Tuesday, July 07, 2009

2 Samuel 13 - forgiveness?


chapter 13 is like a family situation you would hear discussed on the jeremy kyle show. Did Amnon really love Tamar? If so, why did his "love" turn immediately to hatred after he raped her? More likely it appears to be lust and then he is not willing to deal with the consequences (see v16 - Tamar now wants to stay with him, as now he has raped her, getting rid of her will consign her to a life as a "desolate woman"v20).

Jonadab shows how it is possible to be clever/shrewd/discerning but totally sinful, when he comes up with the plan to rape Tamar when he should be telling Amnon to sort himself out.

The worst thing about this whole scenario is that David is angry but does nothing (v21). He should be angry, but he should do something. Amnon is not punished or spoken to, Tamar is not comforted or looked after by her father, she is taken in by Absolom.

The world tends to view forgiveness like David's actions here - letting people off without consequences. God's forgiveness is not letting people off with their sin. Something had to be done, justice had to be served, punishment had to be carried out. And it was. On the cross.

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