King James Bible Study – [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. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Thursday, May 15, 2025
Chapters: II Samuel 13-14
Message: II Samuel: Absalom Kills Amnon
Hello My Friend,
As we return to the reading of 2 Samuel we learn that the self guilt of even repentant sin can cause one to suffer more than God ever intended through His chastening. And when situations come as a result they need to be addressed right away or else worse things will come, [Ephesians 4:29-32 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 30 And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.]
That forgiveness also includes forgiving ourselves when we have messed up, since God has already forgiven us it would be wise to also forgive ourselves. Now, after David’s sin with Bathsheba, God, informed David that while his sin would be forgiven repercussions would follow all the way down to his family, [2 Samuel 12:10-12 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. 11 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.]
If God had forgiven David and put away the sin from him why do you think that all of these bad things followed? First, of all, I believe that David while fully knowing that he was forgiven was still guilt ridden over this and had the sense that whatever befell him was what he had to deal with. The second reason I believe had to do with how he handled the entire situation with Uriah in an attempt to hide his secret sin. The third reason was that I believe he did not raise his entire household to fear God, including the wives. Yesterday, we learned of the attacks that would not stop, today, we learn of the evil in his house.
[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.]
Amnon, was David’s oldest son, while Absalom was his third and Tamar came after, [2 Samuel 3:2-4 And unto David were sons born in Hebron: and his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; 3 And his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; 4 And the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;]
Forget about their having different mothers, this guy lusted over his own sister so badly that he thought day and night what he could do to get her. Of course, his sly friend did not help matters by encouraging him to trick her. With friends like Jonadab, who encourage sin, who needs enemies, who by the way was their cousin. So, this fool took the advice of his friend and got Tamar to tend to him.
[2 Samuel 13:8-13 So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house; and he was laid down. And she took flour, and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and did bake the cakes. 9 And she took a pan, and poured them out before him; but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Have out all men from me. And they went out every man from him. 10 And Amnon said unto Tamar, Bring the meat into the chamber, that I may eat of thine hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother. 11 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.]
The Law states, [Leviticus 20:17 And if a man shall take his sister, his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.] Tamar, did not believe that the king would allow a forbidden marriage, but she was scared and tried to reason with him. That attempt failed and he not only shamed her by forcing himself upon her his “love” for her turned to into hate now that he defiled her.
[2 Samuel 13:14-16,18 Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her. 15 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. 18 And she had a garment of divers colours upon her: for with such robes were the king’s daughters that were virgins apparelled. Then his servant brought her out, and bolted the door after her.]
Lust never satisfies, and brings on so much more than fulfilling a desire, it destroys lives, [James 1:14-15 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.]
Tamar, was more concerned about what being done coming out in the open as it might appear that she was the one who enticed him. Had it been kept a secret, then she would not have been exposed to public shame and disgrace, but now that he had a different disposition toward her all would know that that something happened. Tamar, was so ashamed that she ripped apart her coat only to have Absalom show up.
[2 Samuel 13:18-21 And she had a garment of divers colours upon her: for with such robes were the king’s daughters that were virgins apparelled. Then his servant brought her out, and bolted the door after 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.]
First, of all, how was it that Absalom knew that his brother had designs on his sister to begin with and never addressed it? And second, how can one just ignore what happened? It is no wonder that Tamar hid herself at her brothers house, she was not only ashamed of what happened, she could not even say anything and that only added to her pain. And while it appeared that David was angry when he found out he never addressed it so that added more fuel to the fire. Ignoring things does not fix the problem, in fact, it escalates it even more. Absalom waited two years to get his retaliation, he literally had Amnon killed. David, was actually led to believe that Absalom killed all of his brothers.
[2 Samuel 13:28-31 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. 29 And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons arose, and every man gat him up upon his mule, and fled. 30 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.]
This must have been a very intense time for David, no doubt thinking about his sin and how all this came to pass because of it. However, he was put at ease a little bit when the fool who advised Amnon showed up.
[2 Samuel 13:32-35,37 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. 33 Now therefore let not my lord the king take the thing to his heart, to think that all the king’s sons are dead: for Amnon only is dead. 34 But Absalom fled. And the young man that kept the watch lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came much people by the way of the hill side behind him. 35 And Jonadab said unto the king, Behold, the king’s sons come: as thy servant said, so it is. 37 But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day.]
Is it not ironic that Here is the one who started all this with his subtly enticing Amnon to go after Tamar is the one telling David that this was all done because of what he did to he? I believe that it was Absalom’s intention to kill all of his brothers in order to make himself next in line to the throne. Nevertheless, there is a lesson to be learned here, we cannot just hold our peace when situations come up, we must address them before things escalate into something much worse, [John 5:14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.]
Believe it or not, holding onto guilt of the past is a sin in that it makes God look like a liar because He had already addressed the issue. I imagine that David felt responsible for all that was going on with his family, and because of this he could not address any of it as a proper king would since it was personal. Well, Absalom fled to his grandfather’s and for three more years the issue did not get addressed, giving him more ammunition to desire what we really wanted, the throne.
[2 Samuel 14:2-6 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. 4 And when the woman of Tekoah spake to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance, and said, Help, O king. 5 And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, I am indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is dead. 6 And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and slew him.]
Everything that the woman said was not true, it was all a story that Joab had told her to speak to David about. Now, why Joab felt the need to do this raises the question if whether or not he was sincerely concerned for David or had an agenda, but the story she told itself may give the answer.
[2 Samuel 14:7-10 And, behold, the whole family is risen against thine handmaid, and they said, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him, for the life of his brother whom he slew; and we will destroy the heir also: and so they shall quench my coal which is left, and shall not leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon the earth. 8 And the king said unto the woman, Go to thine house, and I will give charge concerning thee. 9 And the woman of Tekoah said unto the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity be on me, and on my father’s house: and the king and his throne be guiltless. 10 And the king said, Whosoever saith ought unto thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more.]
The story states that the woman hid her son from the judgment that he should have given for killing his brother and now the whole family is against her, and because of this the heir to their father’s life is in peril. It appears through the story that David’s entire household was upset with him because he did not address the entire issue, he was not mourning Absalom because he had left, it was because the entire family sought to avenge the death of Amnon. Nevertheless, David, feeling compassion on her tells her that her sons life will not be in danger, then she goes on to suggest that he must apply the same compassion on Absalom.
[2 Samuel 14:13-14,17 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.]
In other words, she is saying that God does not cut off the life of the sinner outright, but is merciful and will change the matter of His sentence in the case of a repentant sinner. We will learn later on that what this all boiled down to was the fact that God already knew that Absalom would try to take the throne for himself and this entire situation strangely enough was God’s way of ensuring that the throne would go to Solomon. Well, at this point David figured out that it was Joab who put her up to coming to him.
[2 Samuel 14:19-22 And the king said, Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that my lord the king hath spoken: for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid: 20 To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth. 21 And the king said unto Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: go therefore, bring the young man Absalom again. 22 And Joab fell to the ground on his face, and bowed himself, and thanked the king: and Joab said, To day thy servant knoweth that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king hath fulfilled the request of his servant.]
Joab’s, purpose in having this woman tell this story was to let David know that Absalom may have well intended to kill his brothers in order take the throne for himself. He also reminded him that what Absalom did was wrong and needed to be addressed or his own life would be in danger. Of course, Joab, had lost his respect for David with the whole incident regarding Uriah, so he was not the best person to give advice. Nevertheless, he did send for Absalom, but since David was not quite ready to address the situation he could not face him, which only added more fuel to this fire.
[2 Samuel 14:24-26,28 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. 26 And when he polled his head, (for it was at every year’s end that he polled it: because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king’s weight. 28 So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and saw not the king’s face.]
Do you realize what this is all about? David’s guilt. While David did seek forgiveness from God, he never forgave himself. While sin never comes without consequence, we also need to realize that the chastening received is not something that will face for the rest of our lives unless we are not repentant. You see, it is the guilt from sin that is much harder on us then the sin itself, and if we are truly one who walks with Christ, then the thought of sinning against God is so devastating that we welcome the pain. Nevertheless, God does not want us to keep dwelling on it, just let it go and let Him work it out as we endure the chastening with Him.
[2 Corinthians 6:1-4,9-10 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. 2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) 3 Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: 4 But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, 9 As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; 10 As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for your mercy and grace to save a sinner like me through my faith alone in Your Son. I know that I am forgiven and am so grateful that Your mercies are endless. I accept that while You do chasten Your children it is not permanent and always comes with a purpose. Lord, lead me and guide me, continue to pour Your grace upon 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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