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: Saturday, May 15, 2021
Chapters: II Samuel 13-14
Message: Guilt of Sin
Hello My Friend,
There is a lot to cover in these two chapters so, bear with me as it is a bit longer. Now, the Bible says, [James 1:13-15 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 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.] [Lust; Longing desire; eagerness to possess or enjoy; Evil propensity; depraved affections and desires; to have a carnal desire; to desire eagerly the gratification of the carnal appetite.]
Everyone desires things to a certain extent, we all want to be prosperous, successful, and see God bless our efforts, but when we become obsessive about getting them that is when it turns into lust. When we lust over things we become so obsessive about them that it consumes us until we get them, [Mark 4:18-19 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, 19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.]
When God told Adam that he would die if he ate fruit from the one tree He forbade them to eat from, it was not a physical death that God was talking about, it was a spiritual death. And the same thing applies to us, if we are saved and we give into the lusts of our flesh, they too bring death. This is not a death to our soul because we are saved by grace, this breaks our spirit until it either consumes us or we repent. Never deceive yourself into believing that you are strong enough to resist temptation in your own strength or that you can convert someone by succumbing to their desires. I am sure that David thought he was strong enough to resist the temptation when we was on that rooftop and saw Bathsheba bathing, but he proved just how weak he was when he not only gave into the temptation, but had Bathsheba’s husband killed in an attempt to hide his sin. And while God did forgive David, He warned him that evil would rise up in his own house. Well, it did and it all started with lust.
[II Samuel 13:1-6 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. 6 So Amnon lay down, and made himself sick: and when the king was come to see him, Amnon said unto the king, I pray thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make me a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat at her hand.]
[and Jonadab was a very subtil man.] Does any of this sound familiar to you? This is all the makings of that snake of a devil who turns the things we desire into an obsession if we are not grounded in the strength of Christ. Remember, Satan cannot do anything without God giving him the permission to do it. Now, we all know that Satan tends to go overboard, Amnon lusted after Tamar so badly that he raped his own sister.
[II Samuel 13:10-12,14-15,19-20 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. 14 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. 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.]
[Arise, be gone.] Here is the thing, what we lust over is really not what we want, if we really look deep into our heart, we are seeking something much more that the flesh will never be satisfied. The problem with lust is that it never satisfies, once you get that thing you obsessed about you actually come to despise it. I learned well before I dedicated my life to Christ that lust never satisfies, and lust is not always sexual desires, it can also be of revenge, position, or power.
[but hold now thy peace; regard not this thing.] Tamar felt as though she was responsible for what happened, but the only good thing that Absalom did to handle this was assure her that what happened was not her fault. Again, while God does give Satan permission to afflict His people, and we will never understand how God would allow Satan to go to such extremes to afflict us, but we can understand that He will give us the power, strength, and peace to overcome it, [Ephesians 6:11-13 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.]
[Regard; To observe; to notice with some particularity.] This was Absalom’s attempt to keep the family from being disgraced if this got out. However, Absalom did not regard it, he was very angry at Amnon, especially when David found out about it and he did nothing about it either. Another thing about lust is that it is not quick, in fact, it is subtle, it dwells inside the heart, and it will do anything to fulfill its obsessive desire, even if it appears to be forgiving. For two years, Absalom thought about nothing else, but to get revenge on Amnon for what he did to Tamar.
[II Samuel 13:23-23,28-29,32 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. 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. 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. 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.]
[for by the appointment of Absalom this hath been determined] Here is the one who started all this with his subtly enticing Amnon to go after Tamar telling David that this was all done because of what he did to her. I imagine that David felt responsible for all that was going on with his family, he could not address any of it as a proper king would. And for three more years, Absalom fled, giving him more ammunition to desire what we really wanted, since David never addressed the situation he mourned greatly for Absalom.
[II Samuel 13:34-39 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. 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. 39 And the soul of king David longed to go forth unto Absalom: for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.]
[for he was comforted concerning Amnon,] Why was David comforted concerning the death of Amnon? By law, Amnon would have been put to death for his crime. Therefore, Absalom was justified in what he had done. And since David never addressed this situation, there was a lot of guilt and shame there as well for his own crime, he saw this as the consequence of his sin. However, Joab came up with a plan to reunite the two.
[II Samuel 14:2-3,7,9-11 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. 7 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. 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. 11 Then said she, I pray thee, let the king remember the LORD thy God, that thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they destroy my son. And he said, As the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth.]
[and the king and his throne be guiltless.] You see, David’s grief was more than about this whole situation, I think he feared for the lives of all his children because of what he did. It took this woman, with the help of Joab, to remind David that this was all on Absalom, he killed his own brother, but he was under the Law to do so. We are all responsible for our own sin, and while there are some repercussions of sin that does tend to erupt into other peoples lives, we are guiltless of what others do in their own sin through those eruptions, [Ezekiel 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.]
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, [II Samuel 14:17-21 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. 18 Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak. 19 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.]
[therefore the LORD thy God will be with thee.] David comes to understand that he must address this as a king would address it, he actually sends for Absalom, but he still did not address the situation, and that only gave Absalom more ammunition to plot out what was in his heart from the beginning of all this.
[II Samuel 14:24-25,28-32 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. 30 Therefore he said unto his servants, See, Joab’s field is near mine, and he hath barley there; go and set it on fire. And Absalom’s servants set the field on fire. 31 Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom unto his house, and said unto him, Wherefore have thy servants set my field on fire? 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.]
[and let him not see my face.] Do you realize what this is all about? David’s guilt. While David did seek forgiveness from God, and received it after that mess with Bathsheba, he never addressed it properly. 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. Sin never comes without consequence, but we also need to realize that we need to get to a point where we need forgive ourselves. Otherwise, we will add to the consequence and suffer much more than we need to suffer. 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, we must understand that we are forgiven. God has forgiven you, it is time you forgive yourself also, [Romans 8:1-3 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:]
Jesus Christ Magnified: [II Samuel 14:17 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.]
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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