Counsel

Counsel runs along two tracks in the UPDV: the human exchange of advice and deliberation, and Yahweh's own counsel poured out on those who fear him. The wisdom literature places these tracks side by side. A wise person hears counsel and grows; a fool walks by his own eyes; and behind every well-advised purpose stands a divine counsel that is wonderful, inscrutable, and saving. The narrative books then test the doctrine: kings, prophets, mothers, friends, and adversaries all "take counsel," and the outcome turns on whether the counsel taken was wise, evil, or rejected outright.

The wise hear counsel

Proverbs treats the receiving of counsel as the marker of a wise person. The opening summons is plain: "That the wise man may hear, and increase in learning; And that the man of understanding may attain to sound counsels" (Pr 1:5). Teaching produces growth where there is already a willingness to learn — "Give [instruction] to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: Teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning" (Pr 9:9). The fool, by contrast, is right in his own eyes, "But he who is wise harkens to counsel" (Pr 12:15), and where pride drives only contention, "with the well-advised is wisdom" (Pr 13:10). The result reaches forward into the rest of life: "Hear counsel, and receive instruction, That you may be wise in your latter end" (Pr 19:20).

Sirach extends the same posture. "A man of counsel does not hide his understanding, But the proud and scornful man will not accept the law" (Sir 32:18). And the gravity of acting at all without counsel is stated as a flat rule: "Do nothing without counsel, That you do not repent your act" (Sir 32:19); "Do not be excessive toward any creature, And do nothing without judgement" (Sir 33:29). Even the elderly speaker of the book commands a hearing — "Hearken to me, you⁺ great ones of the people, And you⁺ rulers of the congregation, give ear to me" (Sir 33:18) — because counsel from the gray-headed carries something irreplaceable: "Do not despise what you hear among the gray-headed Which they have heard from their fathers. Because from this you will receive understanding To return an answer in the time you need it" (Sir 8:9).

In the multitude of counsellors

The companion proverb of Proverbs and Sirach is that no single mind is sufficient. "Where there is no wise guidance, a people falls; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety" (Pr 11:14). The same rule governs particular plans — "Where there is no counsel, purposes are disappointed; But in the multitude of counselors they are established" (Pr 15:22) — and works of war: "Every purpose is established by counsel; And by wise guidance make war" (Pr 20:18); "For by wise guidance you will make your war; And in the multitude of counselors there is safety" (Pr 24:6). The principle is that established purposes need many minds, and battle most of all.

Choosing a counsellor

If counsel is sought widely, it must also be sought selectively. Sirach devotes an extended passage to the question of who may be trusted with one's deliberation. The opening warning is that not every counsellor is disinterested: "Every counsellor points out the way, But there is one who counsels a way for his own advantage. Of that counsellor let your soul take heed, And know beforehand what is his interest; For he, too, will take thought for himself; Why should it fall out to his advantage?" (Sir 37:7-8). The deceptive counsellor will even praise the very road he plans to abandon you on: "And he will say to you, How good is your way! Then will he stand aloof and watch your adversity" (Sir 37:9).

A long catalogue then names whom not to consult. "Do not take counsel with one who dislikes you, And hide your secret from one who is jealous of you" (Sir 37:10). And further: "(Do not take counsel) with a woman concerning her rival, And an enemy concerning his conflict, With a merchant concerning business, And with a buyer concerning selling, With an evil man concerning the showing of kindness, And with one who is merciless concerning man's happiness, With a worthless workman concerning his work, And with a yearly hired worker concerning the sowing of seed, With an idle slave concerning much work, Do not trust in these for any counsel" (Sir 37:11). The right counsellor is one whose interest is aligned with the law and with you: "But rather with a man who fears always, Whom you know [to be] a keeper of the commandment, Whose heart is like your heart, And if you stumble he will be grieved for you" (Sir 37:12). To which Sirach finally adds the inward witness: "And also discern the counsel of [your own] heart, For there is none more true to you" (Sir 37:13).

The same care governs to whom one's secret thought is given: "Let what you think be with him who has understanding; And [let] all that is your secret [be] among them" (Sir 9:15). Counsel between trusted companions is one of the deep pleasures of life — "Oil and perfume rejoice the heart; So does the sweetness of a man's companion [that comes] from the counsel of the soul" (Pr 27:9). Age confers fitness for this kind of work: "How beautiful to gray hairs is judgement, And for elders to know counsel" (Sir 25:4); "How beautiful is the wisdom of old men, And thought and counsel to those who are honored" (Sir 25:5). And in pure value, "Gold and silver make the foot stand sure, But better than both is counsel esteemed" (Sir 40:25). A character so anchored cannot be shaken: "[As] timber firmly fixed into the wall Is not loosened by an earthquake, So a heart established on well-advised counsel Will not be fearful in time [of danger]" (Sir 22:16).

The counsel of the wise is itself imaged as living water: "The knowledge of a wise man abounds like a spring of water, And his counsel is like living water" (Sir 21:13).

Wise counsel given

The narrative books offer concrete instances of counsel given well. Jethro instructs his son-in-law in the management of Israel's disputes: "Now listen to my voice, I will give you counsel, and God be with you: be for the people toward God, and you bring the causes to God" (Ex 18:19). Daniel addresses Nebuchadnezzar with the same authority: "Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you, and break off your sins by righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if there may be a lengthening of your tranquility" (Da 4:27). At the start of the Maccabean revolt, the dying Mattathias commends Simon to his brothers in just these terms: "And look, I know that your⁺ brother Simon Is a man of counsel. Give ear to him always, And he will be a father to you⁺" (1Ma 2:65). And the risen Christ counsels the Laodicean church in turn: "I counsel you to buy of me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich; and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and [that] the shame of your nakedness not be made manifest; and eyesalve to apply to your eyes, that you may see" (Re 3:18).

Counsel that is evil

Counsel can also be a vehicle of harm. Balaam's name attaches to the deception that turned Israel toward Peor: "Look, these caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to produce disloyalty against Yahweh in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of Yahweh" (Nu 31:16). Job's wife, in his moment of greatest extremity, advises capitulation: "Then his wife said to him, Do you still hold fast your integrity? Renounce God, and die" (Job 2:9). Ahaziah's mother is described as the source of his ruin: "He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab; for his mother was his counselor to do wickedly" (2Ch 22:3). And Sirach gives the categorical statement: "But the knowledge of wickedness is not wisdom, And the counsel of sinners is not understanding" (Sir 19:22).

Counsel rejected: the Rehoboam paradigm

The longest worked example of counsel-going-wrong is Rehoboam's accession. The old men gave him the counsel of restraint: "If you will be a slave to this people this day, and will serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your slaves forever" (1Ki 12:7). Rehoboam did not take it. "But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him. And he said to them, What counsel do you⁺ give, that we may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke that your father put on us lighter?" (1Ki 12:8-9). The young men's reply was the boast of dynastic power: "And the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, Thus you will say to this people who spoke to you, saying, Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter to us; thus you will speak to them, My little finger is thicker than my father's loins" (1Ki 12:10; the wording is repeated almost verbatim at 2Ch 10:10), with the threat appended, "And now whereas my father laded you⁺ with a heavy yoke, I will add to your⁺ yoke: my father chastised you⁺ with whips, but I will chastise you⁺ with scorpions" (1Ki 12:11).

The king delivered the young men's words to the assembly: "And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and spoke to them after the counsel of the young men" (1Ki 12:13-14). The narrator adds the divine interpretation: "So the king didn't listen to the people; for it was a thing brought about of Yahweh, that he might establish his word, which Yahweh spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat" (1Ki 12:15). The kingdom split: "What portion do we have in David? Neither do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your⁺ tents, O Israel: now see to your own house, David. So Israel departed to their tents" (1Ki 12:16). Jeroboam's own following counsel only deepened the breach: "For this reason the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he said to them, It is too much for you⁺ to go up to Jerusalem: here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt" (1Ki 12:28). Sirach's verdict on the same episode is harsh: Solomon "left after him one who was overbearing; Great in folly, and lacking in understanding [Was] Rehoboam, he who by his counsel made the people revolt, Until there arose, let there be no memorial of him, Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Who sinned, and made Israel to sin; And he put a stumbling-block [before] Ephraim" (Sir 47:23).

The same pattern of counsel-set-at-nothing is the burden of Wisdom's rebuke in Proverbs:

"Because I have called, and you⁺ have refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man has regarded; But you⁺ have set at nothing all my counsel, And would have none of my reproof... For they hated knowledge, And did not choose the fear of Yahweh: They didn't want my counsel; They despised all my reproof. Therefore they will eat of the fruit of their own way, And be filled with their own devices" (Pr 1:24-31).

The closing word is the inversion: "But whoever harkens to me will stay securely, And will be quiet without fear of evil" (Pr 1:33).

Counsel in war

The Maccabean books record several scenes in which counsel is the hinge of military decision. The cleansing of the temple turns on a "good counsel" to dismantle the defiled altar: "And a good counsel came into their minds, to pull it down: otherwise it should be a reproach to them, because the nations had defiled it; so they threw it down" (1Ma 4:45). Timotheus deliberates aloud whether to engage Judas at the river: "When Judas and his army come near the torrent of water, if he passes over to us first, we will not be able to withstand him: for he will certainly prevail over us. But if he is afraid to pass over, and camps on the other side of the river, we will pass over to them and will prevail against him" (1Ma 5:40-41). News of Judas reaches the Seleucid king and prompts a war council: "Now when the king heard this, he was angry: and he called together all his friends, and the captains of his army, and those who were over the chariots" (1Ma 6:28). Lysias urges withdrawal in similar terms: "We decay daily, and our provision of victuals is small, and the place that we lay siege to is strong, and it lies on us to take order for the affairs of the kingdom" (1Ma 6:57). And the surprise of Nicanor's exposure tips the field: "And Nicanor knew that his counsel was discovered: and he went out to fight against Judas near Capharsalama" (1Ma 7:31).

The counsel of Yahweh

Behind all human deliberation stands Yahweh's own counsel. The psalmist names the source of his orientation through the night: "I will bless Yahweh, who has given me counsel; Yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons" (Ps 16:7). And the goal of that counsel is final salvation: "You will guide me with your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory" (Ps 73:24). Isaiah names Yahweh as the supreme deliberator — "This also comes forth from Yahweh of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in wisdom" (Is 28:29) — and Jeremiah pairs counsel with executive might: "great in counsel, and mighty in work; whose eyes are open on all the ways of the sons of man, to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings" (Je 32:19). Sirach attributes the same self-directing counsel to Yahweh: "He himself directs his counsel and knowledge, And in the secrets of it he meditates" (Sir 39:7).

The Spirit of counsel rests in particular on the messianic figure of Isaiah 11: "And the Spirit of Yahweh will rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh" (Is 11:2). Counsel is here one of the gifts that constitute the Davidic ruler.

The hidden counsel disclosed

The Epistle to Diognetus picks up the divine-counsel motif at its end, where what was kept in reserve in the Father is at last shared: "and when he had conceived a great and ineffable thought, he communicated it to his Child alone" (Gr 8:9). The earlier silence is reframed not as neglect but as the holding of a wise counsel: "For so long a time, therefore, as he retained in mystery and reserved his wise counsel, he seemed to us to neglect us, and to be indifferent" (Gr 8:10). The same God who is "wonderful in counsel" (Is 28:29) and whose deeds proceed from a counsel that is "great" and "mighty in work" (Je 32:19) is the God whose disclosure of that counsel is the gospel itself.