Absalom and Amnon

 “When King David heard about all these things, he was very angry.  Absalom did not say a word to Amnon, either good or bad, for Absalom hated Amnon because he had raped his sister Tamar.”  2 Samuel 13:21, 22

Amnon was King David’s first-born Son...with all the expected rights and privileges.

Absalom was David’s third son, born to the daughter of a king...Talmai, of Geshur. We might expect some tension between two well positioned sons of royalty. Tamar was Absalom’s sister (Amnon’s half-sister), making her a daughter of royalty on both sides of her family as well. And, Amnon was in love with Tamar...

Amnon was actually sick with desire for his half sister Tamar. Because she was a royal virgin, there was no chance for him to be with her. However, Amnon had a cousin named Jonadab who was a very shrewd man. He said to him, “Why are you, the king’s son, so miserable? Won’t you tell me?” Amnon told him, “I’m in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.” So Jonadab said to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend you are sick. When your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come and give me some bread to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I may see it and eat from her hand.’”

So Amnon did as suggested...

Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house, as her father King David directed.  While he was lying down, she took dough, made cakes in front of him and baked the cakes but he refused to eat. Amnon said, “Everyone, leave me!” So everyone left. Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the bread into the bedroom that I may eat from your hand.” So Tamar took the cakes she had made and brought them into the bedroom to her brother. He grabbed her and said to her, “Come lie with me, my sister.”

“No!” she said to him. “such a thing should never be done in Israel.”

 But he was unwilling to listen, so he overpowered her and raped her. 

Then Amnon was filled with intense revulsion for her—greater than the love with which he had loved her. He said to her, “Get out!” She went to Absalom, where she remained desolate. When David heard of her rape, he was angered but did nothing. 

Absalom had Amnon murdered two years later and then fled to Geshur...his ancestral home.

Privilege is a heavy responsibility. All sorts of opportunities present themselves but they all aren’t beneficial. And, if a privileged person does not have wisdom and discipline, life can quickly spin out of control. We see this regularly play out in the lives of the “rich and famous”. The Joseph Kennedy family is a classic example. Lives were ruined by the inability to properly harness the lure of privilege.

As people of faith, we are children of privilege. “God demonstrated His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.“ (Romans 5:8, 9). Throughout history Christians have had to be reminded that this liberation from condemnation does not constitute a license to sin...simply because God continues to cover it. “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?” (Romans 6:1)

“God forbid!”

Sin has lost its power over us but...if we aren’t careful...we slide into self-indulgence. It doesn’t alter our heavenly destination but the path leading us there becomes littered with struggle and regret. When that happens we suffer many earthly consequences that affect both ourselves and people we love.  It also renders our lives ineffectual as instruments God can use to further His kingdom.

Let’s not squander our privilege. Not because we fear loss of privilege but...because we fear disappointing the one who so lavishly gave it to us.

Live boldly out there today...