September 17
2 Samuel 13; 2 Corinthians 6; Ezekiel 20; Psalms 66– 67
2 Samuel 13: When David Did Nothing
Sin has a long tail. If it is not stepped on, ground out and cut off, it will trip us up long after it has grown. Such is what happens to David.
The sin was clear in the prior chapter, with David’s adultery with Bathsheba. But it had been percolating for a long time. After all, Israel’s kings were clearly commanded not to multiply wives because they would pull the king in multiple directions away from God (Deut. 17:17). The king would become dissolute in his energy and loyalties.
Yet David had broken that command and then added Uriah’s wife to his collection. So now the apple falls close to the tree, only in a violent, less respectable way. Amnon, one of David’s sons, lusted for Tamar, the sister of another of his half-brothers, Absalom. By v. 15, Amnon has raped Tamar, even manipulating his father into unwittingly helping him no less.
David’s response? He becomes “angry” when he hears (21), but two full years go by (23), and he does nothing else. As Carson notes, had David the king brought the full weight of the law upon Amnon, none or little of the trouble that would follow would come to pass.
But . . . nothing. So then, Absalom, Tamar’s brother, most certainly sees that justice must be done another way. So he hatches a plan and has Amnon murdered (23-29).
The news again reaches David, and this time, David mourns Absalom for three years (34-39).
We must first see that it is not God’s commandments, but sin that is the great complicator of life. But obedience requires doing the hard but good thing today, not just avoiding the hard-to-avoid sins. Obedience requires disciplining our children, especially our sons, that it may go well for them, that they may live long in the land (Exodus 20:12).
Absalom would experience neither. From the moment his father David did nothing - not even to mention how that affected Tamar! - Absalom was set on a path that would end in death in battle. And David will experience the deepest of grief.
What obedience are you putting off? Do not wait. Pray, consult the Scriptures and then take the step. Ironically, “hating” your family (Luke 14:26) in favor of obedient discipline will result in their blessing.