God made man upright, but mankind has sought out many schemes (Ecclesiastes 7:29). This verse gives a glimpse of what is called the Doctrine of Original Sin and plainly asserts that God did not create man for the purpose of sinning. Adam, and then all humanity after him, including women, deliberately chose to sin. Mankind persistently blames God for his troubles, yet history shows that people do not always act constructively. Man pollutes everything he touches, creating new problems with each generation, most of which he cannot solve. Some of these problems could, except for God's mercy, wipe life from the earth. The verse may be loosely read as saying that God made man upright, but man has defeated himself by his own schemes. He insists on doing things his way and goes to great trouble to make trouble for himself, instead of reading God's Book, believing it, and submitting to it. Mark Twain illustrates the tendency to blame God for mankind's woes. Though people lack the wisdom to solve life's deep mysteries, they should be wise enough to look within, see the deadly sin in their hearts, and ask God to be their Savior through Jesus Christ, the Last Adam, who by His sinless life, atoning death, and resurrection grants the quality of life God intended from the beginning.

Ahithophel's scheme against David grew out of bitterness. David's sin with Bathsheba, Ahithophel's granddaughter, and the murder of her husband Uriah, a mighty man, struck at Ahithophel's family. God had already pronounced and carried out punishment through Nathan, but Ahithophel was not satisfied with it. For about twelve years he stewed, cultivating Absalom's ambitions with flattery and waiting for a political vessel for his revenge. When Absalom rebelled, Ahithophel joined him, and his counsel was as weighty as the oracle of God. He advised Absalom to take David's concubines publicly, which made reconciliation impossible. He then proposed to pursue David with 12,000 men and strike only the king, and his bitterness showed plainly in that plan. David prayed that God would turn Ahithophel's advice into nonsense, and God answered through Hushai, whom David sent as a spy into Absalom's court. Hushai lied his way into Absalom's confidence and persuaded him to reject Ahithophel's plan. When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was ignored, he put his house in order and hanged himself. All his plotting came to nothing, and bitterness consumed him from the inside. Vengeance belongs to God (Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:19), and humans cannot make godly judgments or play God. Believers must not repay evil with evil but with blessing (I Peter 3:8-10).

Satan is the origin and driving force behind conspiracies, and his character is fixed in scheming. He conspired to draw one-third of the angels away from God in order to gather power, overthrow the Creator, and install himself as ruler (Isaiah 14:12-14, Ezekiel 28, Revelation 12:4). He deceived Eve and put betrayal into the heart of Judas, entering him at the Passover meal (John 13:2, 26). Because events repeat (Ecclesiastes 1:9) and human nature and the same personalities do not change, history's pattern of plotting recurs, much as the principle of duality teaches. Cast down to earth and unable to kill Christ again, Satan now conspires against Christ's spiritual body, the church, as Revelation 12 shows. God has revealed that attack beforehand and that it will not succeed, though it will bring great havoc just before Christ's return. Psalm 2:1-3 forecasts a huge, multinational conspiracy in which nations, kings, and rulers take counsel together against the LORD and His Anointed to break Their bonds. Satan works through national leaders, and the nations follow them. Peter applied this psalm in Acts 4 to the plot that killed Jesus, when deceived leaders tried to thwart God's purpose of installing His Son and forming the church. Since that attempt failed, Satan will organize those he controls to scheme and attack again as an end-time event. He cannot repent of what he is, so this attack is coming, and God has warned of it.