” ‘Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife’ Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, an he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun.’ ” 2 Samuel 12: 10-12 The words God spoke to David through Nathan tell of the direst to come within the house of David. Did David’s actions lead to his family thinking that they were above reproach in all of their deeds? How was David as a father? Was David like many men today who give all their effort and skill at work only to reserve nothing for their family where the greatest effort and energy is needed?
In 2 Samuel chapters 13 and 14 the example of David from his actions to both Bathsheba and Uriah are causing sin and division within his house. Why are we able to so easily justify our own sinful actions when we are in the heat of the moment instead of standing firm in our faith in God? The pleasure of sin is so fleeting that often we are left feeling worse than when we initially did when we were tempted. David’s son Absalom had a daughter Tamar and Ammon, another of son of David, was in love with her. Ammon could not control his own desires and his friend Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah, encourages him to take her for himself by scheming and lying. Often when we are faced with temptation we will justify any action, no matter how depraved they are, to help us enjoy the vaporous illusion of sins pleasure. After Ammon rapes Tamar he throws her aside in anger. The love that Ammon thought he felt for Tamar was only sin’s temptation and a lie that fulfillment in life would be found by having sex with her. The poison of sin in our lives will enable us to do harm to those we profess to love because our desire and need is thought to be of greater importance than the bond of friendship, family, and love.
Where does our motivation to sin come from? Sin is always lying to us telling us that we can find fulfillment in life apart from God. That is sin in it’s simplistic form. The speed at which Ammon cast aside Tamar in his anger is often how quickly we cast aside the shackled sin that has entrenched itself in our life only to find it lying at our feet firmly chained to us. When we attempt to live away from God’s deliverance from sin we will consistently pick up our sin and then cast it aside hoping we can break the cycle.
Ammon’s sinful action toward Tamar is avenged two years later when Absalom kills his brother. How often does revenge seem like the perfect solution to a problem you face? That revenge can be directed inward or outward depending on where you place the blame for your sinful action. In the end revenge never brings healing and restoration because it inherently tears apart it’s focus because true healing cannot come from any place other than God. Do we sometimes incorrectly equate revenge with justice? Who will help the downtrodden, injured, embittered, abused, and enslaved? We often want to raise the banner to help others but we are helpless to bring help to others when we need help ourselves. Where is your source of help?
Where was David’s leadership at home as all these things happened in his family? What would have happened if David would have acted swiftly to bring justice to Tamar and restore her? Would Absalom have killed Ammon if David would have acted as the head of the household? After Ammon is killed Absalom runs away to hide from judgement over the murder of his brother. Where was David after the killing of Ammon? Joab finally schemes to have David bring Absalom back home to Jerusalem. Why did Joab want to bring Absalom back home? Why did David listen to Joab? Why did David so poorly manage his home life? What actions do we make today that end up affecting the course of our families for good or bad?
What can be gleaned from the dysfunctional family of David? Actions or inaction by the head of the household will guide the direction of the family. When David chose to sin with Bathsheba he was living only for himself and not thinking about the stewardship of his family. It is of utmost importance for men and women today to think of what example they are leaving for the following generations. The words God spoke through both Moses and Joshua resound in this story. We need to live our lives clinging to God as an example to the generations to come so that they can know the greatest thing they need do is to love God with all their heart, mind, soul,and strength.
When we live out our lives marked by failure taking responsibility for our actions what kind of change will happen for our children? What would have happened if David had taken a firm stand in his family and taken up the burden of responsibility? What will happen when you take the stand in your family? The generations that are being raised today are the future of the church and they need to know where they can find strength and hope for the future.
