The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 135: The Counsel of Hushai (2026)

Episode Date: May 15, 2026

Fr. Mike explains the events of today's readings, breaking down Hushai's advice to Absalom, David's warning and charge of Solomon, and the theme of centralized worship. We all desire to be temples of the Holy Spirit, and we bring this prayer to God through today's episode. Today's readings are 2 Samuel 17, 1 Chronicles 22, and Psalm 36. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of scripture. The Bible in a year podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using the Great Adventure Bible timeline, we will read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. It is day 135. We are reading three chapters today, first from 2nd Samuel, chapter 17, then First Chronicles, 22, and we're finally praying Psalm 36.

As always, the Bible translation that I'm using is the revised standard version, the second Catholic edition, and I'm reading from the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to download your own Bible in a year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a year, and you can subscribe to this podcast by clicking on subscribe. As I said, it is day 135. Also, good job. So good. What a gift.

And we're reading 2 Samuel chapter 17, 1st Chronicles 22 and Psalm 36. Second Book of Samuel, chapter 17. The Council of Ahithel continues. Moreover, Ahithafel said to Absalom, Let me choose 12,000 men, and I will set out and pursue David tonight. I will come upon him while he is weary and discouraged and throw him into a panic, and all the people who are with him will flee. I will strike down the king only, and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride comes home to her husband.

You seek the life of only one man, and all the people will be at peace. And the advice pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel. The Council of Hushai. Then Absalom said, call Hushai, the Arkite also, and let us hear what he has to say. And when Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom said to him, thus has Ahithafel spoken, shall we do as he advises? If not, you speak. Then Hushai said to Absalom, this time the counsel which Ahithafel has given is not good. Hushai said, moreover, you know that your father and his men are mighty men, and that they are

enraged like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. besides, your father is expert in war. He will not spend the night with the people. Behold, even now he has hidden himself in one of the pits or in some other place. And when some of the people fall at the first attack, whoever hears it will say, there has been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom. Then even the valiant men whose heart is like the heart of a lion will utterly melt with fear, for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and that those who are with him are valiant men. But my counsel is that all Israel be gathered to you from Dan to Birshiba as the sand by the sea for multitude and that you go to battle in person. So we shall come upon him in some place

where he is to be found and we shall light upon him as the dew falls on the ground and of him and all the men with him, not one will be left. If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city and we shall drag it into the valley until not even a pebble is to be found there. And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The council of Hushai, the archite, is better than the council of Ahithafel, for the Lord had ordained to defeat the good council of Hithafel, so that the Lord might bring evil upon Absalom. Hushai warns David to escape.

Then Hushai said to Zadok and Abithar the priests. Thus and so did Hithafel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel. Now thus and so have I counseled. Now therefore, send quickly and tell David, Do not lodge tonight at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means pass over, lest the king and all the people who are with them be swallowed up. Now Jonathan and Himaaz were waiting at Ein Rogel. A maid servant used to go and tell them, and they would go and tell King David, for they must

not be seen entering the city. But a lad saw them and told Absalom, so both of them went away quickly and came to the house of a man at Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard, and they went down into it. And the woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth, and scattered grand. upon it and nothing was known of it. When Absalom's servants came to the woman at the house, they said, Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman said to them, they have gone over the brook of water. And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem. After they had gone, the men came up out of the well and went and told King David. They said to David, arise and go

quickly over the water, for thus and so has Ahithafel counseled against you. Then David arose, and all the people who were with him, and they crossed the Jordan. By daybreak, not one was left who had not crossed the Jordan. When Hithafel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and went off home to his own city. And he set his house in order and hanged himself, and he died and was buried in the tomb of his father. Then David came to Mahanaim, and Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel. Now, Absalom had set Amasa over the army instead of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra, the Ishmaelite, who had married Abigail, the daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruaya, Joab's mother, and Israel and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead.

When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabah of the Ammonites, and Mahir, the son of Ami el and Lodabar, and Barzalai, the Giliadite from Mogalim, brought beds, basins, and earthen vessels, wheat, barley, meal, parched grains, beans and lentils, honey and curds, and cheap and cheese from the herd. for David and the people with him to eat, for they said, The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness. The first book of Chronicles, chapter 22. The site for the temple chosen continued.

Then David said, Here shall be the house of the Lord God, and here the altar of burnt offering for Israel. David's preparations for the temple. David commanded to gather together the aliens who were in the land of Israel, and he set stone cutters to prepare dressed stones for building the house of God. David also provided great stores of iron for nails for the doors of the gates and for clamps, as well as bronze and quantities beyond weighing, and cedar timbers without number,

for the Sedonians and Tyrians had brought great quantities of cedar to David. For David said, Solomon, my son is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent of fame and glory throughout all lands. I will therefore make preparation for it. So David provided materials and great quantity before his death. David's charge to Solomon and the leaders of Israel. Then he called for Solomon his son and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. David said to Solomon, my son, I had it in my heart to build a house to the name of the Lord my God. But the word of the Lord came to me saying, You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my name because you have

shed so much blood before me upon the earth. Behold, a son shall be born to you. He shall be a man of peace. I will give him peace from all his enemies round about, for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. He shall build a house from my name. He shall be my son, and I will be his father. I will establish his royal throne in Israel forever. Now my son, the Lord be with you, so that you may succeed in building the house of the Lord your God as he has spoken concerning you. Only may the Lord grant you discretion and understanding that when he gives you charge over Israel, you may keep the law of the Lord your God. Then you will prosper if you are careful to observe the statutes and the ordinances which the Lord commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and of good

courage. Fear not and be not dismayed. With great pains I have provided for the House of the Lord a hundred thousand talents of gold, a million talents of silver and bronze and iron beyond weighing. For there is so much of it, timber and stone too, I have provided. To these you must add. You have an abundance of workmen, stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and all kinds of craftsmen without number skilled and working gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Arise and be doing. The Lord be with you.

David also commanded all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon, his son, saying, Is not the Lord your God with you? And has he not given you peace on every side? for he has delivered the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and his people. Now set your mind and heart to seek the Lord. Arise, and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord and the Holy Vessels of God may be brought into a house built for the name of the Lord. Psalm 36 Human Wickedness and Divine Goodness To the Choir Master, a Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord.

Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart. There is no fear of God before his eyes, for he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated. The words of his mouth are mischief and deceit. He has ceased to act wisely and do good. He plots mischief while on his bed. He sets himself in a way that is not good. He spurns not evil.

Your mercy, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mountain. of God, your judgments are like the great deep, man and beast you save, O Lord. How precious is your mercy, O God? The children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life. In your light, do we see light? O, continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your salvation to the upright of heart,

let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. there the evildoers lie prostrate. They are thrust down, unable to rise. Father in heaven, we give you thanks. We praise your name. We give you glory. We thank you for your justice. Because your justice is that you are right and you are true, you are fair.

And what we deserve, you are willing to give. But we also thank you, Lord God, for your mercy. And we know that in your mercy, you do not contradict justice, but in your mercy, You fulfill justice in yourself and in giving your son as the sacrifice for my sin, as sacrifice for our sin. You show yourself to be a God of justice and mercy in your one heart as you are one God in your one character, truly consistent, just and merciful. And so we thank you.

I thank you, God, for your justice, that you're not fickle. I thank you for your mercy, that you are love. Please receive our thanks and praise this day. In Jesus' name, in the name of the Father. and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Okay. So here we are. Gosh, Second Samuel, Chapter 17. Remember, this is like intrigue. This is all about, yeah, the stuff that goes on when there's civil war, when there's war going on. So we have a Hithafel, right, who is a trusted counselor. He has great advice. And the advice is, hey, just let me, I'm going to lead 12,000 men.

We're going to just go kill your father. We're going to just destroy him. And then everyone else will be saved. Everyone else will be spared. We'll bring them back. And it'll be a celebration. because it wasn't civil war that destroyed everybody. It was just the one king, took care of him, done. And a lot of people actually like you, Absalom. So that's this going to be good. And then what happens? Well, Hushai.

Remember Hushai was the spy that David had sent to stay with Absalom and to present himself as Absalom's servant. As I served your father, David, now I serve you. And Hushai, he not only has great advice, well, great advice for David, but it's advice that appeals to Absalom's vanity. Remember, Absalom is. is a very good looking man. He has hair that weighs a lot of weight. From top of his head to the tip of his toe, he has no flaw in him. And he has vanity, right? So what does Hushai say? Hushai says, okay,

let's not let Ahithafel go and kill your father David because then Hithafel has the victory. How about you, Absalom? How about you lead the people? And we have to do this because remember, your father David is a mighty warrior. His mighty men around him are valiant men. And if you're going to let Anthefel go and destroy this mighty warrior, this mighty man. That's not the way to go, not only because of a bunch of reasons, but also because you know what's going to happen is you've never been in battle. You've never fought any wars. You've never earned people's respect when it comes to being a conqueror. David is a mighty man. Everyone knows it. His mighty men are valiant men. Everyone knows it. So you need to lead them, Absalom yourself. And Israel gathered to you

and then they will be able to basically put their trust in you, put their confidence in you, and see you as the true king. And so Absalom more or less falls for Hushai's advice. And what happens, Hethel goes back to his home. He says when Hithafel saw that Kushai's advice was heated and his was not, he went back to his home and got his affairs in order and he killed himself. Now, why did he do this? Not because he was embarrassed, not because he was pouting, because he realized Hithafel is a smart guy.

Hethepel knows Hushai's advice will be followed and it will. bring about the destruction of Absalom that David's going to win based off of Hushai's Absalom following Hushai's advice. And so he doesn't want to live as a traitor to the king who's coming back home pretty soon after basically David defeats his own son in battle. So it's just kind of one of these moments of intrigue and the moments of, yeah, just what it is to have a spy basically in your own, in your own home. And one last thing. Absalom makes Amasa, the captain of his army instead of Joab. Now, why does, and then it goes on to say, Amasa is the son of a man who was this person, who is married to this person, was child of this person. Basically, here's the connection. Amasa,

who is now Absalom's chief or is general, Captain of his army, is a son of a niece of David. So David had a niece and Amasa was the son of that niece and is a cousin of Joab. Just in case you're wondering, I did not follow the family connection in all of that. That's the connection here. now as Absalom goes off into battle in pursuit of his father, we're getting to that tomorrow. But going to First Chronicles 22, remember that in First Chronicles 21, David had said, okay, we're going to make Jerusalem the place of the temple. In fact, it was the site of Ornans' threshing floor, right? One thing that I failed to highlight yesterday, I just want to point this out, is that David said,

hey, I want to offer, I'll buy this threshing floor from you. I want to buy this whole land because we're going to build the temple here. We're going to build a place of worshiping God and altar here. And Ornan says, oh, no, no. let me just give it to you and I'll give you my cattle as well and give you the threshing sledges. You can burn those for the sacrifice. And David makes a really big point of highlighting the fact that he's like, no, no, I'm going to pay you for this because this should cost something.

And there's something really true about this, right? A religion that doesn't cost us anything or Christian, following Christ that doesn't cost us anything is only going to go so deep. It's only going to go so deep in our lives. And David has an impulse for this. He kind of has an intuition for this. he realizes, nope, I have to actually buy this in order to be invested, right? You have skin in the game, essentially, is one of the ways people say it.

So David has bought this land. Now, this is going to be, this is Mount Moriah, right? So this is the place that the temple is going to be built. And I say the temple, I mean the temple. After this, at this, this is a really critical moment because this site of the temple, up until this point, sacrifices were offered many different places. They were offered in Gibia. They're offered in Gilea.

They're offered all over the place, Bethel. but at this point, sacrifice will only be offered in one place, that you have many synagogues, but only one temple. You don't offer sacrifice in synagogues. You don't worship in the temple in Jerusalem. And this is the beginning of David collecting all these materials and actually people who can work with these materials, a craftsman and whatnot, to build the temple. He can't build it, right?

It's his son Solomon. That's why we read in First Chronicles chapter 22 today that here's David saying to Solomon, having amassed all these materials, I've gathered all these things, you have to add to them because you're going to build a temple to the glory of God. And the key piece for us, at least for today, is soon this temple is going to be the only place you can offer sacrifice. This is going to be the local, the locus, the one place of offering sacrifice and basically centralized worship. That's going to make a big difference and make a big deal when it comes to the lives of the people of Israel. because remember in John chapter four, we covered that, gosh, it must be a month ago now

when we read John over a month ago, that in John chapter four, Jesus meets the woman at the well, right, the Samaritan woman. And she says that we worship here, but you Jews say that you can only worship in Jerusalem. Who is it? You know, who's right? And Jesus points out that the day will come. He said, it's true, the day will come when people will worship God in spirit and in truth. And that's a foreshadowing, right, of God's promise of his sacrifice, the sacrifice. The sacrificial of his body and blood offered at every mass, which is so cool and so incredible. But today, the point of First Chronicles 22 and 21 from yesterday is this is going to be the beginning of centralized worship.

You can only offer sacrifice in the temple. And here's David collecting all these materials and instructing his son, add to these because you need to create a temple that is worthy of the Lord God. And that's we want to be as temples of the Holy Spirit. Those of us, if you've been baptized, your temple of the Holy Spirit, we want to be a temple worthy of the Lord God. And so we just ask Lord, renew me, renew my heart, renew my soul. We knew your gift of grace inside of me so that I can truly live in such a way as a living tabernacle as a living temple, be a place of your spirit where your truth and your life abides.

So we keep praying for each other. I'm praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.