Tag Archives: 2 Samuel 12-13

Daily Bible Study

April 11, 2024 Bible Study — David Was Forgiven, But He Still Suffered the Consequences of His Actions

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Samuel 12-13.

When confronted by Nathan concerning his sin with Bathsheba and to Uriah, David immediately confessed his sin.  Unlike Saul, he made no attempt to justify his sin, rather he acknowledged his guilt and accepted God’s judgement.  On the two occasions where Samuel confronted Saul over his failure to follow God’s will, Saul made excuses.  I want to take note that we often view the sins which David committed as much more serious than what Saul did, but the Bible is quite clear that God makes no distinction between failure to obey His commands.  On behalf of God, Nathan told David that God had forgiven him, had taken away his sin.  However, Nathan also told David that he would still suffer the consequences of his sin.  The rest of today’s passage describes some of the consequences of David’s sin.  If we look at Amnon’s rape of Tamar, how different is it really from David’s relationship with Bathsheba?  Except that David married Bathsheba, while Amnon wanted nothing to do with Tamar after he forced himself upon her.  We might say that David did not force himself upon Bathsheba, but the passage suggests that Tamar was willing to go to bed with Amnon, if he married her.  And while Absalom’s motives, and methods, were different, what he did to Amnon was not very different from what David did to Uriah.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

April 11, 2023 Bible Study — David Faces The Consequences Of His Sin

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Samuel 12-13.

Part of me wants to write about Amnon and Tamar and how that led to Absalom killing Amnon (and later to Absalom’s rebellion), but I am really struck by David’s reaction to Nathan’s confrontation and the following illness and death of his son with Bathsheba.  When Nathan confronted David, David confessed his sin.  At which point Nathan tells David that God has taken away his sin.  However, that did not mean that David would not suffer any consequences from his sin.  In fact, Nathan told David that the consequences of his sin would follow him for the rest of his life.  So, we learn from this that we must confess that we have sinned (and part of that confession is regretting that we had done wrong, not just regretting that we got caught).  If we do confess our sin, God will forgive our sins.  However, we will still need to live with the consequences of our sins.

Which brings me to David’s reaction to one of the consequences of his sin, the son he had with Bathsheba became sick and then died.  When David learned of the child’s illness, he prayed and fasted begging God to heal the child and mourning the boy’s illness.  Then, when he learned that the child had died, he gave up his fasting and mourning.  While the child was ill, David petitioned God for healing, but once the child had died David recognized that the time for mourning was over.  He saw that the boy would not return to this life, but that he would in time join the child with God.  We should think and behave similarly.  While those we care for live, we should pray for their well-being, to the point of fasting and mourning for them if they are ill and/or suffering.  Once those we care for have died, in most cases, we should set aside our mourning and get on with our lives, not necessarily as quickly as David appears to have done here.   I will note that even though David gave up his mourning after his son’s death, he did not fault Bathsheba for mourning their son’s death.  Instead David comforted her in her loss.  We also should strive to comfort those who mourn the loss of their loved ones.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

April 11, 2022 Bible Study –Do Not Wait Until They Have Died To Express Your Love For Someone

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Samuel 12-13.

I think that King David gives us a great example on how we should approach sickness and death in our loved ones from the way he reacts to the sickness and death of the son he had through his adulterous affair with Bathsheba.  When the boy got sick, David fasted, mourned, and prayed to God for the boy’s recovery.  Yet, once the boy died, David resumed his normal life and did not mourn any longer.  In other words, David expressed his love for the child while he lived, when it mattered to the child, but got on with his life once the child had died.  In the same way, we should express our love for others while they are alive, when they can appreciate it, rather than waste our time mourning for them when they have died and can no longer experience how much they meant to us.  I am not saying that it is wrong to mourn, just that we should put more effort into expressing our love while those we love are alive than in doing so after their death.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

April 11, 2021 Bible Study Fast And Pray Before It Is Too Late

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Samuel 12-13.

I usually try to stay away from writing about the “obvious” lessons in a passage, but David’s reaction to the illness and death of his son born from his adulterous affair with Bathsheba stuck with me today.  Actually, David’s entire reaction to be confronted about his affair with Bathsheba sticks with me.  First, when confronted about what he did with Bathsheba and to Uriah the Hittite, he did not try to make excuses for his affair with Bathsheba, or make a blustery defense of arranging Uriah’s death.  Instead, David humbly confesses that he had sinned against God.  Then when the son of that affair got sick, David fasted and laid on the ground wearing only sackcloth.  He did this for seven days, refusing to eat or do anything else.  On the seventh day, when he learned that the child had died, he got up, cleaned himself, dressed, and ate.  When asked why he acted this way, David answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ 23 But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again?”  The point here is that all too often we wait until after it is too late to express our desire to be with our loved ones, or to seek God’s intervention.  Instead, we should follow David’s example and throw ourselves on God’s mercy before bad things happen.  The lesson I see here for me is this: I foresee bad things coming for many people, now is the time for me to fast and pray for God to change the course of judgement I see Him sending.  Perhaps, He will change His mind, perhaps He will show me how to get people to turn to Him and change the path they are on.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

April 11, 2020 Bible Study — Praying For God’s Healing, Accepting When He Does Not Grant It

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Samuel 12-13.

King David’s actions with Bathsheba and Uriah led directly to his son Amnon raping David’s daughter Tamar and to Absalom killing Amnon for doing so.  Which eventually led to Absalom’s revolt against King David.  However, the most interesting thing is David’s reaction to the sickness, then death, of his first son with Bathsheba.  While the boy was sick, David fasted, prayed, and mourned, begging God to restore the boy to health.  But once the boy had died, David returned to a normal life, accepting God’s actions.  We should approach life in a similar fashion, praying and fasting for the health and well-being of those who suffer, but accepting when God chooses not to grant our request.  I know that I do too much of the latter and not enough of the former.  That is, I do not spend enough time praying for healing for those around me who suffer, not that I am too accepting of God’s will (as their is no such thing as the latter).  In this trying time we are going through right now, we should be praying that God lift this from us.

Daily Bible Study

April 11, 2019 Bible Study — The Far Reaching Consequences of Sin

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Samuel 12-13.

Today’s passage shows us how the consequences of our sins can be far reaching, even after we have confessed them and been forgiven. Generally, we look at the death of Bathsheba’s son and Absalom’s later rebellion as God’s punishment on David for his sins. However, even Amnon’s rape of Tamar was a consequence of David’s sin with Bathsheba. Or, more precisely, a consequence of King David’s attitudes about power and sexual gratification which led to his sin with Bathsheba. They may not have known that their father gave the orders which led to Uriah’s death, but David’s sons were surely aware of his affair with Bathsheba. They could do the math and would have realized that the young child for whom he grieved so deeply had to have been conceived while Uriah was alive and away at war. Amnon learned from his father’s example to take pleasure where and when he wished.

Amnon’s rape of Tamar led to Absalom’s eventual revolt against his father. Perhaps if King David had acted to hold Amnon in some way accountable for his actions things would have turned out differently. Certainly, Absalom was emboldened by the fact that all he suffered for murdering his brother Amnon was a temporary exile. However, the thing I want to focus on today is the role Jonadab, one of David’s nephews, played in this whole situation. First, Jonadab encouraged Amnon to rape Tamar. He could have encouraged Amnon to ask David to allow him to marry her, but instead he gave him advice on how Amnon could arrange to be alone with her. Then, after Absalom had killed Amnon, Jonadab was the first to bring news to King David that only Amnon had been killed. Was Jonadab merely a confidant of both brothers? Or, perhaps, he gave Amnon the advice he did in order to give Absalom an excuse to kill his brother, who stood between him and being King David’s heir? I am intrigued by the fact that David’s nephew, Jonadab was so intricately involved in court plotting. Combining this with David’s complex relationship with Joab and a few other references to King David’s family makes me think that Jesse, David’s father, was more of a mover and shaker in the tribe of Judah than we normally think of him as.

Daily Bible Study

April 11, 2018 Bible Study — Lack of Discipline Leads to Tragedy

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Samuel 12-13.

    While David’s illicit child with Bathsheba was sick, David fasted and prayed for God to heal the child. He did this for seven days. His servants and advisers were afraid of what he would do when the child died. However, when he learned that his child had died, David got up, cleaned himself up, and ate. David understood that death was not the end and that we will be rejoined with our loved ones after death. We should have a similar attitude. While our loved ones are alive, but sick and suffering, it is appropriate to fast and pray, seeking God’s healing power. But once they have died we need to put aside our grief and go on about serving the Lord. I do not mean that quite as it sounds. There is a place for mourning the loss of our loved ones, especially when they die suddenly. However, we need to recognize that while we will miss them, it is only for a short time until we will be rejoined with them in eternity (at least, those who have chosen to serve the Lord).

    The story of the rape of Tamar and its aftermath have always bothered me. There is Amnon raping his half-sister and David is reported as being angry about this, but David takes no action. There is Jonadab, David’s nephew, advising Amnon on how to arrange to rape his sister, then later in a position to report to King David that Amnon was the only one of his sons killed by Absalom. Then there is Absalom killing his older half-brother, Amnon, and only suffering a three year exile. The fact that Amnon, and Jonadab, could think that he could get away with raping Tamar reflects how poorly disciplined he had been his whole life. Further, the fact that Absalom began plotting immediately to kill Amnon when he learned what had happened to Tamar tells us that Absalom knew that David would impose no discipline on Amnon. In a way, David’s sin with Bathsheba resulted in Amnon raping Tamar, which resulted in Absalom killing Amnon, which later led to Absalom attempting to usurp David’s throne. Perhaps, if David had disciplined Amnon, he would not have needed to fight the civil war with Absalom later.

Daily Bible Study

April 11, 2017 Bible Study — The Consequences Of Sin Can Be Far Reaching

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Samuel 12-13.

    When Nathan confronted David over his sin with Bathsheba and what he did to Uriah, David does not recognize himself in Nathan’s story. We are all too often like that. We recognize the severity of other’s sins but do not connect the dots to our own. Nathan informs David that his sin with Bathsheba will result in strife within his own family. Then, after the story of the death of the child born to Bathsheba out of this affair, the writer tells us the story of Amnon and Tamar and Absalom’s revenge on Amnon. David’s failure to punish Amnon for raping his half-sister led directly to Absalom killing him. It speaks poorly of David that he punished neither of his sons for their misdeeds while failing to come to his daughter’s defense. Certainly David’s sin with Bathsheba contributed to Amnon thinking that he could get away with raping Tamar. So, David’s sin with Bathsheba led to Amnon raping Tamar, which led to Absalom killing Amnon, which led to Absalom;s revolt against David.

    I want to point out something which struck me in reading this. I have seen many writers condemn Jonadab for advising Amnon on how to rape Tamar. I am not going to exonerate him. However, it appears to me that Jonadab genuinely believed that Amnon wanted to have Tamar as his wife. Jonadab was close enough to Amnon to badger him for feeling down and to give him advice on how to resolve his unrequited love. However, he knew that Absalom was planning to kill Amnon long before the plan reached fruition and failed to warn Amnon against the plot. This failure suggests that Jonadab did not approve of Amnon’s actions. There are aspects to this story which suggest that Tamar may have been more than willing to become Amnon’s wife, which might explain Jonadab’s advice to Amnon. Jonadab may have thought he was acting to bring two young lovers together. That being said, I believe that Jonadab advised Amnon on how he could get Tamar as a wife and was horrified when Amnon raped her and threw her out of his rooms. This does not make Jonadab a good person, but it also does not suggest that he was a conniving conspirator looking to gain political power by stroking the ego of whomever it took to do so.

Daily Bible Study

April 11, 2016 Bible Study — Dealing With Sickness and Death

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Samuel 12-13.

    I was going to write about Nathan’s message to David, God’s judgment on David, and David’s failings as a father. However, as I re-read the passage in order to compose my thoughts, I was struck by David’s reaction to the illness and death of his son by Bathsheba. While the child was sick, David fasted and prayed. He laid on the bare floor and pleaded with God for the boy’s life. He did this to such a degree that his advisers and servants were afraid to tell him that the boy had died. However, when David realized that the boy had died, he got up, cleaned himself, got dressed, and went to worship God. Then he came back and ate. David’s advisers did not understand his actions.

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    However, as Christians we should understand David. While the child was alive, David fasted and prayed. He had hope that God would be gracious and return the boy to health. However, once the child had died David knew that he was suffering no more. The child was with the Lord, where David could join him one day. The message of this passage really strikes home to me right now. In the last week my family held a funeral for a cousin who died after a long, painful struggle with cancer and celebrated my Mom’s 90th birthday. We should fast and pray for our loved ones when they are sick, asking God to end their suffering by healing them. However, if and when they die, we should rejoice because God has ended their suffering and one day we will be reunited with them in His presence. This is easier said than done.