Tuesday, April 27 - Miriam

Today's reading from the One Year Bible Chronological Reading Plan is 2 Samuel 12:26-31, 1 Chronicles 20:2-3, and 2 Samuel 13-14:33.

I felt sad for most of today's reading.  (As an aside, let me just say I don't think my head could hold up a crown that weighed 75 lbs.  But that's not what we're focusing on here.) 

Here we have the story of a man who made himself ill believing himself to be in love with someone unattainable (his half-sister).  He then violated her, immediately hated her as much as he'd loved her before, and sent her away in shame.  Her brother (his half-brother) then conspired to have him killed, after which he ran away to escape judgment for his own actions.  There is just NOTHING good about this story at all!  But apparently there is much to be learned from it.  Here is a link to a commentary from bible.org called Tragedy in the Royal Family.  The following is the conclusion section from the commentary:

First, this text is placed immediately following the passage that depicts David's sin and its personal consequences in the death of his first son by Bathsheba. This is not only because the events of chapter 13 follow closely in time to those of chapter 12, but because chapter 13 describes further consequences of David's sin. The sin of David that was once personal and private comes to impact the entire nation. David's sin affects him, his wife and son, and now other members of his family. Soon, David's sin will divide the nation and deprive David of his throne for a time.


I believe it is true that the death of David's son (chapter 12), and now the rape of his daughter and the murder of his son (chapter 13), are not God's punishment for his sin, but God's discipline. If David were to be punished for his sin, he would have to die. Nathan assured David that he would not die, because his sins had been taken away. The tragedies which take place from this point on are meant to be instructive and corrective, even though they are also painful. This is completely consistent with the teaching of God's Word (see Hebrews 12:1-13).


Hugh Blevins, a friend and fellow-elder, made this observation on our text. God has orchestrated these events to enable David to experience his own sin from the perspective of others. In effect, some of David's family were doing to David what he had done to God. As David had abused his authority as the “king of Israel” to sin against God by taking Bathsheba, Amnon now abuses his authority and position as a “son of the king” to take Tamar. As David sinned by killing Uriah, Absalom sinned by killing Amnon. David can now experience what God did, what Bathsheba did, what others impacted by his sin did.

Second, this text has much to teach David and us regarding sin. Notice that sin often starts with some kind of “forbidden fruit.” For Adam and Eve, the forbidden fruit was eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. For Joseph, it was Potiphar's wife. For Daniel and his three friends, it was the king's foods. For David, it was Bathsheba. For Amnon, it was Tamar. We see that while sin starts small and often private, it grows quickly to greater and more public sin. We see from our text that sin never pays. Its price tag is always much higher than its worth. Neither David, nor his family, nor the nation Israel will smile about David's sin and its consequences. As Mark Twain once said, “Its better to stay out than to get out.” This certainly applies to sin.

This passage certainly encourages us to stay out of sin. But it also instructs us that once sin has begun, the sooner it is stopped, the better for all. How much better for all if the shrewd Jonadab had rebuked Amnon for his sinful lust, rather than to tell him how he could get what he wanted. How much better if David had recognized the evil of Amnon's request and refused to allow his daughter to see Amnon, and his son Amnon to go to the ranch of Absalom. There is a passivity here toward the sin of others which is painfully evident. Those who will not correct those who sin are only co-conspirators in their expanding sin. How many families have experienced great heartache because a mother or a father refused to discipline a willful or wayward child? How many marriages have broken up because a husband or a wife refused to deal with sin in their lives, or in the life of their mate? How often families have taken the course of action Absalom recommended -- keeping sin a family secret.

We certainly see that sin separates. We know (or should know) that sin separates us from God. But it also separates us from others. The sin of Adam and Eve brought separation from God, and shortly after, it separated Cain and Abel. Sin separated Joseph and his brothers. Sin divided David's family. Sin separated Amnon and Tamar, Amnon and Absalom, David and Absalom, and eventually the whole nation. Sin is the root of disunity and division.

Thirdly, we can learn from each of the characters in our text. Amnon warns us about the pursuit of fleshly lusts (compare 1 Corinthians 10). Jonadab warns us about the danger of using the sins of others to further our own interests, making them a part of our own agenda, rather than paying the price for rebuke and correction. David instructs us concerning passivity toward sin. David knew all the facts about the crime committed against his daughter, yet it seems that he did nothing about it. Why not? Was it his own guilt due to his sin with Bathsheba? Was he afraid that if he corrected Amnon someone might ask him who he was to be casting stones at sinners? Whatever the reasons for David's inaction, it only facilitated the sins of others. And from Absalom, we learn the danger of resentment and bitterness. Absalom was not willing to deal with Amnon biblically. He wanted to get his revenge in his own way. This he did, and in doing so became a murderer and a fugitive.


Fourth, this text has much to teach us about love. Everything that is called love is not necessarily love. It is obvious that Amnon thinks he is in love, but it is also obvious that he is not. In Amnon's mind, love is synonymous with sex. His brand of “love” is frustrated by purity, and not at all concerned about righteousness (such as that conduct prescribed by God's law). Amnon's “love” would not stand the test of 1 Corinthians 13. Tamar was never fooled by Amnon on this matter. How sad it is that so many young women have forsaken their virginity because of a few syrupy words, uttered by a hormone-driven young man. Today, there are many young women who fail to hold the same values or the same standard as Tamar. They do not see their sexual purity as something to be prized and protected; they see it as a curse, to be shed as soon as possible. Let this passage instruct us on the real meaning of love and of the great value of sexual purity, whether a man's or a woman's.


Finally, this text sheds light on the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Think of how Absalom felt about Amnon's abuse of his sister, Tamar. Think of how David felt about the abuse of his daughter. One can only wonder how David found it possible not to do something to Amnon. Now with this in mind, think about how God the Father must have felt, and continues to feel, toward those who reject, rebel against, and blaspheme His sinless Son, Jesus Christ. When He sent His son to this world nearly 2,000 years ago, men rejected Him as a sinner, and they crucified Him on the cross of Calvary. If you were God, how would you feel toward those who did this, and toward those who continue to reject Christ today?

Tomorrow's reading is 2 Samuel 15-17:14.