Lesson 15: David's Latter Kingdom Part 2-Judgments 2 & 3

Oh, you and I need God’s help, we need to turn from our sin while there is hope lest some of the problems that will come from our sin, as we see in David’s life tonight.

Remember, we said that there would be a four-fold judgment with David, by his own proclamation to Nathan concerning the parable of the stolen sheep in 2 Samuel 12:6. The first calamity in his life was the death of his first son with Bathsheba.

V. Amnon’s Wickedness

David is about to go through even greater trials than that with Bathsheba and Uriah, those were just sin, he lost a newborn son, which was difficult I’m sure, but the trials that will be facing are much greater starting tonight, because they involve loved ones who fall into sin.

Oh, it is a difficult thing to watch someone you love do that which is wrong and sinful. You want to fix it; you want to save them from it, but you cannot sometimes.

A question I often get from people is “Pastor, why does my husband do this; why does my wife do that; how can I deal with what is going on with my children.” The truth is we cannot control them, but often we are reaping what we sewed ourselves in the lives of our children. Or they are reaping something they have sown, or God has a plan that we are not aware of.

In this case we know that David is reaping what he has sown.

A. Amnon rapes Tamar

2 Samuel 13:1-19

Be assured tonight as we look at this account in 2 Samuel 13 that Amons great sin did not just start with rape, but rather it started with something else.

1. He begins to lust

vv.1-2

Lust destroys many lives

James 1:15 AV

Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

Proverbs 7:21-23

Lust leaves only scars

Proverbs 6:25-28

Lust is not like all other sin, because lust scars your body at times and your mind all the time. Lust cause images to imbedded into your soul that will not go away easily and sometimes, it seems

2. He listens to bad counsel

vv.3-5

Jonadab was subtle man

Subtle here means, clever, elusive, it means he was not always clear in his intent or his goals; he was person that was working far ahead in his plans.

We don’t know what end game was for Jonadab, but I think there was one, because the counsel he gave would not in any way come out well for Amnon.

You be careful of subtle, sneaky people.

Jonadab played on Amnon’s self-image v.4

Jonadab taught Amnon the art of deceit v.5

When I say art, I mean a careful and skilful but abased craft manipulating and deceiving others to get what you want.

Hey, the only other that is described as subtle is Satan as a serpent in the Garden of Eden. Gen 3:1

3. Amnon deceived his sister

Now this is strange to all of us, but it was not as uncommon in Bible times for a half brother and sister to Mary or for cousins to marry. Especially Amnon, who probable lived in different houses than that of Tamar.

At any rate, he manipulated her, mistreated her,

4. He forced her

She pleaded with him not to:

2 Samuel 13:13 AV

And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.

This act took away her purity and became a shame to her, and it also made him a fool.

This twice as bad because he claimed he loved her and because it was his sister, part of his family.

By the way ladies, just because a guy says he loves you, don’t get excited; even when he proposes, not yet, wait until he walks you down the aisle and commits his life to you in marriage do you do anything with you.

There are men out there that will deceive and manipulate you without thought or conscious and I have known many in life. You be weary in church just as much.

Titus 1:10-11 warns of vain talkers and deceivers even in church.

B. Then Amon hated his sister

vv.13-15

Don’t ever fall for the I love you trick ladies, a man that loves you will wait and marry you, not manipulate you and force you.

Nevertheless, a great truth is revealed here in verse 15.

Men lose respect for women that they have used.

C. David did nothing about it

2 Samuel 13:21 But when king David heard of all these things, he was very wroth.

Yes, he was upset, but unfortunately, David did not deal with the sin, rather than going way, it grew bigger and swelled, until it destroyed.

Remember:

James 1:15 AV

Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

VI. Absalom’s revenge

Abaslom’s name meant Father of Peace.

He was a very handsome man – the Bible says that he did not have a blemish on him.

2 Samuel 14:25 But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.

He was also the son of the king; and the son of a princess. His mother was the daughter of the king of Ashur.

And he had a beautiful head of hair will also lend to his demise later. But he had the “Fabio” look going on.

Yet we see in his life:

A. The deceit

Let me tell you Christian there is no room for deceit in our lives. We are born again, blood bought, holy priests before God, we should not depend on wicked tools or devices or even our carnal abilities to get the job done. Our faith should rest on God and His Word. To do otherwise is to bring shame on the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Samuel 13:22-33

1. Absalom allowed bitterness to stir within him

v.22

Bitterness breeds deceit and contemptuousness.

People who are bitter are always devising or hoping for the downfall of another.

Hebrews 12:15 AV

Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

2. Vain attempt to invite David

It is a sad thing when people continue to manipulate people.

It is not good to be underhanded towards your friend and family.

David here was fooled by his own son; who in fact was being a chip off the old block.

3. His real goal was to draw out Amnon

All the sons of the king ended up going.

Once again, another reminder that our sin affects many people around us.

We will even see in the next section the fear and the turmoil this sin caused that Absalom was partaking of.

4. Amnon is murdered

vv.28-33

God says that when you take a life; you are committing murder. When you go even in vengeance, it is still murder. Some people may deserve to die for their crimes, but it is the governments job to bear the sword, not ours now.

There is a miscommunication vv.30-33 that all David’s sons are dead, but it was only Amnon.

B. Absalom’s departure

2 Samuel 13:34-39

He could not go to a city of refuge for he had committed premeditated murder.

Absalom fled to someone that would favor him vv.37-39

No one was hunting Absalom down, he was fleeing because of his own guilt.

Proverbs 28:1 AV

The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.

Now, it is interesting that Absalom would run to one of the neighboring kingdoms and seek refuge from the king. This is what David did a couple of times when he was fleeing Saul.

People running from God find comfort with the enemies of God

But people who are in trouble with the church or with righteous will always flee to those who are not following God – because they will listen and console them and say they have wronged you, that church is mean spirited. They are hypocrites anyway.

But David still loved Absalom v.39

Parents should always love their children, unless they are bitter people, our children may not always please us, but we should always love them.

C. Absalom’s return

1. Joab manipulates David

14:1-20

In verses 18-20 we read after a long story that concocted to bring David to feel sorrow and receive Absalom back.

Maybe he got the idea of when Nathan pointed out the sin of David by the use of a parable.

2. David calls Absalom back home

vv.21-24

But not to restore him completely

By the way, there shouldn’t be a restoration until there is repentance, but with an adult child, you are trying to restore the relationship in order to influence them to turn back to God, because they are your children.

David was right not to restore him completely as he had not repented of his crime.

But it is foolish to pretend like you forgive, and then you don’t really. It was almost as David was giving a half hearted attempt.

Absalom was in Geshur 3 years and in Jersualem 2 years before he finally called him to himself in verse 33, but still he was not fully restored in my opinion.

If you love someone, don’t act like you don’t love them to teach a lesson, talk about the problem.

Be sensible, work problems out between spouses and between friends.

The silent treatment is not a godly reaction. Now you may not be able to have a lot dialogue, but you shouldn’t cut off communication in the midst of a problem.

David cut off his son for five years, part of it was Absalom’s doing, but part was David’s as well.

We need to get things worked out, because if we don’t, trouble will follow the relationship later.