The Anointed: Let The Violence Begin

In the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David. Amnon became so obsessed with his sister Tamar that he made himself ill. She was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her.

Amnon is the First-Born Son of David (Heir to the Throne)

He was “in love” with His Half-Sister Tamar

So Much so that it Made Him Sick

He Wanted to Act on His “Love”

Tamar was a Virgin (Sexually Pure and Righteous)

Had She Not been a Virgin, Fulfilling His Desires with Her wouldn’t have as Many Consequences

But Taking Her Virginity would Make Things a Lot Harder

Amnon had a Friend and Cousin Named Jonadab

Jonadab was Very Wise

He Asked Amnon What was Wrong with Him and then Gave Him an Idea

2 Samuel 13:5 NIV

“Go to bed and pretend to be ill,” Jonadab said. “When your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘I would like my sister Tamar to come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I may watch her and then eat it from her hand.’ ”

Amnon Took His Advice and Asked David to Send Tamar to Take Care of Him

2 Samuel 13:7–9 NIV

David sent word to Tamar at the palace: “Go to the house of your brother Amnon and prepare some food for him.” So Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was lying down. She took some dough, kneaded it, made the bread in his sight and baked it. Then she took the pan and served him the bread, but he refused to eat. “Send everyone out of here,” Amnon said. So everyone left him.

You can Probably See Where this is Going

The Next Few Verses are Very Disturbing

2 Samuel 13:10–14 NIV

Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom. But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, “Come to bed with me, my sister.” “No, my brother!” she said to him. “Don’t force me! Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don’t do this wicked thing. What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you.” But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her.

The Plan Worked Perfectly

After He Grabs Her and Begins to Force Her into the Bed with Him, She Begs Him Not to

She Reminds Him that What He is Doing is Wicked

If He Does this to Her, She will Not be Able to Rid Herself of the Disgrace

She will No Longer be a Virgin

She will be Looked Down Upon for having Lost Her Virginity Outside of Marriage

No One will Want to Marry Her After She’s Lost Her Virginity

Her Life will be Ruined

Also, He will Suffer Consequences too

He will be Looked at as a Vile Wicked Fool Who has Violated His Own Sister

Instead of Stealing Her Virginity Outside of Marriage, She Begs Him to Ask Their Father to Marry Her

This was Against the Law

Leviticus 18:9–11 NIV

“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere. “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter; that would dishonor you. “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife, born to your father; she is your sister.

Leviticus 18:29 NIV

“ ‘Everyone who does any of these detestable things—such persons must be cut off from their people.

I Believe She Used this Argument as Another Desperate Attempt to Stop Amnon

But He Refuses to Listen to Her

She Begged and Begged for Him to Stop What He was Doing, but He Forced Himself on Her

Somehow Though, Things are Going to Keep Getting Worse

2 Samuel 13:15–19 NIV

Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, “Get up and get out!” “No!” she said to him. “Sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me.” But he refused to listen to her. He called his personal servant and said, “Get this woman out of my sight and bolt the door after her.” So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. She was wearing an ornate robe, for this was the kind of garment the virgin daughters of the king wore. Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the ornate robe she was wearing. She put her hands on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went.

I Think it is More than Safe to Say Now that Amnon Never Loved Tamar

He Lusted for Her, but He Never Came Close to Loving Her

Love Could Never Treat Someone so Horribly

He Forced Her Out of His House and Locked the Door

She Said that this would be Worse than the Rape Itself!

He has Taken Her Virginity, Hope of a Husband, Self-Worth, Influence, and Now He is Throwing Her Out like Garbage

He Doesn’t Offer to Support Her or Help Her in Any Way

Tamar Ripped Her Virgin Robes and Mourned Over Her Horrible Situation

She Goes and Stays with Her Full-Brother Absalom

He Tells Her to Try to Forget about the Whole Ordeal

But Secretly He Hated Amnon for What He had Done to Their Sister and was Planning Revenge

David was Furious When He Found Out What had Happened, but He did Nothing about it

2 Years Pass and Absalom is Going to be Throwing a Sheep-Shearing Celebration

He Asks His Father would Come Celebrate with Him

David Respectfully Declined

Then Absalom Asked Him if Amnon could Come

This Seemed Suspicious to David, but He Allowed it

So All of David’s Sons Went to the Celebration

Absalom had Given Orders to His Men to Kill Amnon Once He got Good and Drunk

They Obeyed His Orders and All the Other Sons Fled the Scene

A Report Came Ahead of Them Telling David that All of His Sons were Killed by Absalom

David Mourned the Deaths of His Sons Until Jonadab Told David that the Message He Heard was Not True, Only Amnon is Dead

He Told David that this had Been Absalom’s Intention Since the Day of the Rape

Absalom Fled to His Maternal Grandfather, Talmai, King od Geshur

He Stayed There for 3 Years

David’s Other Sons Made it Back Home After Fleeing the Scene and They All Mourned Amnon’s Death

David Eventually Wanted to Go See Absalom After He Finished Mourning

Another of David’s Sons has Done a Dispicable Act, and Yet Again, David Does Nothing

Applications:

“Like Father, Like Son”

Amnon Violated an Innocent Woman Against Her Will and Absalom Murdered Someone

Both of These Violent Acts are Consequences of David’s Sinful Acts of Sexual Violation and Murder

David Violated Someone’s Daughter and then Murdered Someone’s Son

Now His Daughter is Being Violated and His Son is Being Murdered

These Consequences are a Providential Promise from God, but We also See this in Our Own Lives

One of the Consequences of a Parent’s Sin is Seeing Those Sins Reciprocated by Our Children

Our Words and Actions Become Their Words and Actions

Every Thing (Good or Bad) We Do and Every Thing (Good or Bad) We Refuse to Do is Setting an Example for Our Children

We Can’t Change Our Past, but We can Help Form Their Future

David Allowed His Sons to Commit the Same Acts of Sin that He Committed Without Any Hint of Punishment

He was Following in the Steps of Eli and Samuel

We can Not Participate or Approve of the Sins of Our Family, Friends, or Neighbors

In Such Cases, We are just as Guilty as They are (Romans 1:32)

We Learn from David to Set Righteous Examples for Our Children to Follow

And if They Don’t Follow Righteously, if We Love Our Children, We Cannot Stand Idly By

Lust Is Not Love

This is Something that Amnon and Our Society have in Common

They Both Seem to Believe that a Strong Lustful Attraction Toward Someone Equates to Love

Nothing Could be Further from the Truth

1 Corinthians 13:4–6 NASB95

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;

Compare Love to Lust with Me:

Lust is Not Patient

Lust Doesn’t Wait for Marriage but Wants Instant Gratification

Lust is Not Kind

Lust will Trample and Hurt Whoever it has to in Order to have its Desires Fulfilled

Lust is Jealous

Lust Wants Complete Control Over Others

Lust Brags and is Arrogant

Lust Enjoys Bragging to Others about its Latest Wicked Adventures and Showing Off its Trophies

Lust Does Act Unbecomingly/Rude

Lust Doesn’t Care about the Feelings of Others

Lust Seeks its Own

This is the Very Nature of Lust; it Only Cares about Itself and the Pleasure it Receives

Lust is Provoked

Lust is Enraged After it has Milked its Victims of All They are Able to Give

Lust Keeps a Record of All the Wrongs it has Suffered

Lust Seeks Revenge and will Hold the Faults of Others Over Their Head

Lust Celebrates Unrighteousness

Lust Celebrates its Desires being Fulfilled Whether by Righteous or Unrighteous Means

Love is a Conscious Dedication to the Wellbeing of Another

Lust is a Feeling of Desire that Shifts with the Wind

1 Peter 2:11 NASB95

Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.

Lust Wages War Against Us and it’s a Battle that is Not Easily Won

It is a Weapon of the World

1 John 2:16 NASB95

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

But Love is from God

1 John 4:7–10 NASB95

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Don’t Let the World Live You, but Let God Live in You

That is Shown Through Love

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