(1) The sin of rape and incest of Amnon
13:12 But she said to him, “No, my brother! Don’t humiliate me! This just isn’t done in Israel! Don’t do this foolish thing! 13:13 How could I ever be rid of my humiliation? And you would be considered one of the fools in Israel! Just speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.”
Twice Tamar mentioned Israel. I guessed she tried to persuade Amnon that Israel was under the Covenant with God and they abided the commandments of God.
Twice Tamar mentioned Israel. I guessed she tried to persuade Amnon that Israel was under the Covenant with God and they abided the commandments of God.
(ZIBBC OT) While some have argued that the prohibition of incest may not have yet been in force in David’s day, this seems unlikely. The citation of Abraham’s marriage to his half-sister Sarah (Gen. 20:12) proves nothing, as Abraham and Sarah preceded by some centuries the Mosaic legislation condemning consanguinous sexual relations...In seeking to fend off Amnon’s unwanted advance, Tamar asserts that if only Amnon would request to marry her, David the king “will not keep me from being married to you” (v. 13). But given the extremity of her situation, her assertion should not be taken at face value, as some commentators have done.
(2) The sin of sending Tamar away
13:16 But she said to him, “No I won’t, for sending me away now would be worse than what you did to me earlier!” But he refused to listen to her. 13:17 He called his personal attendant and said to him, “Take this woman out of my sight and lock the door behind her!”
(BKC) To add insult to injury and in further violation of the Law, Amnon sent Tamar away. This suggests not only his desire to have her gone from his immediate presence but also his repudiation of her as a bride. He had humbled a virgin and the Law demanded that he marry her (Deut. 22:29).
(BKC) To add insult to injury and in further violation of the Law, Amnon sent Tamar away. This suggests not only his desire to have her gone from his immediate presence but also his repudiation of her as a bride. He had humbled a virgin and the Law demanded that he marry her (Deut. 22:29).
David acted as a lawless person when he stole another man's wife. Now, his son acted more reckless than he was. He committed 3 serious sins in a row.
(3) The ugliness of sin
Tamar used to be a beautiful virgin v.2,18 daughter of the king v.1, and wearing a long robe v.18. After she was raped and kicked out of the house of Amnon,
13:19 Then Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the long robe she was wearing. She put her hands on her head and went on her way, wailing as she went.
The sin of Amnon was so ugly in the sense that he took the virginity of Tamar and made her very sad. It parallels what David has done to the family of Uriah. We saw a king after God's own heart turned into a lawless person in ch 11, and we now saw a beautiful young princess turned into a mournful raped victim. As a matter of fact, the resulting revenge of Absalom to Amnon was the curse on what David did.
The sin of Amnon was so ugly in the sense that he took the virginity of Tamar and made her very sad. It parallels what David has done to the family of Uriah. We saw a king after God's own heart turned into a lawless person in ch 11, and we now saw a beautiful young princess turned into a mournful raped victim. As a matter of fact, the resulting revenge of Absalom to Amnon was the curse on what David did.
12:10 So now the sword will never depart from your house. For you have despised me by taking the wife of Uriah the Hittite as your own!’
Reflection: The sin of David destroyed the family of Uriah and Bethsheba, took the life of Uriah, and now took the virginity of Tamar. Sin was ugly and disgusting. We need to take off the romantic images from the movies which celebrate "love," or even the immoral kind of "love." Not all kinds of love are worth celebrating.
Other sins are also ugly and disgusting. Sin is not a hiccup, a no big deal, or an accident. We need to deal with it seriously. Keep the ugly image in our mind next time when we are tempted to sin.
Audrey
2024
B:
1. In v.1-2 Amnon was frustrated because of his inability to rape Tamar, but Jonadab knew what he meant even Amnon only said he "in love" with Tamar v.4. He got him a proposal of how to rape her v.5-6. The Bible called him a very crafty man. (BDB) shrewd, crafty, cunning.
(EBC) As a “virgin” (v.2), however, strictly speaking “Tamar is protected property, inaccessible to males, including her brother” (Trible, Texts of Terror, p. 38)
2. Amnon's 180 degree changed towards Tamar in v.15 seemed very surprising, but it also pointed to the heart of his sin. He did not love Tamar. All he wanted was raping her. He was not going to marry her according to the Law.
(BKC) To add insult to injury and in further violation of the Law, Amnon sent Tamar away. This suggests not only his desire to have her gone from his immediate presence but also his repudiation of her as a bride. He had humbled a virgin and the Law demanded that he marry her (Deut. 22:29).
3. The proposal to rape his own sister involve their father, David v.5, 7. Perhaps Jonadab knew that without David Tamar would not be allowed to get close to Amnon. David was used by Jonadab and Amnon. Perhaps Amnon also pretended to refuse to eat due to sickness and only with the comfort food from his half sister he would eat.
9 But when she took the pan and set it before him, he refused to eat.
David used a scheme to murder Uriah and made it like normal war causality and now he was used in a scheme to rape his own daughter.
Even David knew about what had happened he did not do anything to Amon. He was just like Eli in the beginning of 1 Samuel 2:29.
21 Now King David heard about all these things and was very angry.
The consequence not only come from God, but also from his own son.
22 yet Absalom hated Amnon because he had humiliated his sister Tamar
R:
The lust of our heart is not love, it did not build us or anyone up, but it was only a selfish desire. At one point we may feel so sorry for ourselves that our desires could not be satisfied. We may even beautified our lust and called it, "love." Do I beautified my lust and call it love?
David got what he deserved, but his sin hurt his innocent daughter. Be reminded about the consequences of my sin.
His lack of response to his son's sin led himself into more trouble in the future (bc of the hatred of Absalom). What sin I need to take care of the consequence and not just be angry and do nothing?
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