Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

Ahithophel, the most talented of political leaders, was prompted by
revenge for the wrong to his granddaughter, Bathsheba.
"And David said, 'O Lord, I pray, turn the counsel of
Ahithophel into foolishness!'" Upon reaching the top of the
mountain, the king bowed in prayer, casting the burden of his soul
on God and humbly pleading for divine mercy.
His prayer seemed to be answered at once. Hushai the Archite,
a wise and able counselor and a faithful friend to David, now came
to cast in his fortunes with the dethroned and fugitive king. As if by
a divine enlightenment, David saw that this man was the one needed
to serve the interests of the king in the capital's councils. At David's
request, Hushai returned to Jerusalem to offer his services to
Absalom and defeat the crafty counsel of Ahithophel.
With this gleam of light in the darkness, the king and his
followers continued down the eastern slope of Olivet, through a
rocky and desolate wasteland toward the Jordan River. "Now when
King David came to Bahurim, there was a man from the family of
the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei the son of Gera. ... And
he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David. ...
And Shimei said thus when he cursed: 'Come out! Come out! You
bloodthirsty man, you rogue! The Lord has brought upon you all the
blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the
Lord has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son.
So now you are caught in your own evil, because you are a
bloodthirsty man!'" When David was prosperous, Shimei had not
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