David: Amnon & Tamar
2ND SAMUEL 13
We studied last week the terrible desolation of king David after he had sinned against the Lord and had tried for a year to cover his sins of lust and commanded murder. We looked deeply into the area of repentance and saw that David, after Nathan the prophet revealed to him his sin status, did indeed confess completely and repent deeply and was forgiven.
Our question now is that even though David found the forgiveness he sought, were there still consequences to be borne by him of the actions he had done which had displeased the.Lord?
We begin by looking at 2nd Samuel 12: 11: "Thus saith the Lord, Behold I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house ...
We are assμred that the Lord intends always that His will be done and His word not return to Him void. God knew that David had a soft heart toward his children, even to the point of not showing fatherly discipline. In this area, David followed too closely the poor example of Eli, the high priest of Israel, whose example was written in 1 Samuel 3: 13: " ... his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not...".
David had yielded to the sin of lust and had then shed blood afterward still in sinful effort, and now in this chapter we will see that these very sins shall be repeated within his own family. The word of the Lord was fulfilled.
It is important that God had told David that if he had asked for certain things, they would have been given. If what the Lord had already bestowed was insufficient, He was willing to give more. Now in these last three chapters we see:
Sin in chapter 11
Sorrow in chapter 12
Suffering in chapter 13
In our study today we meet four characters:
Amnon - the first born son of David, born of Ahinoam of Jezereel, David's first wife. He is the main heir to David's throne.
Tamar - daughter of David by Maacah, daughter of the king of Geshur. Tamar was a quite beautiful young woman.
Absalom - the blood brother of Tamar, and likely a teenager when David's affair with Bathsheba happened.
Jonadab - a nephew of David, and a creepy conspiring character.
Amnon was filled with lust for his half sister Tamar, and we are told in verse two that he was vexed and wished his lust for her could be satisfied. We are told that Tamar was a virgin, and Amnon was seeking a way to have her physically.
Do we see already that the sin of Amnon is EXACTLY the same sin. that. took David into his own sinful darkness?
We will see that he was not in love with her, but was only in lust for her.
Love gives - Lust takes.
Amnon reveals his heat for his half sister to Jonadab, his cousin, who we are told is a subtle man. Joandab quickly hatches a solution. He tells Amnon to pretend illness, and when David comes to check on him to ask that David send Tamar to make break for him in his own chamber to help him recover his strength.
One would think that David, with his own many wives and concubines might have seen that it was not the stomach of Amnon that was growling. But he seemed not to have any suspicion.
David sends Tamar to cook the bread for Amnon, and she obeyed the king (somewhat like the obedience of Bathsheba earlier).
When the bread was ready Amnon pulls his half sister into himself and tells her to " ... come lie with me ..." .
We notice that Tamar was filled with fear and emotion toward this advance and she tells him three times not to do this thing:
" ... Nay my brother DO NOT force me: NO SUCH THING ought to be done in Israel: DO NOT thou this folly."
Amnon did not listen and he forced himself on Tamar, raping her. Verse 15 then shows his disdain for her after the act as he commands her to get up and leave, and his hatred for her now is greater than the love he thought he had for her. Tamar tells him that the sending her away after the act is worse than the act itself. But Amnon would not listen to her.
So she left in sorrow & disgrace, tearing her royal clothing, putting ashes on her head, and. weeping loudly. She had been violated in the worst possible way.
Now her brother, Absalom, counsels her to remain quiet and not to report the crime.
The crime should have had very serious consequences:
Leviticus 18
6: "None of you shall approach to any that is kin to him to uncover their nakedness: I am the Lord".
9: "The nakedness of thy sister ... thou shall not uncover".
29: "For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations ... shall be cut off from among the people".
David knew the law. But Absalom and Amnon knew David and both knew Amnon could get away with this act ( an abomination to the Lord) .
Verse 22 teaches that Absalom never said a word to Amnon at this time but he cut himself off from Amnon from the moment his sister was disgraced.·
For two years, the matter festered inside Absalom in secret. But now he prepares a meeting after the sheep are shorn, and asks David to allow all the sons to attend.
At the meeting, Absalom's revenge is seen. He commands that when Amnon is under the influence of much wine, the men are to kill him which they did. He paid for his sin with. his life.
Absalom flees to his grandparent's home and was gone for three years.
How many ways did the righteous retribution promised by God upon the house of David appear?
FIRST-David's murder of Uriah was not a spur of the moment death of passion. David plotted and schemed the best way to have Uriah killed and over time carried out the murderous plot.
Absalom killing of Amnon was years in the planning while hatred & revenge burned in Absalom's heart. His plan was well thought out and well executed. The death was plotted and prepared.
SECOND-The killing of Uriah was a means to an end. With Uriah dead, David could take Bathsheba as his own wife. Absalom's killing of Amnon was also a means to an end, two ends. He sought and got revenge for the rape of his sister and he removed his older brother from the line of inheritance of the throne of David.
THIRD-David did not kill Uriah with his own hand but commanded it done. Absalom also did not kill Amnon by his own hand, but commanded it done.
FOURTH -Just as David sought to have Uriah take wine to become more relaxed to lying with his wife to cover the crime David had done, Absalom determined to use wine to have Amnon relaxed to make the crime easier to commit.
We see that the consequences of sin remain long after the sin is forgiven.
We see that immorality and murder are considered abominations to God and by His hand these acts are revealed and revisited as not forgotten until His will has shown to be complete when He promises judgment.
We see that David has lost two sons from sin in his house and we will soon see he will lose another as well.
We see that the inaction of David toward his sons brought exactly the result that God had promised.
Amnon's sin was great and needed to be addressed. But David ignored his duty and allowed the sin to remain unpunished. As we see Paul teach so very well:
"The wages of sin is death ... ".