The cupbearer forgot
- March 24 — Set over all the land
- March 25 — Where the firmness came from
- March 26 — The years of dearth began
- March 27 — Three days to remember
- March 28 — Jacob gave his consent
- March 29 — The governor wept
- March 30 — Fear not to go down
- March 31 — Ye thought evil, God meant it
April
- April 1 — The king's plan defeated
- April 2 — Hidden three months
- April 3 — A mother's prayers heard
- April 4 — Priceless moments
- April 5 — Heir to a throne
- April 6 — The choice made known
- April 7 — Much that he had to unlearn
- April 8 — Who hath made man's mouth?
- April 9 — Self-distrustful, and sent
- April 10 — A secret dread
- April 11 — Word reached the palace
- April 12 — Reproached by his own people
- April 13 — The elders' courage failed
- April 14 — They expected it to be easy
- April 15 — Stubbornness dressed as reason
- April 16 — Meet him at the riverside
- April 17 — He could have ended it at once
- April 18 — Sacrifice, but stay in the land
- April 19 — Ashes toward heaven
- April 20 — Whose hardening was it?
- April 21 — Hail, and a way to escape it
- April 22 — The contest was not ended
- April 23 — Hyssop, and what it meant
- April 24 — Obedience as the evidence
- April 25 — The rod that became a serpent
- April 26 — The night of the firstborn
- April 27 — Sent out in haste
- April 28 — The pillar of cloud and fire
- April 29 — Shut in between the sea and the host
- April 30 — Stand still and see
May
- May 1 — Six hundred thousand on foot
- May 2 — Not by the direct road
- May 3 — Six hundred chosen chariots
- May 4 — Their fear troubled him
- May 5 — They went in after them
- May 6 — Not unto us
- May 7 — Brought into the strait on purpose
- May 8 — Twelve wells at Elim
- May 9 — He promised to be their God
- May 10 — Written for us
- May 11 — Why should we be unbelieving?
- May 12 — Your wants are known
- May 13 — Bread from heaven
- May 14 — What shall I do with this people?
- May 15 — A new danger
- May 16 — Write it for a memorial
- May 17 — Jethro saw the burden
- May 18 — The camp in order
- May 19 — Cleanliness, and why it mattered
- May 20 — He directed all their travels
- May 21 — At the sound of the trumpet
- May 22 — He could have given them flesh
- May 23 — Moses repeated the Lord's words
- May 24 — What was given, and what was lost
- May 25 — Envy among the leaders
- May 26 — He had put His Spirit upon him
- May 27 — They rejoiced at the prospect
- May 28 — Unbelief that limited God
- May 29 — They fell on their faces
- May 30 — Incense with the prayers
- May 31 — Nadab and Abihu
June
- June 1 — The aged man they gazed upon
- June 2 — He reviewed his life alone
- June 3 — One act marred the record
- June 4 — He saw them established
- June 5 — Had that one sin not been
- June 6 — Under the power of death
- June 7 — His influence did not die
- June 8 — Only be strong and courageous
- June 9 — Make ready to advance
- June 10 — The waters stood back
- June 11 — What the miracle did
- June 12 — Camped at Gilgal
- June 13 — The strongest fortress
- June 14 — They marched in silence
- June 15 — Nothing kept back
- June 16 — How easily the walls came down
- June 17 — Ai, and self-confidence
- June 18 — Wherefore hast Thou brought us?
- June 19 — While the instruction lasted
- June 20 — One oppressor after another
- June 21 — The Angel sat under the oak
- June 22 — Joash stood for his son
- June 23 — Too few, and fewer still
- June 24 — On the brow of the hill
- June 25 — The army woke to trumpets
- June 26 — If they would cherish humility
- June 27 — He refused the crown
- June 28 — Jealousy answered softly
- June 29 — Manoah's question
- June 30 — Hannah answered gently
July
- July 1 — What a reward was Hannah's
- July 2 — Eli's sons, and his silence
- July 3 — Speak, for Thy servant heareth
- July 4 — The ark taken
- July 5 — Twenty years of mourning
- July 6 — Hitherto hath the Lord helped us
- July 7 — Give us a king
- July 8 — Saul among the baggage
- July 9 — Samuel's farewell
- July 10 — He would not wait
- July 11 — To obey is better than sacrifice
- July 12 — The Lord looketh on the heart
- July 13 — Eliab passed by
- July 14 — The years among the sheep
- July 15 — The harp that quieted a king
- July 16 — Before he was ever summoned
- July 17 — Their courage failed
- July 18 — The words repeated to the king
- July 19 — Amazement along both lines
- July 20 — He behaved himself wisely
- July 21 — The defect in Saul
- July 22 — Sent out to be rid of him
- July 23 — Watched, and waited for
- July 24 — Michal let him down
- July 25 — The tidings reached Saul
- July 26 — Jonathan left the table
- July 27 — He fled to the enemy
- July 28 — Every failure is a joy to Satan
- July 29 — The cave of Adullam
- July 30 — He encouraged himself in God
- July 31 — Respect for the Lord's anointed
August
- August 1 — The stronghold taken
- August 2 — Thirty thousand summoned
- August 3 — Not wholly right with God
- August 4 — The answer from the other company
- August 5 — The purpose denied him
- August 6 — He remembered his covenant
- August 7 — Kindness repaid with insult
- August 8 — Idleness, and what came of it
- August 9 — Every effort to conceal it
- August 10 — The report sent back
- August 11 — None in Israel would have excused him
- August 12 — Reading his fall wrongly
- August 13 — The providence that had preserved him
- August 14 — Repentance sincere and deep
- August 15 — Amnon unpunished
- August 16 — The duty he neglected
- August 17 — Returned, but not restored
- August 18 — Justice grown slack
- August 19 — The people made ready
- August 20 — He looked out on his capital
- August 21 — Carry back the ark
- August 22 — A message with the priests
- August 23 — A gleam of light
- August 24 — Excusing sin by his example
- August 25 — Hushai's counsel
- August 26 — The counsel they preferred
- August 27 — A father, and a king
- August 28 — Solomon's choice
- August 29 — The house he was given to build
- August 30 — Wisdom that did not keep him
- August 31 — The end of his wandering
September
- September 1 — The widow who entertained a stranger
- September 2 — Obadiah's fear
- September 3 — The summons to Carmel
- September 4 — They answered not a word
- September 5 — Bold outside, terrified within
- September 6 — Their voices grew hoarse
- September 7 — The exhausted priests
- September 8 — A silence before the answer
- September 9 — Faith like that is needed still
- September 10 — They parted at the gate
- September 11 — He had expected more
- September 12 — Out of the depths
- September 13 — Not until he learned to trust
- September 14 — The still small voice
- September 15 — Much depends on the unnoticed
- September 16 — The question put to households
- September 17 — When we are encompassed with doubt
- September 18 — He knows your weakness
- September 19 — The farmer's son
- September 20 — Not connected with any great work
- September 21 — A call like his
- September 22 — The years of quiet service
- September 23 — A double portion
- September 24 — The spring and the barren land
- September 25 — How the waters were healed
- September 26 — Evidence the world needs
- September 27 — Had he let the mockery pass
- September 28 — Death in the pot
- September 29 — The captive maid
- September 30 — He expected something greater
October
- October 1 — I have pardoned
- October 2 — Like Saul of Tarsus, he saw
- October 3 — Have you chosen your own way?
- October 4 — Practical godliness urged
- October 5 — Hearts prepared beforehand
- October 6 — A good beginning kept up
- October 7 — Seven days, and seven more
- October 8 — Reforms that outlasted the feast
- October 9 — The threat at his accession
- October 10 — Judah's only hope
- October 11 — Quicken us, and we will call
- October 12 — Tidings of the judgment
- October 13 — Rise and fall, and the lesson
- October 14 — A book found in the house
- October 15 — Not content with half a work
- October 16 — He left the future with God
- October 17 — The king turned to the record
- October 18 — Forty years before the people
- October 19 — To build, and to plant
- October 20 — Pleadings added to pleadings
- October 21 — Unwilling to chastise
- October 22 — Refusing the invitation
- October 23 — A lesson for men in office
- October 24 — Had he been intimidated
- October 25 — The Rechabites' obedience
- October 26 — Interpreting the judgments
- October 27 — Words that hardened them
- October 28 — He does not send flatterers
- October 29 — Burning the roll changed nothing
- October 30 — The rescue that failed
- October 31 — Released, and given a choice
November
- November 1 — Three men before the king
- November 2 — Lessons from the furnace
- November 3 — A dream that troubled him
- November 4 — The boast still on his lips
- November 5 — A reckless feast
- November 6 — The most terrified of them all
- November 7 — Daniel before the throng
- November 8 — The king kept his word
- November 9 — Nations that rejected the principles
- November 10 — Honours that stirred envy
- November 11 — They counted on his faithfulness
- November 12 — The king saw the snare too late
- November 13 — Opposition that was not new
- November 14 — Still burdened for his people
- November 15 — The chief of the fathers rose up
- November 16 — The altar set up first
- November 17 — The house they remembered
- November 18 — An unscrupulous man's plot
- November 19 — Events in rapid succession
- November 20 — A decree that will come again
- November 21 — Ezra, given to the study of it
- November 22 — Chosen as an instrument
- November 23 — He appealed to the Levites
- November 24 — They asked no escort
- November 25 — A few of the chief men came
- November 26 — Sorrow that went deep
- November 27 — Word came from Judea
- November 28 — He had often poured out his soul
- November 29 — A brief moment of prayer
- November 30 — Beside him stood a trumpeter
December
- December 1 — The woman at the well
- December 2 — He did not answer at once
- December 3 — When He spoke of living water
- December 4 — Away from friends and kindred
- December 5 — The leper guided to Him
- December 6 — Tell no man
- December 7 — The centurion's servant
- December 8 — He marvelled
- December 9 — What the Jews had been taught
- December 10 — Twenty miles from Capernaum
- December 11 — Young man, arise
- December 12 — Take My yoke
- December 13 — Learn of Me
- December 14 — Why a yoke at all
- December 15 — Simon, healed and ungrateful
- December 16 — Joy over one
- December 17 — What He had tried to tell them
- December 18 — The commission given
- December 19 — Go forth, He said
- December 20 — The sacrifice was full and complete
- December 21 — His visible presence withdrawn
- December 22 — At the temple gate
- December 23 — Repent ye therefore
- December 24 — They could not deny it
- December 25 — News of his conversion
- December 26 — He preached the faith he destroyed
- December 27 — The disciples received him
- December 28 — The Jews were confounded
- December 29 — The years in Arabia
- December 30 — Their anger followed him
- December 31 — What must I do to be saved?
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