the one who had advised

When I think of temptation, my Screwtape Letters-inspired mind imagines a person deliberating with this shadowy figure on his shoulder whispering lies into his ears. We have this belief that when we are led astray it's because of Satan-sent messengers misleading you. But what if the Lord guides you astray, what of that?

Check out 2Sam17. Absalom is conspiring against David and his advisor Ahithophel gives him some good counsel that could potentially end David once and for all. Rather than take the good counsel right away, Absalom decides to get a second opinion and calls on Hushai the Archite who gives him very different advice, which he ends up taking. The second half of v14 explains why that was so: "For the Lord had ordained to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel, in order that the Lord might bring calamity on Absalom."

There are lots of ways to explain this away without violating principles like free will, or a God that doesn't conspire against individuals. I'm not interested in exploring any of these lines of argument. I'm merely interested in this picture of whisperers sent into our lives to complicate our decision-making. Yes, we may have brought it upon ourselves, but it's an interesting picture nonetheless.