2 Samuel 13
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Well, my name is Chet. I'm one of our pastors. If you will, grab a Bible and go to 2 Samuel chapter 13. We will work our way through chapter 13 this morning. And in it, we will see the depth and the depravity of sin and what it does among people when it is set loose, unabated. This is a story of rape and murder, which in the life of David has become all too common.
Our hope as we study this this morning is that we would see clearly the danger and the brokenness of sin and where our hope lies. We'll begin reading in chapter 13, verse 1. It says, Now Absalom, David's son, had a beautiful sister whose name was Tamar. Absalom is David's third oldest son. We're going to read a story. This story will involve Amnon and Absalom, who are two of the three oldest sons of David.
They were born to him in Hebron before he became king of all Israel, when he was just king of Judah. Absalom is the son of the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur. And Amnon, who we're going to see in a second, is the son of Ahinoam of Jezreel. He's a different son. And all that's listed out in chapter 3 of 2 Samuel. And there's a son in the middle of him, Kiliab, who is only really ever mentioned in the order of birth and then never again, who's born to Abigail.
So either David in his function as a redeemer basically has a son, but it's not really his son, so it's not in the line of succession. Most likely, though, Kiliab just died young and therefore doesn't show up in any sort of conflict over eldest son things. So what we probably have here are the two of the three in birth order, but just the top two in actual age that are around, Absalom and Amnon. And Absalom has a sister who's pretty. She's beautiful. And it says, after a time, Amnon, David's son, loved her.
So we have Amnon, the oldest son, who's in line to become king, falls in love with Tamar, his half-sister. Now, there's a moment for us as readers who are distant culturally. We might go, Is that okay back then? Can you, can he be in love with his half-sister? Is that, are they cool with that? Does that work?
And the answer is no. And I want to read Leviticus to you. This is the law given to Moses, which was hundreds of years before. This is now, they're in the nation of Israel with the king. They should be following the law. This is Leviticus 18, 9.
You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, which if you're reading through Leviticus, it's worded that way. It means approach sexually. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, your father's daughter, or your mother's daughter. So covering half siblings, whether brought up in your family or in another home, which feels like that last phrase was for the person who was like, but what if we didn't know? No. Still no.
Put your hand down. No. So that's the way this works. And Leviticus in this section is going through a whole lot of sexual sin. And it ends with this in Leviticus 18, 26, but you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you. For the people of the land who were before you did all these abominations so that the land became unclean.
Lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean as it vomited out the nation that was before you. For everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among the people. So this is a rule not just for those who are faithful Israelites. This is if people move in and are living there, strangers who sojourn among you. You can't do this on the soil. This isn't allowed inside the territory.
And whoever does it is to be removed, cut off from the people, sent out, exiled. This is not going to happen here. That's the way Leviticus treats it. So when Amnon starts having feelings for his half-sister, he's already begun, headed in the wrong direction. And he's started incorrectly and needs to change. But here's what happens.
Verse 2. Amnon was so tormented that he made himself ill because of his sister Tamar. So his love here is obsessive. It's infatuation. He's made himself sick with how much he loves her, how much he desires her. And it's going to word this in a way that, you know, if you're going, well, that's, you know, he's aimed in the wrong direction, but, you know, maybe he loves her.
But listen to the way it's worded. It says, for she was a virgin, And it seemed impossible to do anything to her. So there is a type of love that is beautiful, self-sacrificial, kind, good. And in general, when our culture talks about love, we only hold up that version. But there is a love that is inordinate, aimed in the wrong direction, obsessive, where you love things you should not love in a way that you should not love.
And that's the situation that he's in. He has a sinful, idolatrous love. The same way that we can love things that we should not love. And in a way that we should not love them. But it's still love.
It's just a twisted, broken version of it. And that's what he has. And he's sick over it because he can't figure out a way to do things to her. But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimea, David's brother. So this is a friend and a cousin.
And Jonadab was a very crafty man. He can get things done. It's the same word used for the serpent in the garden. And he said to him, Oh, son of the king, why are you so haggard morning after morning? Will you not tell me? So Amnon is creepily, visibly sick over his desire for Tamar.
To the point that Jonadab says, Man, what's going on with you? Why do you look like this? Amnon said to him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister. And Jonadab said to him, Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill. And when your father comes to see you, say to him, Let my sister Tamar come and give me bread to eat and prepare the food in my sight that I may see it and eat it from her hand. So Jonadab helps him concoct a plan to get her into his house to try to help.
Now, we don't know how far Jonadab understood Amnon was willing to take this. But if he was actually a good friend, he would have said, Dude, that's your sister. You're the son of the king. There are other women in Israel. Let's go on a trip.
Let's ride around the nation a little bit. Let's get out of here. Like, let's don't head in this direction. Like a good friend helps you not sin. You've had friends that it was easy to not sin around. It was easy to follow the Lord around.
And you've had friends that it was easy to sin around. You want the friends that help point you in the right direction, who will stand toe to toe with you and say, Do not do this. This is not good. It is not cute. It is not fun. Stop.
But he's not that type of friend. He's the type of friend who goes, Oh, we can figure this out. And he comes up with this plan. Verse 6. So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill.
And when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, Please let my sister Tamar come and make a couple of cakes in my sight that I may eat from her hand. Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go to your brother Amnon's house and prepare food for him. So Amnon's oldest brother in the family, King David's patriarchy, so he's the father of the family, and then the oldest brother has rights. And when he goes to see the oldest son, the oldest son says, Can you send her over here? And he says, Sure. So he sends her over there.
Go to your brother Amnon's house and prepare food for him. Verse 8. So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house, where he was lying down. And she took dough and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes. So she does all of this, this whole process, it says in his sight.
So he's laying there, somehow in his house, where he's watching her, knead, prepare, bake, all of this stuff. And she took the pan, and emptied it out before him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Send everyone, send out everyone from me. So everyone went out from him. So when she finally has it all ready, and she says, Okay, come eat.
He just says, No, he's not going to. And in my head, it doesn't tell us all these details. In my head, he's been laying, and he just kind of, when it's time to eat, he's just like, I don't feel like I'm not going to eat. I don't want to eat right now. And he's still playing up the being sick. But then he says, Everybody out.
And if he's sick, and everybody's like, Okay, let's give him some privacy. But then he says, Everybody out. And then he says, Then Amnon said to Tamar, this is verse 10, Bring the food into the chamber, that I may eat it from your hand. And Tamar took the cakes she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon, her brother. So he gets her into his bedroom, and he gets everybody else out.
And I don't know at this point, how suspicious she is of Amnon and his behavior. It doesn't give us any of these things. But as the oldest brother, for her to do what he asked is not odd. And this text is very clear. This is brother and sister. To Amnon, her brother.
Verse 11. But when she brought them near to him, he took hold of her, and said to her, Come lie with me, my sister. Now, it was not uncommon, at this time, to poetically refer to a lover as your sister. Even in the Song of Solomon, he often refers to her as my sister, my bride. The point being, even though we are not related, we are so close, that our relationship is more than just romantic. You're my sister, my bride.
It's meant to be sweet. In this framework, even if he meant it to be sweet, it is a complete twisted version of what could be beautiful, but not in this situation. And so he says, Come lie with me, my sister. And she answered him, No. Which should be enough. We're going to see her plead with him.
She says, No, my brother. Do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel. Do not do this outrageous thing. She says, We don't do this. And she means that, and she means that on several levels. We don't sleep with people we're not married to.
Not in Israel. You don't force yourself on someone. Not in Israel. Brothers and sisters, do not do this. Not in Israel. So she says, Do not do this.
Do not do this outrageous thing. And as for me, where could I carry my shame? If you do this, what will I do? Where will I go? How will I get rid of this? And as for you, you would be as one of the outrageous fools in Israel.
So she says, What would I do with my shame? And what would you do with your guilt? You would be an outrageous fool. You'd be a laughing stock. This is not done. Now, therefore, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.
I think, in the rapid fire succession, of those phrases, this last one, is her last ditch effort, to just get out of the situation. It is possible that she thinks there was some truth to it, that maybe this would, he could marry her. I think mostly it's, No, don't do this. This is outrageous. This is wicked. This is sick.
Don't. Just go talk, go talk to the king. He'll let you marry me. And I think that's just a, let's, get me out of here. We'll move forward. Get me out of this situation.
Because she peppers him with six reasons. Verse 14. But he would not listen to her. And being stronger than she, he violated her, and lay with her. So Amnon, rapes his sister.
Because he's bigger and stronger. Verse 15. Then Amnon, hated her, with very great hatred, so that the hatred with which he hated her, was greater than the love, with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, get up, go. Because his love wasn't self-sacrificial, good, kind, clean, godly love. Because it was infatuation, because it was obsession, because it was idolatry.
It immediately turns to hatred. It sours very quickly. Which I've heard a pastor say before, we demonize what we idolize. And that's what happens here. She actually becomes, she was always an object for him, she now becomes just an object, of his outrageous sin, of his wickedness. It does not satisfy, what he had been playing up in his head, what he had been desiring, what he thought was going to fix him, what he thought was going to be so good, it doesn't work.
Because that's not how it works. That's not how sin works, that's not how idolatry works, that's not how pursuing these passions, and desires works. And so he hates her. Some because he hates himself, because of his foolishness, and his sin, and his wickedness. But she personifies it, she's right there.
And so he says, get up and go. And what she says next to him, is extremely sad, and culturally bound. So we're going to read it, and I'm going to explain, what actually is happening here. But she said to him, no my brother, for this wrong, and sending me away, is greater than the other, that you did to me. Now on our ears, that's a crazy thing to say.
But in their culture, her role, God ordained, God blessed, beautiful, good role, was to marry, and to have children. God, was to help, be fruitful and multiply, to fulfill the call, that God has placed, on the people of Israel. To add, to the sons, and daughters, that are like the stars, in the sky. To be a part of the promise, to Abraham, to help move that forward. This is her role, this is what she's longing for, this is what she's working towards, this is her hope. And what she says to him is, if you send me away, that's gone, and I'm trapped.
If he keeps her, the situation's messed up, but at least, she gets to have a family. What's happening in her head, at this moment. But she says, if you send me away, then I'm, I'm imprisoned in that. I will forever, be unwanted, unmarriable, unloved. That's what will happen to her, in this culture, because nobody's going to want her, after this. She will be unmarriable.
So she says, that would be worse, than what you've already done. But he would not, listen to her. He called the young man, who served him and said, put this woman, out of my presence, and bolt the door, after her. The word woman, isn't even in the Hebrew text, it's just put this, out of my presence. It's implied, but he also doesn't even bother, to treat her, with any sort of level of respect. She's always been an object.
Now she was wearing, a long robe, with sleeves, for thus, for the virgin daughters, of the king dress. That phrase is the same, as the kind of cloak, that Joseph had. It's a, it's a high honor. She's well dressed. She's been given, this beautiful thing, as a daughter of the king. So his servant, put her out, and bolted the door, after her.
And in this story, she's locked out, from Amnon, and she's locked into, the life that he's, forced upon her. She's imprisoned. The bolt, has been put, behind her. And Tamar, put ashes on her head, potentially from the place, she was just cooking, and tore the long robe, that she wore. And she laid her hand, on her head, and went away, crying aloud, as she went. She covers her head, with ashes.
She rips her virgin robe, and she walks off wailing. She, laments. She, mourns. And there are times, when sin, so, devastates our lives, that the response, is lament. It's mourning. That you don't know, what to do.
There's nothing to do. And lament, gives you something to do. It gives you something, to talk to the Lord about. It gives you something, to feel the brokenness in. And that's where she goes. And her brother, Absalom, said to her, has Amnon, your brother, been with you?
Seeming to know, where she was, to jump ahead, and guess what's happened here. Why she seems so distraught. Maybe he had seen, the way Amnon, looks at her. Now hold your peace, my sister. He is your brother. Do not take it to heart.
He encourages her, to handle this well, and to not let it, sink into her. So Tamar, lived a desolate woman, in her brother Absalom's house. That's her last action, in the text. She's referred to a few times, but only as person, who's been marked, by what has been done to her. But that's her life.
A desolate woman, in her brother's house. Desolate meaning, no husband, no children. That's how she lives out her days. She's trapped in it. When King David heard, of all these things, he was very angry. But Absalom, spoke to Amnon, neither good nor bad.
For Absalom hated Amnon, because he had violated, his sister Tamar. So Absalom doesn't talk to Amnon anymore, he doesn't say anything to him, not good or bad, and Absalom takes it to heart. What he told Tamar not to do, he does. He hates him. Sin has devastated, in a myriad of ways. Verse 23, after two full years.
So that's it. We just move forward in the story. It's been two years since this event. Absalom had sheep shears, at Baal Hazor, which is near Ephraim. And Absalom invited, all the king's sons. And Absalom came to the king, and said, behold, your servant has sheep shears, please let the king, and his servants go, with your servant.
But the king said to Absalom, no my son, let us not all go, lest we be burdensome to you. He pressed him, but he would not go, but gave him his blessing. So Absalom has sheep shears, he's going to shear the sheep. When you do this, you get a lot of people together, it's celebratory. He goes to the king and says, I want all y'all to come. We're going to make a whole big thing out of it.
And King David says, no. We'd be a burden to you. It's too many people. We're not doing that. But he presses him.
He eventually gives him his blessing. And so the king could honor Absalom with a high honor by going. But the patriarch's not going to go to Absalom, his third son, probably second oldest at this time, to his sheep shearing. But he blesses him. He does try to honor him. Be blessed.
But he's not going. Then Absalom said, if not, please let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said to him, why should he go with you? Now, he's the oldest son. So by him going, he's still, it's kind of like if the president can't come to your party, but the vice president can come, then it'll still be cool.
You can tell people the vice president was there. That's kind of what's happening here. He's the oldest son. But David goes, hmm, something else going on here. So he says, why do you want him to go?
Probably knows that they aren't close. You know, there's a rift there. So why are you wanting Amnon to go? We don't get Absalom's answer. It just says, but Absalom pressed him until he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him. Then Absalom commanded his servants, Mark, when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, strike Amnon, then kill him.
Do not fear. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and valiant. So we find out very quickly why Absalom wants Amnon there. Get him away from the capital. Amnon, Absalom has been holding on to hatred for two years.
He's nursed it in his heart. First chance he gets, first time he gets him away, when he's able to work this out, he says, let him drink a little bit, and then we're going to kill him. And then he tells him, don't worry, I'm the one who gave the command. Basically, I'll take the fall for it. You'll be okay. Do what I say.
So, verse 29, the servants of Absalom did to Amnon, as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and each mounted his mule and fled. So as soon as Amnon's killed their oldest brother, they hop up and just get out of there, fearing for themselves, fearing for maybe this is going to happen, there's going to be more to this, and they get, they flee. Verse 30, while they were on the way, news came to David, Absalom has struck down all the king's sons, and not one of them is left. Which isn't that how news travels? Then the king arose and tore his garments, and lay on the earth, and all his servants who were standing by tore their garments.
But Jonadab, the son of Shimea, so he shows back up, he's the one who helped Amnon in the first place. Jonadab, the son of Shimea, David's brother, said, let not my Lord suppose that they have killed all the young men, the king's sons, for Amnon alone is dead. For by the command of Absalom, this has been determined from the day he violated his sister Tamar. Now therefore, let not my Lord the king so take it to heart, as to suppose that all the king's sons are dead, for Amnon alone is dead. So he knows, somehow, that Absalom has been planning this, since the day that happened, and he says, he didn't kill all your sons.
Absalom didn't kill all your sons. Amnon is dead. That's who he killed. But Absalom fled. And the young man who kept watch, lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, many people were coming from the road behind him, by the side of the mountain. And Jonadab said to the king, behold, the king's sons have come, as your servant said, so it has come about.
And as soon as he had finished speaking, behold, the king's sons came, and lifted up their voice, and wept. And the king also, and all his servants, wept very bitterly. Amnon is dead. Absalom has fled. And this is how it so often works, in situations where there's family strife, where there's murder. You lose both.
And they lose both. But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. That's his granddad. He's the king of Geshur. So he goes to his granddad, about 80 miles away.
And David mourned for his son, day after day. So Absalom fled, and went to Geshur, and was there three years. And the spirit of the king, longed to go out to Absalom, because he was comforted about Amnon, since he was dead. It's likely in your Bible, especially if you're holding one of these black ones, that there's a little one, and a little two there, the spirit of the king longed to go out. That phrase can be read, in two different ways. It can be, he longed to go out to Absalom, meaning he was wishing for him back.
It can also mean, he no longer wanted to chase after him. Either way, it sets up what's going to happen next, with Absalom's return. The three years have passed, David has mourned his son, and we're going to stop there, for today. And what we have in this passage, is sin, absolutely wreaking havoc. What we have in this passage, is sin going to work in the lives of, Amnon, Absalom, Tamar, David, the kingdom. We have sin, winning, as you read this, you can almost hear Satan laughing, because this is what he's wanted, from the very beginning.
He's wanted us to just do, what we decide is best to do. He's wanted us to just pursue, our own desires. He's wanted us to disregard, what the Lord says, and to think we have the best route, to the good life. He's wanted to bring, death and destruction. And that's all that's here. They're all, imprisoned, imprisoned, in sin.
Amnon, leading up, to his sin, is imprisoned, in this desire, that's growing in him, so much so that it's, changing his appearance, it's tormenting him. And if you're in this room right now, and you think, I could never, I could never do one of those big sins. I could never do what these guys did. I could never rape. I could never murder. You say, I never would embezzle.
I could never, I could never do that. This is a case study of how you do it. You have a little desire, that you feed every day. You have a little desire, that you let grow. You let it fester. You get yourself around people, who help you.
You get yourself around people, who turn the other way, when it comes to sin. And then you can do, all sorts of heinous, wicked, outrageously foolish things. That's how everybody does. Amnon, imprisoned in his desire, and then, imprisoned in his guilt, and it ultimately leads to his death. Tamar, whose, whose fault in this story, is being beautiful, which so often, the enemy works against the blessings of God, to turn them on their head, to bring such destruction. She's imprisoned.
She's trapped, in what's done to her, with nowhere to carry her shame. Absalom, as sin enters his life, is enraged, and filled with hate, to the point of it, consumes him. He wants justice, but all he can work out, is his own form of vengeance. And we're going to see, as we continue following this story, it leads to more death. There's this moment, in the story, in verse 21, when King David, heard all these things, he was very angry. And you get this moment, where you go, yes, do something.
Yes, King David knows about it now. He's going to fix it. The king knows about it now. The anointed of the Lord, he's going to fix it. And it says, he was very angry. Then it tells you something about Absalom, and then it says, it's two years later.
And he does nothing. And I don't know, I don't know if it's that he favors, his oldest son. I don't know, if it's that, when it comes to sexual assault, he doesn't feel like he has a leg, to stand on. When it comes to lust, when it comes to sexual sin, but it ultimately, in David's life, there's sexual sin, and murder. And then in his children's life, in his family's life, it's sexual sin, and murder. And it's just playing itself out.
And David seems powerless, to help. We want the king, to do something. There's this moment, where I'm going, do fix it. And I don't even know, how he would. I don't know, what to tell him to do. How do you, how do you help Tamar?
How do you help Absalom, with the rage in his heart? How do you come in, with Amnon your son, and bring any sort of, redemption or care, or anything? How do you fix, this situation? I just want someone, to show up, who knows what to do. This text is begging for it. And so often, we're living out, 2 Samuel 13, in our own lives.
What do we do? What do we do with this? What do I do with what I've done? What do I do with what's been done to me? What do I do with what's been done, to the people I love? And sin just, imprisons us.
In Luke, chapter 4, when Jesus is beginning his ministry, he goes to a synagogue. That's where the Jewish people gathered, on the Sabbath. He asks for the scroll, of Isaiah. He unrolls it. He reads the beginning of Isaiah 61, and he rolls the scroll back up, and he says, today, this has been fulfilled, in your hearing. He says, I'm Isaiah 61.
He unrolls the scroll, he reads it, he says, this is fulfilled, in your hearing. I'm fulfilling Isaiah 61. So if you will, turn to Isaiah 61, with me. I think it is worth, our time this morning, the spirit, of the Lord God, is upon me, because the Lord, has anointed me, to bring good news, to the poor. So Jesus says, he's the one who's picked, anointed by God, to bring good news, to the poor.
He has sent me, to bind up, the broken hearted, to proclaim, liberty, to the captives, and the opening, of the prison, to those who are bound. He says, I'm here to set, captives free. I'm here to open, the prison doors. I've been sent, anointed, to declare good news, to the poor. I'm bringing the gospel, which means, you don't have to be, in prison anymore. You don't have to be, a captive anymore, which is the way, the Bible talks about us, and sin, that we're slaves, to it.
That we're sold, under it. Verse two, to proclaim, the year, of the Lord's favor. He says, I'm coming, to bring blessing, and joy, and favor, the day, of vengeance, of our God. So he's bringing, mercy, and favor, and he says, I'm also bringing justice. So for every person, who goes, when are they going, to pay for that?
For every person, who's nurturing, in your heart, that somebody, somebody would get them, that they wouldn't, get away with it. Jesus opens, the scroll, and he says, I'm the one, who brings the day, of vengeance. It's Jesus's Job, not Absalom's. To comfort, all who mourn. To grant, to those, who mourn, in Zion, to give them, a beautiful headdress, instead of ashes. The oil of gladness, instead of mourning.
The garment of praise, instead of a faint spirit. That they may be called, oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. In verse 10, he says, this is now the person, who's receiving this. He has covered me, with the robe of righteousness. And then it says, as a bride adorns herself, with her jewels. Jesus, when he reads, Isaiah 61, I can't, I can't help but see it.
Can you, can you see him coming to Tamar? And to every Tamar that there is? And lifting them up, out of mourning, and saying, take that torn robe off. I have, a robe of righteousness. Take that robe of shame off. I want to cover you, in righteousness.
I want to cover you, in praise. Take those ashes, out of your hair. I want to give you a headdress. I want you to look like a bride. You see, Tamar, and all the Tamars, can feel so trapped. Tamar was in a spot, where nobody wanted her.
Nobody loved her. Nobody would have her. And Jesus unrolls the scroll, and he says, I want her. I'll have her. I want everyone who mourns. I want everyone who has ashes, in their hair.
And I'm going to clothe them, with righteousness. And I'm going to give them, a headdress. And they're going to look like a bride, and they're going to come with me. And everyone who falls, on their face in Zion, and begs, and needs mercy, and laments, they're mine. I want them. That's what I've come for.
In verse 4, he says, they shall build up, the ancient ruins. They shall raise up, the former devastations. They shall repair, the ruined cities, the devastations, of many generations. Is there anybody in this room, who goes, I come from the devastations, of many generations. I'm in a long line, of devastations. I have a life, of ruin.
And he's, Jesus says, I've come to rebuild, the ruin. That's one of the things with us, we'll say it's ruined, and what we mean, is it can't be rebuilt. It doesn't come back. It's ruined. And he says, I'm coming for the ruins, and I'm going to rebuild them. And I'm going to undo, devastation that's lasted, for generations.
If you're caught in devastation, or desolation, or you think you've been desecrated, he shows up and says, I'm going to rebuild, all of that. It will be covered. You'll be welcomed. You are a bride. You are made new. I'm going to raise you up.
He says, it's been fulfilled. That's what Jesus came to do. And that's exactly, what he does, on the cross. That Jesus takes our shame, on the cross. As he's stripped, bare in front of everyone. He takes our shame.
As he pays the guilt, by his stripes, we are healed. As he pays the guilt, that we owe for our sin. As he absorbs the wrath of God. And then ultimately returns with justice. That Jesus Christ, is the only one who answers. That's why Paul, in Titus, says it this way.
Paul's talking to the church, and he says, for we ourselves, were once foolish. We were the outrageous fools. Disobedient. Led astray. Slaves to various passions. And pleasures.
That's us. That's the church. Passing our days in malice, and envy, hated by others, and hating one another. Paul, writing to the church, says, we were Absalom, and we were Amnon. But when the goodness, and loving kindness of God, our Savior appeared, he saved us. not because of works done by us, in righteousness, but according to his own mercy.
That the hope, that we have, to make all of this past tense, for it to be we once were, is that Jesus Christ has come, and that he's merciful. By the washing, of regeneration, and renewal, of the Spirit, whom he poured out on us, richly through Jesus Christ, our Savior. So that being justified, by his grace, we might become heirs, according to the hope, of eternal life. He says that Jesus came, and in his mercy, sends his Spirit, to wash us, to renew us, to go to work in us, to make us whole again, to fix the things, that were broken, and so that we might have, a hope of eternal life. I don't know, who in this story, most mirrors your life.
I don't know, if you look like Tamar, so shattered by the sin of others, feeling imprisoned in shame. I don't know, if you're like Absalom, and you're like, I'm so overwhelmed, by hatred, and a desire for justice. I don't know if you're Amnon, and you're like, no I'm the fool, who pursued the sin, and I'm trapped in it. I don't know, but come to Jesus. And you say, but, it's too far gone. No, come to Jesus.
No, I've done, what I've done is too big. No, it's not. Come to Jesus. No, I'm trapped in my shame. No, come to Jesus. He's the King, who doesn't sit idly by.
He's the King, who comes to rescue, and to bring hope. He's the King, who gets angry, and then does something. He's the King, who takes shame. He's the King, who takes guilt. He's the King, who dies, and rises, He's the King, who reigns. He's the King, who has justice.
He is the King, who does not just sit, and think, and not respond, because He's the only one, who's righteous, and holy enough, to do something about it. Come to Jesus. He can take it away. He can fix it. He sends His Spirit, inside of you, to renew what is broken, to refix the ruins, and to make you clean, and holy, and righteous. And sin brings death, but Jesus brings the hope, of eternal life.
If you will, pray with me. Lord, we live in a world, devastated, by sin. King Jesus, we come from generations, of devastation. We're surrounded, by ruins. And when it's quiet, and when we're alone, with our thoughts, sometimes it's too much, to bear. Lord, there are things, that have happened, to us, that we carry, and we don't know, where to take it.
Lord, there are things, that we have done, that seem like, they just lead us, to the gallows, working death, in our lives. Lord, would Psalm, Isaiah 61, be practically, applied, through your spirit, to be fulfilled, in our hearing, today, as you go to work, to save, and to redeem, and to rebuild. May those who are weary, and weak, and tired, and broken, and scared, may they come to you. Those who are in sin, may they come to you. Those who are facing, a day of vengeance, may they come, and receive favor, and grace, and mercy, not because of works, done by them, and righteousness, because of your goodness, and your kindness, that has appeared, on our behalf, so that we might say, goodbye to those former things, and be made new.
May your spirit, go to work, to renew, this morning. wherever you are, would you ask the Lord, for help, because he's the only one, who can. We can't fix this, on our own, but he can. The band's gonna come back up, we're gonna sing together, but I would encourage you, to not sit, and let sin, and desire grow, to not tell yourself, that you're trapped in shame, to not tell yourself, that your guilt, will never be taken. I would encourage you, to come to Jesus, who clothes all of us, in righteousness, welcomes all of us, loves all of us, died for all of us, and all who call on his name, will not be put to shame.
Come to him. Come to him. Come to him. Come to him. Come to him. Come to him.
Come to him.