King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Sunday, May 15, 2022
Chapters: II SAMUEL 13-14
Study: Forgiving Yourself
Hello My Friend,
Well, we had the exterminator come out to check the house because of termites and found out that they had been in the house for at least, seven years. We are going to have to tent the house for three days to have it fumigated, and they are so booked up that it will not be until July. We were told that since this is swarming season the best thing to do for the next two weeks is leave as many lights off as we can for the next two weeks. Talk about a disappointment, we have had one thing after another with this house, and I swear last night I fell asleep asking God to forgive me for my sin causing this and woke up this morning doing the same thing. Then as I read the chapters for today, God reminded me of something as He has so graciously done every time I get this way, [Romans 2:9-11 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; 10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: 11 For there is no respect of persons with God.]
There is a very good reason why we are saved by grace, and not of our works, we would never get saved because all it would take is one sin to knock us back down to the bottom and try to climb up all over again. Salvation, while our good works are what help us maintain our image as faithful, God fearing Christians, they are not what save us and it really has always been that way. Think about it, if God really did enforce His Law regarding both adultery and murder upon David, then he would have been sentenced to death, as well as Bathsheba. While God did forgive David for his sin, even put it away, and blessed David and Bathsheba with other children after the chastening they received, God did tell David that there would be war within his own house. Well, all that was beginning to unfold and it all started with David’s oldest son, Ammon. As we return to the reading of 2 Samuel, we discover that Amnon has an infatuation with his half-sister, Tamar.
[2 Samuel 13:1-5 And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her. 2 And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and Amnon thought it hard for him to do any thing to her. 3 But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother: and Jonadab was a very subtil man. 4 And he said unto him, Why art thou, being the king’s son, lean from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister. 5 And Jonadab said unto him, Lay thee down on thy bed, and make thyself sick: and when thy father cometh to see thee, say unto him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come, and give me meat, and dress the meat in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it at her hand.]
[and Jonadab was a very subtil man.] This sounds as awful lot like Satan to me, and it brings us to wonder that perhaps it was God who sent him as a vessel in order to prove first, who has chosen Him and second, if they would be faithful to Him. God already knows these answers, so, it is not for His knowledge, it is for ours, [Romans 9:22-23 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,]
According to the Law, since Amnon was the first born son to David, he would have been the next king. Well, Amnon took the advice of his friend and first, attempted to get Tamar to lay down with him.
[2 Samuel 13:11-14 And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister. 12 And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly. 13 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. 14 Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her.]
[speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.] [Withhold; to hold back; to restrain; to keep from action; not to grant.] Well, another thing, according to the Law, stated that as long as two people do not have the same parents or father, then it was not considered incest. Today, that has changed, but it certainly would not have looked good if the next I line to the throne was not only committing fornication, but with his half-sister, and he forced himself upon her. It was not bad enough that he forced himself upon her, he made things even worse, the guilt he had for what he had done to her turned into a hatred toward her.
[2 Samuel 13:15-16,19-22 Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone. 16 And she said unto him, There is no cause: this evil in sending me away is greater than the other that thou didst unto me. But he would not hearken unto her. 19 And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colours that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying. 20 And Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee? but hold now thy peace, my sister: he is thy brother; regard not this thing. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom’s house. 21 But when king David heard of all these things, he was very wroth. 22 And Absalom spake unto his brother Amnon neither good nor bad: for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.]
[he is thy brother; regard not this thing.] [Regard; To consider seriously; to lay to heart.] Seriously! He is telling her to just ignore it. And what did David do when he found out? Ignored it. Can I tell you why so many women walk around in shame as though they are the ones who are responsible for their being victimized? It is things like this. We have been groomed by an evil, Satan led society, into believing that we dressed, teased, or acted in a way that invited them to take advantage of us. I do not care if we did entice them at one point, no means no, and we should never feel pressured into believing that it is okay for someone to force themselves upon us, regardless of it being a man or woman. Ignoring things does not fix the problem, in fact, it escalates it even more and for two years, nothing was done about this, but Absalom is the one who never let it go.
[2 Samuel 13:23,25-28 And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baalhazor, which is beside Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the king’s sons. 25 And the king said to Absalom, Nay, my son, let us not all now go, lest we be chargeable unto thee. And he pressed him: howbeit he would not go, but blessed him. 26 Then said Absalom, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said unto him, Why should he go with thee? 27 But Absalom pressed him, that he let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with him. 28 Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon; then kill him, fear not: have not I commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant.]
[lest we be chargeable unto thee.] [Chargeable; Expensive; costly; Imputable; that may be laid or attributed as a crime, fault or debt.] David, actually considering how costly it would be for Absalom to have all his half-brothers at his home. I image that he also wondered why he was so adamant about Amnon coming to his house, and perhaps he thought that bygones we bygones and that there would be no problems. However, his fears did come true, only David was first led to believe that Absalom had them all killed.
[2 Samuel 13:30-32,36-38 And it came to pass, while they were in the way, that tidings came to David, saying, Absalom hath slain all the king’s sons, and there is not one of them left. 31 Then the king arose, and tare his garments, and lay on the earth; and all his servants stood by with their clothes rent. 32 And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother, answered and said, Let not my lord suppose that they have slain all the young men the king’s sons; for Amnon only is dead: for by the appointment of Absalom this hath been determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar. 36 And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of speaking, that, behold, the king’s sons came, and lifted up their voice and wept: and the king also and all his servants wept very sore. 37 But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day. 38 So Absalom fled, and went to Geshur, and was there three years.]
[And David mourned for his son every day.] David, considering the fact that Absalom was justified in having Amnon killed, he did not really mourn for Amnon in the same way that he mourned for Absalom. I believe that the three years that Absalom was God, David, was mourning over the fact that his sin caused what had happened. You know, there are things that God uses to prove us with that we must endure, it is how we handle them that makes all the difference. God, will use Satan to afflict us, and please understand that God does not tell Satan to use someone to rape somebody, Satan is the one who takes it to the extreme. Again, it is how we handle these situations that makes all the difference, [Luke 22:31-32 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.]
I chose this passage because it is our faith that strengthens and enables us to fight harder with God the next time we face affliction. It is definitely the devil who desires to have us so that he can sift us like wheat, which is the process of running flour through a sieve to separate the fine part of it from the course. Of course, Satan’s biggest tactic is to separate us from Jesus since we truly are weak without Him, if he can make us feel hopeless and that God is no longer with us, then he has a chance of getting one to turn against their faith in Jesus all together. And this is where Jesus comes in, He knows exactly who are true to their faith and He will not let them go, under any circumstances. Now, for three years David mourned greatly over everything that happened with himself as well as Absalom, that was when Joab came up with a plan, he sent a woman to assist.
[2 Samuel 14:1-3,13-14,17 Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was toward Absalom. 2 And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on now mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for the dead: 3 And come to the king, and speak on this manner unto him. So Joab put the words in her mouth. 13 And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? for the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty, in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished. 14 For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him. 17 Then thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable: for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the LORD thy God will be with thee.]
[that his banished be not expelled from him.] Do you see Joab was trying to show David and God is trying to show us? First, when we ignore these situations and do not address them properly then we become bondage to the guilt and shame of what brought it all on to begin with. And second, we lose sight of the fact that we belong to Jesus and nothing can change that, [1 John 2:1-2 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.]
So, it has now been five years since this whole thing started, as the woman continues to speak to the king, he realizes that she made some sense in what she was saying and that it had to be Joab who put her up to this. Then David comes to realize that he must address this as a king would address it, he actually sends for Absalom, but he still did not address the situation. In fact, he refused to see Absalom, and that only gave Absalom more ammunition to plot out what was in his heart from the beginning of all this.
[2 Samuel 14:23-25,28-29,32 So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. 24 And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned to his own house, and saw not the king’s face. 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. 28 So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and saw not the king’s face. 29 Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to have sent him to the king; but he would not come to him: and when he sent again the second time, he would not come. 32 And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? it had been good for me to have been there still: now therefore let me see the king’s face; and if there be any iniquity in me, let him kill me.]
[praised as Absalom for his beauty:] Absalom was handsome, and very cunning, the people fell all over him and he knew he could get them right where he wanted them, and that was to sift his own father to weaken him so that he can take the throne from him. All of this was on Absalom’s mind for the seven years since David never addressed the situation with Tamar as he should have as king. Now, all the things that God told him would happen to his family as a result of the way he handled the whole situation were coming to pass and that alone kept him guilt ridden. Let me tell you, sin never comes without consequence, but we also need to realize that we need to forgive ourselves. Otherwise, we will add to the consequence and suffer much more than we need to suffer, [Romans 8:1,15-17 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for your mercy and grace to save a sinner like me. I know that nothing I do will keep me from heaven because I put my faith and trust in Your Son to save me from my sin, but I do not want Him to be just my ticket into heaven, I want to be a faithful servant who is not afraid to come to You, even when I mess up. Lord, Lead me and guide me, let me not get into situations that would cause me to make bad decisions in the first place, but if I do get into them, show me the way to address them properly so I do not end up with more needless suffering. In all that I do, let me discern right from wrong, not in my own eyes, but Yours. And since You have already forgiven me, release from me all the guilt, shame, and pain that keeps me from forgiving myself. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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