2 Samuel 13:23-39

Absalom’s Vile Vengeance

Intro.

Contrast with David’s moral and private failures in 2 Samuel with 2 Chronicles and David’s public successes. No matter how successful we may be, if our private life in dedication to the Lord is not squared away, our successes will be of no value. How often do we pursue public prominence than private piety? Stellar workers but terrible fathers and mothers. Great students, but disobedient and sinful to our parents. Outwardly put together, but inwardly white-washed tombs.

The text continues to point us to the need for a saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Where David repeatedly fails, Christ repeatedly succeeds.

[1] the result of untamed hatred (vv. 23-29)

[2] the result of unrepentant sin (vv. 34-39)

[1] the result of untamed hatred (vv. 23-29)

Looking back to where the text has led us thus far, the sin of Amnon is nearly replicated from that of his own father David. David summons Bathsheba as Amnon does for Tamar. David gives in to his lustful thoughts in committing adultery as does Amnon, the former consensual, the latter not. David orders someone to take care of the problem, Amnon takes care of it himself.

Perhaps one of the most alarming aspects of this narrative is David’s poor leadership, or even his ability to be a good father. Amnon should have been punished in a multiplicity of ways, yet David is merely angry for what has happened. The reality is that often our own pride and desire for our children to be unharmed comes in the way of obedience.

Nonetheless, it gives Absalom the precedence to take matters into his own hands. Two years have passed. Still no justice has been exercised. Nor has Absalom gone to his physical brother to show him of his sin. Rather, Absalom allows anger to fester for two years as he seeks an opportunity to murder his own brother and the rightful heir to the throne.

Absalom’s request has no ill intentions hidden inside of it. To David’s ear, Absalom merely wants to take his brothers on a trip to bond with one another. Yet that is not in his true intentions.

Even Absalom’s request echos that of David and Amnon’s. Both sought to conduct their sin in private. So also was this the case with Joab in killing Abner, the leader of Saul’s army at the time.

2 Samuel 3:27“And when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the midst of the gate to speak with him privately, and there he struck him in the stomach, so that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.”

Likewise, David privately brings Uriah into his home as he plans his murder.

2 Samuel 11:13–15“And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house. In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.””

And in the previous passage, Amnon secretly and maliciously coerces his sister to come into his room at the request of King David.

2 Samuel 13:6–11 “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.” Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, “Go to your brother Amnon’s house and prepare food for him.” 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. 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. 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. But when she brought them near him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.””

Sin loves to operate in the private sphere of our lives. That is where it grows and flourishes. It prefers the dark crevices of the secret sins we attempt to hide from others. Truly a task of futility in thinking we can hide them from God.

Luke 8:17 “For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.”

Ephesians 5:13 “But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible,”

God often exposes these blind spots to bring us into subjection once more to the gracious offer of the Gospel and in conformity with Jesus Christ. It is for our good that he disciplines us even amidst such sin.

Hebrews 12:7–11“It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

These sinful desires, if left unchecked leave room for a greater sin. This is precisely what happens with Absalom.

Just as David did with Uriah, in planning Uriah’s death as he became drunk with wine and a merry heart, so does Absalom do the same.

Nothing good comes from a state of drunkeness. Not only is it a sin in overindulging and preferring that which dulls the senses, but it is often met with detrimental effects. Think about Noah, after coming out of the ark. Genesis 9:21“He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent.”

Or even Lot’s daughters in Genesis 19:32-35, in taking advantage of their own father to have sons.

In the time of the Judges in Judges 19.22, the Levite and his concubine along with the master of this house, become merry with wine, and the owner of the house offers his virgin daughters up to the worthless men of the city. This of course resulted in the master of the house cutting her into 12 pieces to disperse to the tribes of Israel.

How often does sin take that which is a good thing and turn it into something evil. There is no prohibition against alcohol in the Bible and that is a matter of conscience, but depraved men and women, in seeking excess and an escape from reality, overindulge and do those things which are utterly sinful.

As a result of sin after sin after sin, the servants of Absalom avenge Tamar’s reputation by striking Amnon and killing him. At last, Absalom has his revenge. A revenge not warranted by Scripture, rather, detested. Already we have looked at Romans 12:19“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”” God would have exacted justice on behalf of Tamar and against Amnon.

Use 1. The conduct of wicked men reminds us of the nature of sin.

In the text it seems as though God is absent, uninvolved in the whole process. God is merely passing over these wicked agents of destruction as they operate in accordance with their own desires. Man is destitute apart from the grace of God. WCF 6.4, “From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil, do proceed all actual transgressions.”

That’s why Paul harps on this fact frequently throughout the epistles. Ephesians 2:1–3“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

Amnon, Absalom, Jonadab, and David at times were acting according to their nature. While David was certainly repentant in his sin against Uriah, he was not made perfect through repentance. Nor can we think that repentance instantly glorifies us. The unfortunate side effect of sin is that it persists in the lives of believer and unbeliever alike. Which brings us to our second application.

Use 2. The conduct of wicked men reminds us of the glories of redemption.

1 Corinthians 6:9–11“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

Titus 3:3–5“For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,”

How prevalent and needed is the Gospel in our lives? The only true remedy, the truest cure, the most authentic power to redeem us from our estate of sin and misery is Jesus Christ alone. Apart from Christ, we have nothing but sinking sand to establish our lives upon which will be washed away, dragged into the ocean, never to be seen again.

[2] the result of unrepentant sin (vv. 34-39)

(vv. 30-33)

The news that came to David was contrary to what actually had taken place. Only Amnon had been killed. Nonetheless, the quickness of one to speak without gathering all the facts leads David to an unnecessary period of lament.

Oddly enough, the only voice of comfort comes from an unlikely individual. Jonadab, the same one who gave horrible advice to Amnon. 2 Samuel 13:3–5“But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David’s brother. And Jonadab was a very crafty man. 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.” 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.’ ””

Even still Jonadab plays down the wickedness of Absalom. Almost as if Jonadab is siding with whoever he can to preserve his own life. His own cousin whom he coerced to employ this deadly plot. Now, he is playing down his death as if it was not much of a cause for David’s lament.

Equally as shocking in David’s reservedness to punish Amnon, his son, is David’s reservedness to excommunicate Jonadab from the king’s palace, as one complicit. It seems as though David, in his private life, is more willing to preserve relationships between his family members than to execute judgment against them.

Jonadab says that “Absalom determined from the day” Amnon had violated his sister to kill him. This untamed hatred continues as the plot thickens. It is the same manner of Esau’s hatred toward Jacob. Genesis 27:41“Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.””

So also does the Psalmist warn us of such hatred and conceiving evil in our hearts. Psalm 7:14“Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies.”

Absalom flees. That is the result of unrepentant sin in the lives of believer and unbeliever alike. What is the instant reaction of Adam and Eve? To flee from the presence of God by hiding from Him. What is Cain’s reaction after killing his brother Abel? To flee from God and the justice of Him. What is the reaction of Jonah? To flee from God in bringing forth the Gospel to Ninevah. When the light of the Gospel shines upon our darkness, we hide from it.

As Proverbs 28:17 says, “If one is burdened with the blood of another, he will be a fugitive until death; let no one help him.” Unrepentant sin makes us flee from those whom we have offended and from God. Absalom flees possibly for the sake of his own life. Absalom would have been well aware of the “life for a life” principal established in the days of Noah.

Genesis 9:5–6“And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”

The contention within David’s kingdom continues to grow. Now, he has lost two sons, Amnon and Kileab. Even Absalom, to a degree, has been lost as he flees from the presence of his king and father. The sword never departing from David’s household begins to become a stark reality.

The reaction of David’s household is lament and sorrow. Once again, the effects of sin reach a far wider audience than many are aware of, or even conceive. Sin does not terminate on the individual nor the affected party, typically. David’s entire family is negatively impacted by what Absalom has done. David lost a son, his sons lost a brother, and what remains, is an unrepentant Absalom.

According to the Old Testament and the Law of God, a manslayer was permitted to find a city of refuge until the intent of what they had done was decided. However, Absalom had committed a predetermined, planned, and well thought out murder of Amnon. No city of refuge was available for him. Instead, he flees to the safety of his maternal grandfather, Talmai, the king of Geshur (cf. 2 Sam 3.3; 1 Chr 3.2).

The text ends succinctly and abruptly. In scholarly terms, verse 39 is a challenge to interpret, depending on your Bible, you may have some variances. A brief note on Hebrew and the scrolls. The same word for David, although not similar in consonants, but similar enough, is why translators cannot determine if is is “David the king, longed to go out to Absalom” or the “spirit of the king.” When written both the letters for David and spirit, are similar where scribal errors in copying could have had either of the two.

Nonetheless, the meaning of the text does not change at all. The emphasis is on David’s longing for restoration as he comes to terms with Amnon’s death.

Unfortunately, this would not happen. Restoration would not occur in David’s time, although Solomon gives a glimpse of it. But one thing is certain, David saw by faith the promises of God. Hebrews 11:32–34“And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.”

The promises pointed to Christ as the true Israel, the true King, the only God. And despite David’s frequent misdoings, there was always the hope and trust that God would remain faithful in His covenantal promises to David his servant. Long after David has turned into dust in the ground, Christ, the son of David, would come and redeem His people. A true hope in a narrative of uncertainty, hopelessness, and sin, just as Christ even today is our only true hope, only comfort in life and in death.