It's Complicated (S2): WK 5 - FRI
2 Samuel 13:34b-39
34…Then the watchman on the Jerusalem wall saw a great crowd coming down the hill on
the road from the west. He ran to tell the king, “I see a crowd of people coming from
the Horonaim road along the side of the hill.”
35 “Look!” Jonadab told the king. “There they are now! The king’s sons are coming,
just as I said.”
36 They soon arrived, weeping and sobbing, and the king and all his servants wept
bitterly with them.
37 And David mourned many days for his son Amnon. Absalom fled to his grandfather,
Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur.
38 He stayed there in Geshur for three years.
39 And King David, now reconciled to Amnon’s death, longed to be reunited with
his son Absalom.
I know this story doesn’t mention Tamar again after she goes to Absalom’s house where we are told she lived desolate, or ruined. However, as a father to a daughter, I like to imagine that David went to Tamar and tried to console her and love her back to a place of healing and hope. That’s what I like to believe happened.
But the focus of the story, as with their culture, was on the men and what happened to them. That said, we know that Absalom escapes and though for a moment, David thought he lost all of his sons, there is a moment of relief when he hears that he only lost one; even though that loss still broke his heart. Even after all that Amnon had done, David loved him.
That’s hard for me to hear. I want justice for Tamar and consequences for Amnon, but if I’m honest, I lean in the direction of Absalom; I’m not sure it’s justice I want for Tamar as much as revenge. There’s a fine line between those two isn’t there?
However if I put myself in David’s sandals, I grieve for what Tamar has gone through, I grieve for Absalom as he let anger and hatred consume him, and I grieve for Amnon whose father-like weakness for women caused him to do the unthinkable. And of course, I would grieve for Amnon because I can’t imagine my own children doing something that wouldn’t cause me to miss them horribly if they were gone.
Of all the stories we’ve chosen to navigate in this series, I’ll admit, this one is one of the most complicated for me. I have listened to those who have endured rape and sexual assault tell their stories. I have felt the anger well up inside of me at the injustices in the world. And I thank God that He is the one to sort all this stuff out because I’m certain I wouldn’t do a good job if it were up to me.
And maybe at the end of this week, that’s my takeaway. I have to trust that even though there are days, seasons, and experiences in this world that are down-right evil, I have to hold onto my belief that God will still win the day; that for every hurt and pain you and I have had to endure, God will not only wipe those tears from our eyes, but He will fill us with a joy and a love that acts as a healing balm to those scars no matter how deep they run. I hold onto the hope that this world isn’t the story we were meant to live, that it won’t always make sense, and when this story comes to an end for me, it’s really just the beginning of the rest of the story you and I were created for in the first place.
“Even so, come Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:20, NKJV)
1. Whatever rights or wrongs David’s children did, they were still his children. Can you
understand his grief even for those that made such horrible choices?
2. How can you and I live our lives in this present moment, as challenging as it may be at
times, but continuously remind ourselves of the story to come (Revelation 21:1-5)
34…Then the watchman on the Jerusalem wall saw a great crowd coming down the hill on
the road from the west. He ran to tell the king, “I see a crowd of people coming from
the Horonaim road along the side of the hill.”
35 “Look!” Jonadab told the king. “There they are now! The king’s sons are coming,
just as I said.”
36 They soon arrived, weeping and sobbing, and the king and all his servants wept
bitterly with them.
37 And David mourned many days for his son Amnon. Absalom fled to his grandfather,
Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur.
38 He stayed there in Geshur for three years.
39 And King David, now reconciled to Amnon’s death, longed to be reunited with
his son Absalom.
I know this story doesn’t mention Tamar again after she goes to Absalom’s house where we are told she lived desolate, or ruined. However, as a father to a daughter, I like to imagine that David went to Tamar and tried to console her and love her back to a place of healing and hope. That’s what I like to believe happened.
But the focus of the story, as with their culture, was on the men and what happened to them. That said, we know that Absalom escapes and though for a moment, David thought he lost all of his sons, there is a moment of relief when he hears that he only lost one; even though that loss still broke his heart. Even after all that Amnon had done, David loved him.
That’s hard for me to hear. I want justice for Tamar and consequences for Amnon, but if I’m honest, I lean in the direction of Absalom; I’m not sure it’s justice I want for Tamar as much as revenge. There’s a fine line between those two isn’t there?
However if I put myself in David’s sandals, I grieve for what Tamar has gone through, I grieve for Absalom as he let anger and hatred consume him, and I grieve for Amnon whose father-like weakness for women caused him to do the unthinkable. And of course, I would grieve for Amnon because I can’t imagine my own children doing something that wouldn’t cause me to miss them horribly if they were gone.
Of all the stories we’ve chosen to navigate in this series, I’ll admit, this one is one of the most complicated for me. I have listened to those who have endured rape and sexual assault tell their stories. I have felt the anger well up inside of me at the injustices in the world. And I thank God that He is the one to sort all this stuff out because I’m certain I wouldn’t do a good job if it were up to me.
And maybe at the end of this week, that’s my takeaway. I have to trust that even though there are days, seasons, and experiences in this world that are down-right evil, I have to hold onto my belief that God will still win the day; that for every hurt and pain you and I have had to endure, God will not only wipe those tears from our eyes, but He will fill us with a joy and a love that acts as a healing balm to those scars no matter how deep they run. I hold onto the hope that this world isn’t the story we were meant to live, that it won’t always make sense, and when this story comes to an end for me, it’s really just the beginning of the rest of the story you and I were created for in the first place.
“Even so, come Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:20, NKJV)
1. Whatever rights or wrongs David’s children did, they were still his children. Can you
understand his grief even for those that made such horrible choices?
2. How can you and I live our lives in this present moment, as challenging as it may be at
times, but continuously remind ourselves of the story to come (Revelation 21:1-5)
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