The Life and Times of

Brief Review

Saul, who once sought to kill David to insure the longevity of his own throne, is now dead, and David has become the king of both Judah (David's tribe) and Israel (the other tribes of Israel). David had subdued most of the surrounding nations and captured Jebus, making it his capital city and renaming it Jerusalem. He brought the ark of God to Jerusalem, intending to build a temple for God there, only to be gently rebuked, but assured by the fact that God would build for David an eternal “house,” a kingdom that would not end.

David's power and success seems to have gone to his head. Instead of leading his army in war, David stays at home, sending Joab and the army of Israel against Rabbah, the capital city of the Ammonites, to take this city and make his triumph over his enemies complete. While at home in Jerusalem, David takes advantage of the “good life” as king. He sleeps late, getting up at the time others are going to bed. As he strolls about the roof of his palace one evening, he happens to see a sight he was not intended or even supposed to see -- a lovely young woman cleansing herself, probably in keeping with the law. David looks too long and too hard and decides he wants this woman, not as his wife, nor as his mistress, but only for the night. When he sends his servants to inquire about her, they inform him that she is a married woman, the wife of one of Israel's military heroes, Uriah the Hittite.

This should have ended it for David, but it did not. He sends messengers to bring Bathsheba to his palace, and there he sleeps with Bathsheba. It is not until some time later that David is informed that Bathsheba is pregnant. David makes every effort to get Uriah to sleep with his wife, so that he will appear to be the child's father, but Uriah has too much character and integrity to be used by David. And so it is that David orders Joab, commander of his military forces, to have Uriah killed in a way that looks as though he is just another casualty of war. I doubt this fooled too many Israelites, but it most certainly did not fool God, nor Nathan the prophet. Nathan comes to David with an emotional story of a rich man who steals the pet lamb of a poor man, and when David condemns this man, Nathan informs him that he is the man. David repents, confessing his sin not only to God, but to the nation in Psalms 32 and 51.

The first of many painful consequences of David's sin come with the death of the first child of David and Bathsheba, the child conceived through David's sin. Though David mourns and petitions God fervently for the life of this son, God denies his request, and the child dies. David rightly responds to God's answer, much to the amazement of his servants. Having learned his child has died, David gets up, washes himself, worships in the house of the Lord, and then goes home and eats. David has hope concerning this child, and he has confidence and trust in the God who declines his request. In chapter 13, we come to the next traumatic consequence of David's sin, the rape of his daughter, Tamar, and the murder of his son, Amnon. Once again, David will mourn the loss of a son. In reality, he will mourn the loss of two sons: the loss of his son Amnon by murder, and the loss of his son Absalom by his flight to avoid punishment.

Amnon's First Sin Against Tamar
(13:1-14)

1 Now it was after this that Absalom the son of David had a beautiful sister whose name was Tamar, and Amnon the son of David loved her. 2 Amnon was so frustrated because of his sister Tamar that he made himself ill, for she was a virgin, and it seemed hard to Amnon to do anything to her.

3 But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother; and Jonadab was a very shrewd man. 4 He said to him, “O son of the king, why are you so depressed morning after morning? Will you not tell me?” Then Amnon said to him, “I am in love with Tamar, the sister of my brother Absalom.” 5 Jonadab then said to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill; when your father comes to see you, say to him, 'Please let my sister Tamar come and give me some food to eat, and let her prepare the food in my sight, that I may see it and eat from her hand.”'

6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill; when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, “Please let my sister Tamar come and make me a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat from her hand.” 7 Then David sent to the house for Tamar, saying, “Go now 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. And she took dough, kneaded it, made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes. 9 She took the pan and dished them out before him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, “Have everyone go out from me.” So everyone went out from him. 10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the bedroom, that I may eat from your hand.” So Tamar took the cakes which she had made and brought them into the bedroom to her brother Amnon. 11 When she brought them to him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.” 12 But she answered him, “No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this disgraceful thing! 13 “As for me, where could I get rid of my reproach? And as for you, you will be like one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.” 14 However, he would not listen to her; since he was stronger than she, he violated her and lay with her.

If you are like me, you almost find your head swimming when you read this account about David's relatives. Characters in this plot include David; Jonadab, David's nephew, son of David's third brother, Shimeah; Amnon, David's first-born son of Ahinoam; and Tamar and Absalom, daughter and son of Maacah, David's third wife (who was the daughter of Talmai, the king of Geshur). It is very difficult to remember who belongs to whom, isn't it?

It may be worthwhile to quickly summarize on the following page some of the genealogical information pertinent to our text, so that we can at least visualize these relationships.