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2 Samuel 13:1
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Amnon and Tamar

1 After this aAbsalom the son of David had a lovely sister, whose name was bTamar; and cAmnon the son of David loved her.  
2 Amnon was so distressed over his sister Tamar that he became sick; for she was a virgin. And it was improper for Amnon to do anything to her.
3 But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab athe son of Shimeah, David’s brother. Now Jonadab was a very crafty man.  
4 And he said to him, “Why are you, the king’s son, becoming thinner day after day? Will you not tell me?” Amnon said to him, “I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”
5 So Jonadab said to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill. And when your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come and give me food, and prepare the food in my sight, that I may see it and eat it from her hand.’ ”
6 Then Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill; and when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, “Please let Tamar my sister come and amake a couple of cakes for me in my sight, that I may eat from her hand.”  
7 And David sent home to Tamar, saying, “Now go to your brother Amnon’s house, and prepare food for him.”
8 So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house; and he was lying down. Then she took flour and kneaded it, made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes.
9 And she took the pan and placed them out before him, but he refused to eat. Then Amnon said, a“Have everyone go out from me.” And they all went out from him.  
10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the bedroom, that I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them to Amnon her brother in the bedroom.
11 Now when she had brought them to him to eat, ahe took hold of her and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.”  
12 But she answered him, “No, my brother, do not1 force me, for ano such thing should be done in Israel. Do not do this bdisgraceful thing!  
13 And I, where could I take my shame? And as for you, you would be like one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king; afor he will not withhold me from you.”  
14 However, he would not heed her voice; and being stronger than she, he aforced her and lay with her.  
15 Then Amnon hated her exceedingly, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Arise, be gone!”  
16 So she said to him, “No, indeed! This evil of sending me away is worse than the other that you did to me.” But he would not listen to her.
17 Then he called his servant who attended him, and said, “Here! Put this woman out, away from me, and bolt the door behind her.”
Commentaries:
Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?
<< 2 Samuel 12:31   2 Samuel 13:2 >>

What Does 2 Samuel 13:1 Mean?



2 Samuel 13:1-2

The strong desire to be unfaithful to one's clearly stated and understood responsibilities is a drive we have to deal with and overcome. We must learn that there is a living principle that God activated and still enforces in His creation. When this drive controls a person, retribution will automatically follow. Thus, the person is considered faithless. Any time a thing—in this case, sex—becomes an end in itself, it creates an idol, which will provoke a response from God. In addition, as this illustration shows, it also ceases to give the satisfying pleasure God intends. Like a drug, the individual constantly needs more to achieve the satisfaction he desires.

Solomon shows clearly in Ecclesiastes 1:8 that human nature cannot be satisfied: "All things are full of labor; man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing." This is not the way God made us; it is the way we have become as a result of Satan broadcasting his spirit and us following its promptings. We have become perverted in our tastes, and our tastes have to be converted in order to enjoy the benefits God intends.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Seventh Commandment

Related Topics: Craving, Perverted | Desire | Desire as a Bridgehead to Sin | Drive Reduction Mechanisms | Idol, Sex as an | Idolatry | Loyalty | Lust | Perversion | Perverted Taste | Responsibility | Satan's Broadcast | Seventh Commandment | Sex as an Idol | Sexual Immorality | Steadfastness | Taste, Perverted | The Seventh Commandment



2 Samuel 13:1-15

Here we have the story of the lust-driven affair of Amnon, one of David's sons, and Tamar, one of David's daughters, a half-sister of Amnon. Amnon was sick with love for Tamar, but the fruit of the relationship shows it was not love but lust. He greatly desired to take her to bed, so much so that he deceitfully conspired with his cousin Jonadab to arrange matters. He then compounded that sin by lying to his father to be alone with her and raping her when he finally was. The fruit of his shameful deed was further defiled when his feelings for her reversed to a hatred against her that was greater than his former "love." Two years later Amnon was dead at the hand of Absalom, Tamar's full brother.

What piling of sin on sin coveting produced! It destroyed Tamar's virginity and possibly a future marriage. It destroyed the cohesiveness of David's family. It produced burning hatred, and everyone felt great sorrow. All of this blossomed from an uncontrolled desire in the mind of one person. Its effects impacted on David's family for many generations.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Tenth Commandment (1998)

Related Topics: Amnon and Tamar | Coveting | Covetousness | Incest | Lust | Lust and Hatred | Sexual Immorality | Sexual Sins | Sin Begins as a Thought | Sin Begins in the Heart | Sin Begins in the Mind | Tamar and Amnon | Tenth Commandment | The Tenth Commandment



2 Samuel 13:1-2

He did not love her; he was lusting after her. Notice the initial fruit—distress! The story continues, eventually revealing that his lust produced rape. It did not end there but produced more evil fruit: "Then Amnon hated her exceedingly, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, 'Arise, be gone!'" (verse 15). So much for lust producing good fruit! How many teen and/or young adult lives have been severely damaged by unwed pregnancy resulting from coveting?

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Tenth Commandment

Related Topics: Amnon and Tamar | Coveting | Covetous Thoughts | Covetousness | Lust | Lust and Hatred | Tamar and Amnon | Tenth Commandment | The Tenth Commandment | Unwed Pregnancy




Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing 2 Samuel 13:1:

Exodus 20:14
Ezekiel 23:5
Ezekiel 23:11-12
Ezekiel 23:16-17


 
<< 2 Samuel 12:31   2 Samuel 13:2 >>

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