The Reaping Begins
The Reaping Begins
2 Samuel 13:1-19
1 Now Absalom, David's son, had a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar. And after a time Amnon, David's son, loved her. 2 And Amnon was so tormented that he made himself ill because of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible to Amnon to do anything to her. 3 But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother. And Jonadab was a very crafty man. 4 And he said to him, “O son of the king, why are you so haggard morning after morning? Will you not tell me?” Amnon said to him, “I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.” 5 Jonadab said to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill. And when your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Let my sister Tamar come and give me bread to eat, and prepare the food in my sight, that I may see it and eat it from her hand.’” 6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. And when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, “Please let my sister Tamar come and make a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat from her hand.”
7 Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, “Go to your brother Amnon's house and prepare food for him.” 8 So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house, where he was lying down. And she took dough and kneaded it and made cakes in his sight and baked the cakes. 9 And she took the pan and emptied it out before him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, “Send out everyone from me.” So everyone went out from him. 10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the chamber, that I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the cakes she had made and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother. 11 But when she brought them near him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.” 12 She answered him, “No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this outrageous thing. 13 As for me, where could I carry my shame? And as for you, you would be as one of the outrageous fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.” 14 But he would not listen to her, and being stronger than she, he violated her and lay with her.
15 Then Amnon hated her with very great hatred, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Get up! Go!” 16 But she said to him, “No, my brother, for this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other that you did to me.” But he would not listen to her. 17 He called the young man who served him and said, “Put this woman out of my presence and bolt the door after her.” 18 Now she was wearing a long robe with sleeves, for thus were the virgin daughters of the king dressed. So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. 19 And Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the long robe that she wore. And she laid her hand on her head and went away, crying aloud as she went.
1 Now Absalom, David's son, had a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar. And after a time Amnon, David's son, loved her. 2 And Amnon was so tormented that he made himself ill because of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible to Amnon to do anything to her. 3 But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother. And Jonadab was a very crafty man. 4 And he said to him, “O son of the king, why are you so haggard morning after morning? Will you not tell me?” Amnon said to him, “I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.” 5 Jonadab said to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill. And when your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Let my sister Tamar come and give me bread to eat, and prepare the food in my sight, that I may see it and eat it from her hand.’” 6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. And when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, “Please let my sister Tamar come and make a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat from her hand.”
7 Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, “Go to your brother Amnon's house and prepare food for him.” 8 So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house, where he was lying down. And she took dough and kneaded it and made cakes in his sight and baked the cakes. 9 And she took the pan and emptied it out before him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, “Send out everyone from me.” So everyone went out from him. 10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the chamber, that I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the cakes she had made and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother. 11 But when she brought them near him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.” 12 She answered him, “No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this outrageous thing. 13 As for me, where could I carry my shame? And as for you, you would be as one of the outrageous fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.” 14 But he would not listen to her, and being stronger than she, he violated her and lay with her.
15 Then Amnon hated her with very great hatred, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Get up! Go!” 16 But she said to him, “No, my brother, for this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other that you did to me.” But he would not listen to her. 17 He called the young man who served him and said, “Put this woman out of my presence and bolt the door after her.” 18 Now she was wearing a long robe with sleeves, for thus were the virgin daughters of the king dressed. So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. 19 And Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the long robe that she wore. And she laid her hand on her head and went away, crying aloud as she went.
Sowing & Reaping
Paul never writes with greater passion about God’s full forgiveness of sinners than in Galatians. But he also tells us in that same letter, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap (Gal 6:7).” Through the cross of Christ, God puts all my sin away. But our actions still carry consequences in God’s world. Reaping is inevitable (it’s going to happen), it is consistent (we reap the same kind of thing that we sowed), and it is disproportionate (we generally reap a lot more than we sowed). Of course, God in grace may give us crop failure! But he never promises to extract us from the painful impact of our choices. To expect God to do this is presumption, which is just what David’s story is meant to guard us against.
For over a year, David treated God with contempt. He disregarded God’s law, abused power, stole, lied, manipulated, murdered—and cloaked it all in false holiness. It was long-term, high-handed sin. When David finally came clean, God put it all away from before his face. Yet David sowed a lot of seeds, and for the next many chapters, we must watch David reap. It begins in today’s story, one of the Bible’s ugliest.
For over a year, David treated God with contempt. He disregarded God’s law, abused power, stole, lied, manipulated, murdered—and cloaked it all in false holiness. It was long-term, high-handed sin. When David finally came clean, God put it all away from before his face. Yet David sowed a lot of seeds, and for the next many chapters, we must watch David reap. It begins in today’s story, one of the Bible’s ugliest.
Chaos at Home
We have already noted how David ignored God’s explicit Word by taking many wives from many nations. He did this for both pleasure and politics—just like a Canaanite king. It seemed to carry no consequence at the time, when David was up to his neck in success. But as the kids from these idol-worshipping mamas grow up, they unleash chaos into David’s home. “Exhibit A” is Amnon, David’s oldest son, the heir to Israel’s throne. He is a spoiled, selfish, godless lowlife; I can’t think of a more vile human being in the Bible. After Amon came Absalom, who we will soon get to know very well. Tamar is Absalom’s sister. She is as honorable and pure as Amnon is evil. She is lovely, godly, innocent, and a humble servant.
A Familiar Story
The trouble in this story starts when Amnon, her predatory half-brother, notices her. Amnon says that he “loves” Tamar (1), but he doesn’t. He means that he loves himself, and he wants to use Tamar to satisfy his momentary lust before he throws her away. There are a lot of Amnons in the world.
I won’t rehash all the vile details, but see if these basic elements sound familiar. We have a beautiful, off-limits woman, and a man who views her as an object. We have a selfish ruler who wants something that he can’t have, so he uses craftiness, manipulation, pretense, and abuse of authority to take it. We have the clearest of lines drawn in God’s Law recklessly disregarded. We have a woman overpowered, used, and then callously sent off in shame, her life in shambles. Does any of that ring a bell?
Yes, Amnon sounds just like David with Bathsheba, only with the volume turned up to “17.” We can learn many lessons from this story, but this is the Spirit-inspired author’s main point. The seeds of David’s choices and behavior in his home through the years are now sprouting, and he is powerless to stop it. David the deceiver is now deceived by Amnon, and made an accessory to this whole evil business.
I won’t rehash all the vile details, but see if these basic elements sound familiar. We have a beautiful, off-limits woman, and a man who views her as an object. We have a selfish ruler who wants something that he can’t have, so he uses craftiness, manipulation, pretense, and abuse of authority to take it. We have the clearest of lines drawn in God’s Law recklessly disregarded. We have a woman overpowered, used, and then callously sent off in shame, her life in shambles. Does any of that ring a bell?
Yes, Amnon sounds just like David with Bathsheba, only with the volume turned up to “17.” We can learn many lessons from this story, but this is the Spirit-inspired author’s main point. The seeds of David’s choices and behavior in his home through the years are now sprouting, and he is powerless to stop it. David the deceiver is now deceived by Amnon, and made an accessory to this whole evil business.
What Are You Sowing?
It is worth noting that virtually all of David’s sin has been confined to what we call his “private life;” in the public eye, he has been so virtuous, beloved, and incredibly useful. Yet David’s exemplary public service to God does not exempt him from the law of sowing and reaping. I must be as careful to honor God in my personal conduct, in my home and with my family, as I am in my public actions. What are you sowing right now? Would you welcome the harvest when it comes?
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Article by Eric Smith
Senior Pastor, Sharon Baptist Church
Senior Pastor, Sharon Baptist Church
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