7 gifts of the Holy Spirit: (5a) Bible citations

A selection of Bible readings about Counsel.

2 Samuel 16:23
Now the counsel given by Ahithophel at that time was a though one had sought divine revelation. Such was his counsel to both David and to Absalom.

[This is praise of a wise human counselor as being so beneficial that it is like having revelation directly from God].

2 Samuel 20:15-16, 19-22
So David’s servants came and besieged him [Sheba, son of Bichri] in Abel Beth-maacah. They threw up a mound against the city, and all the soldiers who were with Joab began battering the wall to throw it down.
Then a wise woman from the city stood on the outworks and called out, “Listen, listen! Tell Joab to come here that I may speak with him.” [She then speaks an old saying to him and concludes with:] “You are seeking to beat down a city that is a mother in Israel. Why do you wish to destroy the inheritance of the Lord?”
Joab answered, “Not at all, not at all! I do not wish to destroy or to ruin anything. That is not the case at all. A man named Sheba, son of Bichri, from the hill country of Ephraim has rebelled against King David. Surrender him alone, and I will withdraw from the city.” Then the woman said, “His head shall be thrown to you across the wall.”
She went to all the people with her advice, and they cut off the head of Sheba, son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. He then sounded the horn, and they scattered from the city to their own tents, while Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.

[I love how so called feminists say women had a degraded or no role in the Bible. I guess they are too busy burning their bras or thongs and haranguing others to read it. Here is a wise woman, not a witch, not an oracle, not a ruler, but a wise woman who has the Counsel of the Holy Spirit, who comes on her own accord but with the guidance of God to the wall of her besieged city to ask to speak to Joab, who was in command of the whole army of Israel: first example of the Counsel of the Holy Spirit. The second example of the Counsel of the Holy Spirit is that Joab listens to this unnamed woman, recognizing that she is a wise woman in the Godly sense. Third example of the Counsel of the Holy Spirit is that the wise woman recognizes how to save the city and quickly bring the divisive ruinous conflict among God’s people in this case to an end. The fourth example of the Counsel of the Holy Spirit is that Joab deems her trustworthy and waits to see if she will deliver on her promise, rather than pressing the attack. The fifth example of the Counsel of the Holy Spirit is that the wise woman speaks with authority to the people and they agree with her advice, and thus slay the betrayer and cast his head to Joab.]

Proverbs 11:14
For lack of guidance a people falls; security lies in many counselors.

Proverbs 12:15
The way of the fool seems right to his own eyes, but he who listens to advice is wise.
[But it better be advice from correct and wise Godly counselors, as the following demonstrate].

Joshua 9:14-15
Then the Israelite prices partook of their provisions, without seeking the advice of the Lord. So Joshua made an alliance with them and entered into an agreement to spare the, which the princes of the community sealed with an oath.

[That did not turn out well.]

Judges 20:17-8
Meanwhile, the other Israelites who, without Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen ready for battle, moved on to Bethel and consulted God. When the Israelites asked who should go first in the attack on the Benjaminites, the Lord said “Judah shall go first.”

[This was not a matter of battle tactics, but of penance and honor, and this was how God directed the order that that should take place. That’s why as I explained God’s Counsel is more than just a “yes” or a “no” for literal success at one endeavor, but also “soul” “strategy”].

Numbers 30:1-3
Moses then gave the Israelites these instructions, just as the Lord had ordered him.
Moses said to the heads of the Israelite tribes, “This is what the Lord has commanded: When a man makes a vow to the Lord or binds himself under oath to a pledge of abstinence, he shall not violate his word, but must fulfill exactly the promise he has uttered.”

[I left discussion of taking vows or oaths and its relationship to Counsel until this post so that you could see the scripture that illuminates this problem. When one gives counsel, and seeks counsel, it is usually because a situation has arisen. If the situation is “what to do next” that is one thing, but often the situation then results in a vow being made or an oath taken. Remember that there was no such thing as written contracts in those days, which is why people would make these solemn vows or oaths. God from the very beginning cautions the Israelites not to take lightly making a vow to Him or that invokes his name or forms of worship to him. So obviously wise Counsel is crucial-and life or soul saving-if as a result of advice seeking the seeker plans to make a vow or an oath. One of the worst things one can do is to make a vow using the name of God after taking some un-Godly advice. Jesus sought to correctly scare people from doing that, in this part of his Sermon on the Mount, for just that reason.]

Matthew 5:33-37
“Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one."

[Jesus is telling his listeners in no uncertain terms that anyone who advises someone to make a vow or an oath invoking God or his creation, or one’s own person, instead of simply answering “Yes” or “No” is acting on behalf or under the influence of Satan. Foolish or evil counselors result in good people making dishonorable vows to God, and that is a horrible pickle to be in. Jesus could not have made this point stronger and more dire of a warning that if he had gone and hit each person on the head with a plank of wood with those words written on it.]