2 Samuel - Chapters 13-14 with Psalm 36

In chapters 13 and 14 of 2 Samuel, David's sin with Bathsheba and the consequences are discussed. David's son Amnon falls in love with Tamar, his half-sister, and rapes her. Absalom, Tamar's brother, seeks revenge and kills Amnon. Absalom then flees and David longs for him to return. Joab sends an actress to convince David to bring Absalom back. David finally allows Absalom to return, but they do not have a close relationship. The chapter also includes Psalm 36, which speaks about the sinfulness of the wicked and the greatness of God's love and righteousness. I am Julie Callio, your host, and thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to tune in with me today. If, by chance, you want to contact me, you can do that at bab.bc.pc at gmail.com. Today we are covering chapters 13 and 14 of 2 Samuel with Psalm 36. David had come to his height as king and then he fell into sin with taking Bathsheba, Uriah's wife, and then killing Uriah because Bathsheba had become pregnant, chapters 11 and 12. After Uriah was killed purposefully in war, David married Bathsheba and brought her into his home. Nathan, the prophet, addressed the issue with David, and the Lord took the life of their son. Chapter 12 verse 24 tells us that after the boy died, then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved him. This became the decline of David's kingdom, and as Ben F. Bilbrick, Jr. said in his commentary, now that the author of the succession narrative has accounted for the approaching turmoil within David's house, he turns to the basic question underlying his work. Who will succeed David on the throne? In 2 Samuel chapter 3 verses 2-5 we learn that David had six wives while he was king of Judah, and through those six wives each had at least one son who were born in Hebron. Just a note, David's first wife, the daughter of Saul, who rebuked David and the Lord caused her to not have children, is not mentioned among the six. David's first born is Amnon from Ahinoam of Jezreel. He is one of the main characters today. His second son, either named Kiliab or named Daniel in 1 Chronicles chapter 8 verses 1-9, came from Abigail, widow of Nabal of Carmel, and he is not mentioned much, so it is assumed that he probably died at a young age. These two wives David acquired while running for his life from King Saul. Then Absalom was his third son, and he was born of Mekah, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur. He is the other main character in our story today. Chapter 13 begins, In the course of time, Amnon, son of David, fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom, son of David. His passion burned inside him, and he had a, quote, friend, Jonadab, son of Shemiah, David's brother, so in other words his cousin, devised a plan for him to take her. He played sick, asked dear old David to allow his half-sister to come and feed him, and while there he grabbed her to come to bed with him. She cried out, Don't, my brother, don't force me, such a thing should not be done in Israel. As Robert D. Bergen pointed out in his commentary, she appealed to his conscience. Then she cried out, Don't do this wicked thing, what about me? Where can I get rid of my disgrace, and what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Bergen pointed out she cried out for a reason, for him to think of his reputation. Again she cried out, Please speak to the king, he will not keep me from being married to you. Bergen also pointed out that she cried out for delay until it was done right, but verse 14 says, But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her. Bergen also pointed out the similarities between King David with Bathsheba and Amnon with Tamar. They both committed immoral acts outside of marriage with beautiful women, verse 1 and then chapter 11 verse 2. They did it in the privacy of their own residence, verse 7, also chapter 11 verse 4. Both women experienced great grief because of the men's actions, verse 19, chapter 11 verse 26. Ultimately both transgressions brought about death for sons of David, verse 29 and chapter 12 verse 18. He continued to say, This carefully constructed narrative seems intended to demonstrate at least two truths, first, that God's prophetic word is true, second, that the sins of one generation imprint the next generation. Each sin not only fosters more sin, it also fashions it by providing precedence for others to follow. The story continues that unlike King David, after the act, Amnon despised Tamar. His hatred for her was greater than his lust for her. He told her to get up and get out, but she said, No, sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me. He refused to listen, and he called for his personal servant and told him, Get this woman out of here and bolt the door after her. Tamar, the princess of the king of Israel, who wore the beautiful dress that only the king's virgin daughters wore, ripped it, put ash on her head, put her hand on her head and wept loudly as she went home. Absalom was there and he asked, Has that Amnon, your brother, been with you? Be quiet now, my sister. He is your brother. Don't take this thing to heart. Really? Tamar lived with her brother at Absalom's house and verse 20 described her as a desolate woman. Then add to her agony, verse 21 says, When King David heard all this, he was furious. But ladies, he never did anything about it. Why? My opinion is that because of his own sin with Bathsheba, he no longer felt able to condemn such actions. One thing my Old Testament professor Dr. Bett said, With sin always comes loss. Not loss of salvation, but loss of other things. Verse 22 tells us Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad. He hated Amnon because he had disgraced his sister Tamar. Verse 23 starts, Two years later, two years of planning and plotting, and now Absalom's plan is coming to fruition. It was a time of shearing sheep, a time of celebration, and Absalom planned a party. He invited the king and all the officials to come and feast. David said no, because it would be too much of a burden for Absalom, so Absalom insisted that Amnon come to his place. David asked why? The firstborn son would be in place of David, so the king gave his blessing. All the brothers came, which was probably about seventeen, and when they feasted and Amnon was high in spirits from drinking, Absalom ordered his servants to kill Amnon. All the other sons of the king got up and ran for their lives. When David first heard of what happened, he was told that all of his sons were killed, but Jonadab, son of Shimea, David's brother, yes this is the same dude that was quote friends with Amnon and told him how to rape his half-sister, told the king that no, it is only Amnon who is dead. The sons came home, and Absalom fled into exile to his mother's dad's house, or his grandpa Talmai, son of Ammihad and king of Gusher. He stayed there for three years, verse 39 says, and the spirit of the king longed to go to Absalom, for he was consoled concerning Amnon's death. The king James says, for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead. In other words, David, who knew his oldest son was wicked, and yet did nothing about it, was thankful that Absalom, his other son, killed him, because now the next king of Israel would not be wicked. He was thankful that Absalom had the courage to do what he could not do. Wow! Chapter 14 starts with Joab, king David's commander of the army, and he knew the king's heart, so Joab sent an actress to go to the king and tell a story that was similar to David's. It was also similar to how Nathan the prophet addressed David after Bathsheba. She was pleading for mercy from her quote son who killed her only other son, and how she did not want her live son to die as well, because then there would be no one to take care of her and no one to carry on her dead husband's name. The king granted pardon, then the woman asked to speak a word to the king. He said fine, and then she asked why the king would not show pardon to his own son. The lady blessed king David, and then he asked who put you up to this, was it Joab? She answered yes, it was your servant Joab who instructed me to do this and to put all these words into the mouth of your servant. Your servant Joab did this to change the present situation. David told Joab to go and get Absalom. Joab fell on his face to pay the king honor, and he also blessed the king. He left and brought Absalom back, but he was not allowed to see the king's face. Ben Philbrick Jr. said it would seem that David should have punished Absalom severely or forgiven him completely. In any case, the middle ground was totally ineffective. Verse 25 described Absalom to us, in all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him. Whenever he cut the hair of his head, he used to cut his hair from time to time when it became too heavy for him. He would weigh it, and its weight was 200 shekels by the royal standard. It makes me think of Fabio with his long flowing blonde hair. He sounds like kingly material to me. Absalom lived two years without seeing his father, and he had enough. He tried to reach out to Joab who was ignoring him, so he decided to set on fire Joab's crop which was next to his. That got his attention, and Joab came knocking on the door. Joab then approached the king in behalf of Absalom. The king summoned his son who came in and bowed down before his father, and the king kissed Absalom. Now let's look at Psalm 36 which is entitled, for the director of music, of David the servant of the Lord. An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked. There is no fear of God before his eyes, for in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin. The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful. He has ceased to be wise and to do good. Even on his bed he plots evil. He commits himself to a sinful course and does not reject what is wrong. Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens. Your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains. Your justice like the great deep. O Lord, you preserve both man and beast. How priceless is your unfailing love. Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house. You give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life. In your light we see light. Continue your love to those who know you. Your righteousness to the upright in heart. May the foot of the proud not come against me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. See how the evildoer's life fallen, thrown down, not able to rise. The difference between David and Amnon is that when David was confronted by his sin, he repented and was forgiven. Amnon had no desire to repent. David brought in Bathsheba, provided for her, and comforted her. Amnon's response was wicked and he kicked out Tamar. Psalm 36 tells us that those who come to the Lord find love and a refuge where every need is met in the Lord's abundance. They are taken care of in a sanctuary full of faithfulness, righteousness, and justice. In the Lord we have life. We can see the truth because we are in the light. And because of Jesus' death on the cross, and because of his precious, precious blood which paid the price for our pardon, we can live in truth and face the truth, no matter how dismal. If you have heard his voice today, please don't harden your heart. Instead, let's be women who hear from the Lord, repent if necessary, and obey. Until next time, and thanks so much for listening.