2 Samuel 13

Bible Passage: 2 Samuel 13

If this is the first time you are reading this chapter, I am sure you must be turning to the cover of your Bible to check if it is really the Bible you are reading!

The shameful and torrid events that unfold before our eyes would not seem out of place in a Hollywood movie or the latest soap opera.  Love, Lust, Plots, Rape, Hatred, Revenge, Murder.  All ingredients for the script writers and yet.. here we read of it in the Bible… and it is just in one chapter alone.

I do not know how you feel after reading this passage… but I am sure you agree… this is not one chapter you would readily read aloud to your children or discuss with anyone…  just because the events are so shocking.

Or are they?

After David committed grave sins in 2 Sam 11, Nathan rebuked him in and said that the sword shall never depart from the house of David (2 Sam 12:10).   Subsequent events showed that although David sincerely repented and received forgiveness, the discpline and judgement of God came down strongly on David and his family.  His first son with Bathsheba died despite all his prayers.  And now… more tragedy was to befall his family.

One of his daughters was raped.  He lost not only one son, Amnon, through the hands of another son.  He also lost that son, Absalom, who fled from the house of David after he ad killed Amnon.

What are some of the things that came to mind as I read this chapter?

Be Careful Who You Listen To

I have mentioned the names of Amnon and Absalom.  But there was someone else that was a big culprit in the start of this whole problem.

That was the cousin of Amnon – Jonadab.

Now Jonadab encouraged Amnon to commit this sexual crime.  I am not sure what was in it for him but he clearly instigated Amnon to take action (2 Sam 13:3-5).

Many a times, we are very vulnerable to hye advice of our relatives or good friends just because we are close to them.  And even though we may know that what we are thinking of doing is wrong… because we have these “好兄弟” to give us ‘advice’, to egg us on, we gain the confidence to carry out what we know is wrong.

But the lesson for me is this… we must make sure that we evaluate every piece of advice by God’s standards, even when it comes from people that we like and trust.

Love and Lust

Sounds like the title of a movie doesn’t it? 🙂

But love and lust are very different.  After Amnon raped his half sister, his “love” turned to hatred.  Although he had claimed to be in love, he was actually overcomed by lust.

Love is patient.  But lust wants immediate satisfaction.

Love is kind.  Lust is harsh.

Love does not demand its own way.  Lust does.

We all know what love is from 1 Corinthians 13.

Lust may feel like love at first, but when physically expressed, it results in self-disgust and hatred of the other person.  Very much like Amnon.

What about you?  What about me?

Are there things in our lives that we think we love but actually they are just expressions of our lusts and desires?  We think that something is very very important to us and we cannot eat and sleep without it.  Everywhere we go, we think of it, and dream of it?

How do we know it is love and not lust?

If you can’t wait, what you feel is not true love.

Our Sin Makes Us Powerless

I have already briefly spoken about the effects of David’s sin on his family.

But here is one more thing about sin.  When we have sinned, it makes us much weaker and unable to confront and instruct another person of a similar sin.

Consider this.  Look at what happened.  Does it not resemble what David had done?

Amnon forced himself on his half sister after resorting to scheming and abuse of his position of power.  David did likewise when he took Bathsheba.

Absalom plotted and had Amnon killed.  David did the same thing with Uriah.

But do you noticed the actions or inactions of David?

In 2 Sam 13:21 – when he heard about the rape of Tamar – he was angry.  But there was no record of him taking any action.

And when Absalom had Amnon murdered… again David did nothing.  He did not pursue Absalom and take him to justice but instead, just yearned for Absalom cause he loved him very much (2 Sam 13:39).

In both cases, David could not take the moral high ground becausehe was just as guilty as they for the sins that were committed.   And I am sure he felt powerless in wanting to admonish them because of this.

Have you ever felt the same way?

There are times when I want to tell my daughters off for losing her tempter.  But then I find it difficult to say it with power and authority because she has seen me lose my temper many times.

I want to tell them to study harder and do their work more consistently.  But after having regaled them in stories of how I was a very lazy, carefree student who did the minimum necessary … those words seem rather hollow.

I think you get the picture.

Sin makes us powerless. And that is the reason why we must flee from sin.

Not just for the sake of our own salvation.  But also for the sake of our loved ones as well.

David’s sin affected his family and prevented him from being the authority figure required to bring his family up in the Lord.  Let us watch out for sin… lest we are also powerless in what we want to do as well.

May God help us all.