July 9, 2010 (2 Samuel 13-18)

^{I'll repeat the haunting words to David from yesterday's reading:}

¹⁰ From this time on, your family will live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriah’s wife to be your own.

¹¹ “This is what the Lord says: Because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man before your very eyes, and he will go to bed with them in public view. ¹²You did it secretly, but I will make this happen to you openly in the sight of all Israel.”

Today's reading begins with King David's son, Amnon, raping his half sister, Tamar. (Tamar was Absalom's 'full' sister). The condensed version is that when David found out about it, it says "he was very angry" - but he did nothing about it. Two years later, Absalom ends up killing Amnon because of what he did, and he fled the country for 3 years before being invited by David to come back to Jerusalem. But even though he was allowed to come back, David did not want to see him. Another two years goes by and finally, David was convinced to meet with him, but by this time the seeds of bitterness were full grown. Absalom had a daughter - he named her Tamar. It shows me he was still harboring what was done to his sister. Absalom stole the hearts of the people and stirred up a rebellion against his father. When David found out what was going on, instead of fighting, he ran, and took all but ten of his concubines with him. I think because of his sin, he had lost his confidence in God. And it seems as if he would rather leave than kill his son.

As part of that rebellion, here is what Absalom did:

^{2 Samuel 16:21} Ahithophel told him, “Go and sleep with your father’s concubines, for he has left them here to look after the palace. Then all Israel will know that you have insulted your father beyond hope of reconciliation, and they will throw their support to you.” ²² So they set up a tent on the palace roof where everyone could see it, and Absalom went in and had sex with his father’s concubines.

So bottom line, the two armies fought each other and David's words to his commanders were "Deal gently with the boy, Absalom." But when they found Absalom, they killed him, and instead of returning from war as heroes, they returned in shame. They had killed the King's enemy, but in doing so, had gone against his commands. David was in mourning when he found out, and his commanders told him he had better change his tune and go out and congratulate his army, or they would all leave him.

Just a sad, sad picture of disfunction. We see the prediction of God's judgement happened. And this all started because "at the time when king's go out to war" David stayed behind and allowed his sexual impulses to overtake him.

God, help us to really recognize what sin does, and live lives of purity to You.