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2nd Samuel 12:14-31

 

“Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die. 15 And Nathan departed unto his house.  And the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bare unto David, and it was very sick. 16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. 17 And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth:  but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them. 18 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died.  And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead:  for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice:  how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead? 19 But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead:  therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead?  And they said, He is dead. 20 Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped:  then he came to his own house; and when he enquired, they set bread before him, and he did eat. 21 Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. 22 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept:  for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? 23 But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again?  I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. 24 And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her:  and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon:  and the LORD loved him. 26 And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD. 27 And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters. 28 Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it:  lest I take the city, and it be called after my name. 29 And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against is, and took it. 30 And he took their king’s crown from off his head, the weight whereof was a talent of gold with the precious stones:  and it was set on David’s head.  And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance. 31 And he brought forth the people that were therein, and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkiln:  and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon.  So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.”

 

Introduction

[Audio version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED672]

 

“We have come in the 12th chapter to verse 14, David has sinned with Bathsheba, he has arranged the death of her husband Uriah, he has for a year tried to keep this sin concealed, telling us in the Psalms that inside he was roaring all the day long, it was destroying him, his bones were being dried like they were in a summer draught.  And of course finally Nathan comes to him with a divine parable, a parable of heavenly origin, and tells David of this wayfaring man, a wealthy man who comes to a rich man.  And this rich man is a man who has many flocks and many herds, and he decides to entertain this wayfaring man, and instead of killing one of his own sheep he takes a lamb from a poor man that lived in the area, who had this one lamb that he loved, was dear to him, he even kept it in his home with him.  And this rich man took that lamb from that poor man, and killed it and dressed it and served it to this wayfaring man.  And Nathan says ‘What do you suppose should be done to this rich man?’ and David said ‘That guy’s gonna be put to death, he’s gonna be killed, and he’s going to restore what the Law says, but it’s going to cost him his life.’  And of course Nathan says ‘Thou art the man, you’re the one, you had many sheep as it were,’ by this time he has at least 11 wives.  And from Uriah, David  took a lamb from him that he loved, that he nourished, that he fed, he cared for, ‘and you took that away for yourself, to entertain this traveller,’ the enemy no doubt, Satan.  ‘You’ve reached out, you’ve taken something and destroyed another man’s life.’  And he doesn’t even, in the parable, deal with the murder of Uriah.  And David is then overwhelmed, and Nathan starts to say ‘This is what’s come to your life now, God said ‘I gave you this, I raised you up, I delivered you, and if that wasn’t enough I’d have given you a thousand times more, and this David is the way you aimed your life, this is how you turn from me after I’ve given so much.  Now the sword is never going to depart from your house, David.  It’s going to come into your own home, amongst your own sons and daughters, and your own wives are going to be humiliated, as you humiliated Bathsheba, Uriah, and these things David are going to come to you, your home.’  And in verse 13, “And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD.”  this is where we left off, not against Bathsheba, though he had, not against Uriah, though he had, those were all secondary.  God is the one who said ‘I’m the One whose your LORD your God, you’re to have no other gods before me, you’re not to bow down before anything else.  You shall not commit adultery, you shall not commit murder, you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife,’ David had broken all of those laws, a slew of them.  And he says ‘I have sinned against the LORD.’  “And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.” (verse 13b)  because adultery and murder were both capital crimes, and there were no sacrifices for them, David should have been put to death. 

 

When Believers, Christians Sin It Causes Unsaved Mankind To Curse God--Soils God’s Reputation

 

And verse 14 brings us to where we left off, where we have the “Howbeit,” there’s a price to be paid.  ‘But, your life will be spared, David, but,’ “Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.” (verse 14) on top of everything else.  And look, I’m sure this broke the heart of David.  He said ‘David, what you’ve done here, on top of everything else, is you’ve given occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme.’  This is what always happens, we see it in the news, when someone whose a televangelist or someone whose of notoriety, someone who has a reputation in the Church, someone who has fought the Lord’s battles as it were, if they sin, if they do something that’s hypocritical, it’s always the Lord that takes the beating, from the media, from the press, from the enemies of the Lord.  It gives them an opportunity to blaspheme.  When someone sins, when we hear about Catholic priests that are molesting children, you hear any of this stuff, it’s always the Lord then that becomes the target, that becomes the enemy, the people scream ‘How could the Church let this go on?  If there’s a God how could this happen? These guys are all phonies, they don’t know God [some of them are phonies, and that’s part of the problem, but even the phonies, or maybe especially because of the phony Christians, people are led to blaspheme God, or the Lord], they don’t know God any more than we do.’  And David I’m sure, because of everything he had done, I’m sure this is one of the things that crushes him in his own heart.  I believe David is a man, and the Word reiterates that, that loves God with all of his heart.  And we’re going to watch God dealing with David, and we’re going to watch David being restored, slowly, bit by broken bit, piece by broken piece, and never really being again the father he had been, or the king that he had been, never coming back to that place.  Again, I think it was Allen Redpath that said “When a man of God or a woman of God sins, they’re like a bird, an eagle that has its wings clipped, they may fly again, but never as high, never as far.’  And David has many failings, they’re going to begin to come into view this evening, relative to his transgression.  What he will do for us, is he becomes a much greater student of the grace of God, the forgiveness of God, the love of God.  And the Psalms that are borne out of his brokenness are Psalms that certainly minister to all of us, and that we have come to love deeply.  Remember, we are looking at a man here, a human being, David is a great human.  Forgiven now, but reaping, we’re going to see him go through these difficulties.  But he is right with God, vertically, he’s repented, God has received that, there’s forgiveness.  But on the horizontal there are always consequences, and that is never removed.  So he says here ‘Howbeit David, God has forgiven you, you’re not going to die,’ “Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.” (verse 14) ‘the fruit of your sin is not going to continue.’  “And Nathan departed unto his house.  And the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.” (verse 15) notice please “that Uriah’s wife bare” she’s not David’s wife in this verse, she’s Uriah’s wife.  She was Uriah’s wife when she got pregnant, she was Uriah’s wife when the sin took place, and this child is the fruit of adultery and murder.  “And Nathan departed unto his house.  And the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.  David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.” (verses 15-16)  Now he went in, we’re not sure, it doesn’t say he laid all night on the cedar floor, which would have been his palace, we’re wondering if he goes into the tent that he had set up for the LORD in Jerusalem [where the Ark of the Covenant was placed], he went in and lay all night upon the earth.  “And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth:  but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.” (verse 17)  You know, sometimes we get in those places where there is human no consolation that matters, there’s no human being.  You know what, look, we saw that with Jonathan, we saw it with David earlier, there are places that God takes us to, and we are insulated from any human counselor.  There are times when the only way God can get done the work he wants to get done in our lives and our hearts is if he removes our human counselors.  And David is in that place.  Those who loved him, those who would gather around him to get him back on his feet, he’ll have none of it.  He is aware of God’s grace, he has been allowed to live, no doubt he’s saying ‘LORD, I’m the one whose sinned and you’re letting me live, let this child live.  I’m the one whose done this wrong, LORD, you’ve been gracious to me, be gracious to this child.’  He’s been praying, fasting for seven days, “And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died.  And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead:  for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice:  how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?” (verse 18)  They say ‘What are we going to do now? we love him, we couldn’t get him up off of his face, he was carrying on like this when the child was still alive, if we tell him the child’s dead now he’s going to go over the edge, going to off the deep end.’  They loved David, they cared for him.  “But when David saw that his servants whispered,” now he knows something’s going on, you have close friends, or when you’re siblings, you can tell by the look what’s going on, when David saw, it was visibly noticeable to him, “David perceived that the child was dead:  therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead?  And they said, He is dead.” (verse 19)  and they said, he’s the king, they can’t lie, “And they said, He is dead.”  I know we have questions, so do I.  The child, is that fair?  Not a whole lot of fairness in any of this, the thought there that David lived.  Aren’t you glad God’s not fair?  Jesus died in your place, that’s not fair either.  David lived, that’s not fair, many would say ‘The child didn’t do anything.’  Well we know this, the child’s in glory, we’re going to know that.  And it is always a tragedy when a baby dies.  But a king who forsakes the LORD can destroy a nation.  A governmental leader who forsakes the Lord can destroy a nation.  A king or a president who turns his back on God can destroy a multitude of children, and people.  And God is doing everything to turn the heart of this man, whom we love, and whom he loves so deeply, back to himself.  Yes the child is dead.  “Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped:” isn’t it amazing, “then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.” (verse 20)  So David, he comes, gets himself together, washes, and then he goes into the house of the LORD and he worships, the child is gone, ‘LORD, you’re sovereign, I submit to your will.  I besought you, I thought perhaps things would be different.  But this is the way, LORD, in your wisdom you had things roll out, I bow my knee before you LORD, I worship,’ not bitter.  There are those who loose something of great value in their lives, whether it’s a human or a possession or a job, and they get bitter against God, they turn away.  David goes, he washes himself, he gets himself together, he goes to the house of the LORD.  Some people say ‘I ain’t never going to church again,’ David went right there, and he went in and he worships, then he went back to his house and he said ‘I’m starving,’ so they brought him food.  “Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.” (verse 21)  ‘David, are you dyslectic?  This is all backwards here, everything’s backwards.’  What we’re supposed to do in our culture is, when the child is alive, that’s when you eat, and then when the child dies you mourn, ‘You’ve done it all backwards here, you mourn the whole time the child was alive, now the child is dead, now you’re eating and you’re up, and it seems like everything is hunky-dory, what’s the deal?’  Great wisdom, listen, important verse, David said,  “And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept:  for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live.” (verse 22)  Something is threatened in your life, something is falling apart, something is in jeopardy, there’s no such thing as pessimistic prayer, there’s only optimistic prayer, there’s only going to God in the hopes that something will work out, it will be restored, be healed, or be raised up.  And David said ‘While the child is alive, I felt, you know, you never know when God’s gonna be gracious, never know.’  And some of us, you know, we need to remember to pray for circumstances in our life, if the child is still alive, whatever that child is, we can still pray, who knows whether God might be gracious. 

 

If You’ve Lost Little Children, There Is A Reunion Waiting For You

 

He said, “But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again?  I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” (verse 23)  there’s no sense begging God for his life, at this point, ‘I’m able to let go and move on.’  And listen to what he says, “I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”  I shall go to him, remarkable for David to say that.  He would write in the Psalms, he says, speaking of the Messiah, but of his own life first, “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell [to Sheol, Greek Hades, six feet under is what it means, what Pastor Joe calls “the unseen realm.”], neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” he could see the Messiah at great distance, “Thou wilt show me the path of life:  in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” (Psalm 16:10-11)  That was David’s expectation, in Psalm 17 he says this, “As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness:  I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.” (verse 15)  [Comment: this directly cross-references to 1st John 3:2, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be:  but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”  This is clear proof that David was a Prophet, and the Psalms are full of prophecies of God given through David.  Later on John in vision on the Isle of Patmos saw Jesus Christ, the Messiah as he is now, in full glory.  The apostle Paul tried describing what we, and yes, David, will be like in the 1st resurrection to immortality in 1st Corinthians 15:49-54.]  Isn’t that remarkable?  David says, ‘LORD, I’m going to behold your face in righteousness, I will be satisfied when I awaken in thy likeness,’ David knew.  And for him to say of this child, “can I bring him back again?  I’m going to go to him, he’s not going to return to me,’ David believed this child was in heaven [Comment:  within the Body of Christ there are various beliefs about heaven and hell and the afterlife.  To read some of these various secondary beliefs see https://unityinchrist.com/plaintruth/battle.htm].  And David believed that was his destiny, this murderer and this adulterer [Yahweh prophecies in Ezekiel 37:22-24 that David will be resurrected, obviously in the 1st resurrection to immortality, and become king over the 12 tribes of Israel, now united as one nation in the soon-coming Millennial Kingdom of God].  Without the benefit of the New Testament, without the full revelation we have of Jesus Christ, without being indwelt by the Holy Spirit [I believe David was indwelt by the Holy Spirit, thinking he wasn’t is a peculiar belief of the Calvary Chapels], made part of the Body of Christ, this man apprehended enough to say ‘he’s not going to come back to me, I’m going to go and be with him.’  Children, what happens to children when they die?  I think some of that is answered here [and I don’t think we have all the answers to that question, it’s a wait & see question and answer].  It’s important for any one in our fellowship, or everyone who listens to this study who has lost a child, a small child, ‘Where is my child?’  and we hear some people say ‘We can’t know,’ I don’t think that’s right, I think we can know [and again, this falls into the secondary beliefs that differ throughout the Body of Christ about heaven, hell and the afterlife, some of which is shown in https://unityinchrist.com/plaintruth/battle.htm].  And I think we can have conviction about that, and you’re going to hear mine, and if I’m wrong, I’m wrong [i.e. there’s genuine room for other beliefs, glad he admits that, it’s why I love this pastor].  Doesn’t matter right now, because it’s what I believe.  In the Book of Deuteronomy God said to the children of Israel, “Moreover, your little ones which you said should be a prey, and your children which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.”  It’s talking about going into the land of Canaan.  At Kedesh-barnea when they all turned away in unbelief, 38 years before this [was written], they said to Moses, to God, ‘Hey, these giants are going to eat us up, we’re like grasshoppers in their sight, we’re going to go in there, we’re going to be a prey, our children will be slaughtered.’  And God said, ‘You know what, those little ones, who didn’t know how to discern between good and evil, right and wrong, that you said would be a prey, they’re the ones that are going to go in and possess the land, and your carcases are going to fall in the wilderness.’  God did not hold them responsible, because he said at their age, they didn’t know right from wrong, good from evil, and he makes that clear, and we find that here, David seems to have that same conviction as we look here.  Isaiah 7:16 would say this “For before the child shall know to refuse evil and to choose good, the land that thou abhorest shall be forsaken of both her kings.”  Isaiah 7, verse 16 makes mention of the fact that there’s a time when a child does not know to refuse evil and to choose good.  We have in Jonah, at the end of the story where Jonah is sitting outside of Nineveh, mad at God because his gourd died, and God said ‘Jonah, you’re mad at me because the gourd died, and you don’t care, you want me to judge Nineveh, you want to slaughter everyone in the city, but you’re sad because of your gourd.’  He says, “And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city wherein are more than six score thousand persons,” 120,000 “men,” humans, no doubt speaking of children, “that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand,” and God says, many cattle.  Jesus himself would say “Suffer the little children and forbid them not to come unto me, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven,” so ‘suffer the little children to come unto me, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.”  Of course, Paul says in Corinthians, he says “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child.  But when I became a man, I put away childish things.”  And to me, the Scripture draws a distinction between small children and adults.  Now we hear of the age of reason, that particular phrase is not used anywhere in Scripture, the age of reason specifically, but Isaiah says ‘though your sins be as scarlet, they’ll be as white as snow,’ and so forth, God acknowledges there’s a point in time.  For the Jew it was 13 years old, when the Jew took his son [or daughter in her Bat-Mitzvah] to be Bar-Mitzvah’d, he’d say, the father would say ‘LORD, this child, this young man is no longer responsible to me, he’s responsible to you now,’ and the son would say ‘LORD, now I stand accountable before you, no longer before my father.’  I think with the Romans it was 16, the idea is somewhere in there, and don’t ask me where.  Somewhere in there God recognizes the right, the ability of a human being to begin to reason, to understand good and evil, right and wrong, and he starts to hold that human being then accountable.  I would say, with full confidence to any of you that have lost small children, there is a reunion awaiting you, there is a reunion awaiting you.  I would say to any of you that had an abortion before you were a believer, you made that mistake, God’s grace and his forgiveness is there for you, not only that, that little one is secure and waiting for you, and there is a reunion, there is a reunion.  You know some people say ‘I lost my child,’ when something’s lost, you don’t know where it is, you can’t get it back, that’s not true, you know exactly where they are and you’re gonna get them back, they are not lost.  And, I’m waxing eloquent in my own delusions, I believe at the Rapture, all the kids around the world are gone, it’s just my delusion, Buddhist kids, Hindu kids, Mohammed, Muslim kids, I believe all young children before the age of reason are all disappearing when the Trumpet blows, and it’s going to be a global testimony that something happened.  And I wonder, because it says flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, we know flesh and bone can [now that’s a weird Calvary Chapel belief], adults, we got about four to five quarts of blood, does everybody leave a puddle when they disappear too?  imagine that, everywhere around the planet there’s puddles and clothes there. Sorry [laughter], I believe it, it’s going to be an interesting testimony, but David here says ‘When the kid was alive, God is so gracious, who knows when the LORD might be gracious,’ knowing who the LORD is, he pleaded with God, he thought there’s a possibility, not because of me, but because of him, and he said ‘once the child was gone, God’s will was evident to me, I bow before that, I’m willing to accept it, so I got up, I ate, got myself together, worshipped, got my life back in some order now, and I know that he’s no longer going to come and be with me, but I’m going to go and be with him, I know where he is.’ 

 

The Birth of Solomon, David’s and Bathsheba’s Son, Next King Of Israel

 

“And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her:  and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon:” now there’s a colon [:] there, we don’t know what period of time seems to be intimated by that,  “and the LORD loved him.” (verse 24)  Now it’s interesting, we’re told in Chronicles, you don’t have to turn there, you can believe me, 1st Chronicles chapter 3, verse 5 says, “And these were born unto David in Jerusalem, Shimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bathsheba the daughter of Ammiel.” 1st Chronicles chapter 3, verse 5 says that he had four sons from Bathsheba, and it seems that Solomon was the last.  So it just says here, first of all, after this child dies, he goes in, comforts her, he’s intimate with her, he moves on, and now it says “he comforted his wife.”  The fruit of that other relationship is gone, again, remember verse 15 it says the LORD struck the child of Uriah’s wife, now that that’s all past, now she’s called “David’s wife” here.  And it says “David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in unto her,” he was intimate with her, and in the process of time, we’re not sure how long, “and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon” Peace, maybe explaining David’s perspective, his relationship with the LORD at that point in time, after three other boys, however many years went by, that he has peace now.  “and the LORD loved him.” not David, he loved Solomon, and the LORD “And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.” (verse 25)  “Jedidiah” means “beloved of the LORD,” so no doubt, David’s going to believe Nathan, because he came with a very difficult parable before and wasn’t afraid to tell David the truth.  Now David and Bathsheba, this son is born unto them, and something is so apparent to David he names the child Solomon, Peace, David has a real peace, and Nathan comes.  I wonder if David is a little nervous when Nathan shows up, but Nathan says ‘No, the LORD has given him a name too, he loves him, David, this one, and in heaven God has a name for him, it’s Jedidiah, Beloved of the LORD.’  And I wonder if David already knows at that point, ‘this will be the next king, this one will be the next one to take the throne?’  But what a gift, God is so gracious, listen, to David and Bathsheba, to send Nathan.  Look, there’s enough grace here to bother any Pharisee that’s here tonight.  ‘How could that happen!? God you mean to tell me, God is blessing that marriage?’  no I don’t, Nathan does, I don’t mean to tell you that at all [Nathan being the one I believe who took over writing 2nd Samuel after the death of Samuel].  ‘How could that happen?  he committed murder, adultery, the child died, you’re telling me?’  You know, isn’t God something?  I would never prescribe this, I’m not saying tonight, you can commit adultery with somebody, murder her husband and expect somewhere down the line to have God’s blessing.  That’s not the lesson.  You’re going to see that as we move on.  I’m saying to you, God is more gracious than we are, as Christians there’s parts of this that can get us questioning, get us almost offended.  That’s not my business.  God entered in enough to say to David and Bathsheba ‘I love this one,’ to remove any fear like the fear David had when he had lost the other son, God has stepped into this, and there is a blessing.  Would David, as the story goes on, I guarantee you David had any ability to turn back the clock, I think he would do that.  Because we’re going to see everything that comes forth in his life. 

 

The Ammonites Reap What They’ve Sown--They Were A Cruel People

 

But verse 26 says, “And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.”  Now we’re back to the story, this is where David should have been, instead of staying at home, he should have been on the battlefield.  This is a number of years, and there’s still this long war with Ammon.  He’s got Joab the general, fighting against Rabah of the children of Ammon, their main city, “and took the royal city.”  “And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.” (verse 27)  Now that’s the lower portion of the city, where the water supply for the city is.  And once you take that, then everybody inside is a goner.  They would besiege a city sometimes for years.  Alexander the Great had besieged Tyre for years, and finally, first it was Nebuchadnezzar, then Alexander the Great was the one who finally took it, but there are other kings that had besieged cities for years and just pulled away.  So this evidently had been going on a long time, now Joab sends word to David saying ‘Hey look, we’ve got the water supply in our hands,’ “Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it:  lest I take the city, and it be called after my name.” (verse 28)  ‘Come on, David, I’m not a king, I don’t wanta be a king, I’m a general, I’m a warrior, that’s your job, you need to get down here now, you need to get back in the battle.’  Isn’t it interesting?  Joab still loves David, I’m sure Joab is struggling with all the things that David had done wrong, but now Joab is saying ‘David, you need to get down here, I don’t want my name attached to this, you’re the king, God didn’t call me to be king, I’m a warrior, I’m happy as a lark out here on the battlefield, yelling at soldiers and sharpening swords and whupping the Ammonites, but you need to come and be here for the victory, so that those things would fall to you.’  “And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.” (verse 29)  Isn’t it interesting, David is back in the battle, again.  I wonder how it feels to him, to have a sword back in his hand?   I wonder if he’s thinking ‘I should have been here in the first place, instead of back in Jerusalem at the time of the year when kings go forth in battle.  LORD you’re so gracious to grant victory over Rabbah, to put a sword back in my hand and let me back in the battle.’  Look, you have to admire someone whose willing to step back in where they left off, without any anonymity to come, I have complete admiration for David, he’s quite the man, yes he sinned, but it takes quite a man to do what he’s doing here.  And it says, “And he took their king’s crown from off his head, the weight whereof was a talent of gold” that’s between seventy-five and ninety-five pounds, imagine a crown, between 75 and 95 pounds of gold, “with the precious stones:  and it was set on David’s head.  And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance.” (verse 30) sounds like a headache, to me.  Now we’re not sure what’s going on here, you’re thinking ‘Nobody’s going to put a 95lb crown on your head.’  It seems that, most scholars feel either the crown was attached to the back of the throne, and when the king sat on the throne, the crown was kind of suspended above his head.  Either that, or this is the crown of Og of Bashan, one of the giants that had been there, who had been 13-foot tall, he was an Ammonite, he was the king of the Ammonites, Og of Bashan, and that they had kept that crown, we’re not sure.  But if that’s true, David sure should have been thinking about the victories that God granted by faith, and he’s back in the battle now, sitting there.  And verse 31’s a tough verse.  It says “And he brought forth the people that were therein, and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkiln:  and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon.  So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.” (verse 31)  probably sickles, some feel that it means the grinding sled that was drug over the grain, “and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brick kiln” now translators are not sure what to do with that.  And I think if you have an NIV it gets it wrong there, if gives you the idea, and maybe in the New King James, that what David did, because we don’t want to read that David sawed them and burnt them, so we need to come up with something else.  So we come up with this idea that he brought forth the people that were therein and he put them to work under saws and under sickles and under axes, and made them work at the brick kilns.  Only problem is, that’s not what it says.  Josephus specifically tells us that these were cruel actions and this is what happened.  If you read Kyle and Dealige [not sure of spelling of those two Hebrew scholars] and any other critical Hebrew scholars, they say there’s no way to interpret it that way.  What it says is that David sawed some of them in pieces, he hacked some of them or drug the threshing sled over others, he hacked some of them up the iron axes, and he put some into the brick kilns and burned them.  We don’t want it to read that way, but that’s the way it reads.  Now, we know that the Ammonites, and I’m not assuming this is women and children, I’m assuming that this is the warriors that held out in the fight, that had been extremely cruel.  We know this of the Ammonites, the Ammonites back in chapter 11 of 1st Samuel, remember Nahash king of the Ammonites was subjecting the children of Israel, and they said ‘Make a deal with us,’ and Nahash said ‘Alright, I’ll make a deal with you, you can pay taxes, only the sign of the deal is, I’m gonna gouge out all of your right eyes.’  This is an Ammonite king, ‘This is how we’ll seal the deal, I get to rip out all of your right eyeballs,’ they said ‘Well, let us think about that one, I’ll get back to you.’  In Amos chapter 1, verse 13, God curses the Ammonites because he said they were so cruel, that when they took over Israel, they’d come in, and they ripped open the stomachs of the pregnant women with the babies in their bellies, took the swords and ripped their stomachs open.  They were extremely cruel.  And they had a habit of worshipping Molech, and putting their newborn children into the fire and burning them alive to their god.  And it seems that David comes in here, and he pays them back in kind.  He saws some of them in pieces, he drags the threshing sled over some, he deals with some of them with iron axes, and maybe even taking the priests of Molech, or the ones worshipping him, and throwing them right into the fire that they had destroyed so many lives in.  It’s a difficult verse, but I don’t think there’s any way around that, we like to take the easy way around it.  “and thus did he to all the cites of the children of Ammon.  So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.” (verse 31b)  This is the last of David’s great wars, the longest and most difficult. 

 

2nd Samuel 13:1-20

 

“And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her. 2 And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and Amnon thought it hard for him to do any thing to her. 3 But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother:  and Jonadab was a very subtle man. 4 And he said unto him, Why art thou, being the king’s son, lean from day to day? wilt thou not tell me?  And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister. 5 And Jonadab said unto him, Lay thee down on thy bed, and make thyself sick:  and when thy father cometh to see thee, say unto him, I pray thee, Let my sister Tamar come, and give me meat, and dress the meat in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it, at her hand. 6 So Amnon lay down, and made himself sick:  and when the king was come to see him, Amnon said unto the king, I pray thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make me a couple cakes in my sight, that I may eat at her hand. 7 Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy brother Amnon’s house, and dress him meat. 8 So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house; and he was laid down.  And she took flour, and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and did bake the cakes. 9 And she took a pan, and poured them out before him; but he refused to eat.  And Amnon said, Have out all men from me. And they went out every man from him. 10 And Amnon said unto Tamar, Bring the meat into the chamber, that I may eat of thine hand.  And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother. 11 And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister. 12 And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel:  do not thou this folly. 13 And I, wither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel.  Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee. 14 Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice:  but, being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her. 15 Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her.  And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone. 16 And she said unto him, There is no cause:  this evil in sending me away is greater than the other that thou didst unto me.  But he would not hearken unto her. 17 Then he called his servant that ministered unto him, and said, Put now this woman out from me, and bolt the door after her. 18 And she had a garment of divers colours upon her:  for with such robes were the king’s daughters that were virgins apparelled.  Then his servant brought her out, and bolted the door after her. 19 And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colours that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying. 20 And Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee? but hold now thy peace, my sister:  he is thy brother; regard not this thing.  So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom’s house.”

 

David’s 1st Son Amnon Is In Love With David’s 3rd Son’s Sister, Tamar

 

“Now, chapter 13 starts to bring us to some of the failings and the difficulties that came to his life because of his sin, David is right with the LORD, but there are still consequences on the horizontal.  It says here “And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her.” (verse 1) now she was fair, the Holy Spirit tells us she was beautiful.  We assume that, we’re told that Absalom is extremely handsome.  In fact we’re going to come to the chapter where it tells us every year or so he would cut his hair, he had this long raven black hair, which became his failing, the chink in his armour.  But he would actually cut off his hair and weigh it.  What kind of guy does that?  But it tells us he was extremely handsome, had this long raven black hair, now it tells us he had a sister, no doubt she is beautiful too.  Her name is Tamar.  “and Amnon the son of David loved her.” he desired her.  Now we know, from, you don’t have to turn, back in 2nd Samuel chapter 3, verse 3, it tells us of David’s sons, it says “And unto David were sons born in Hebron.  His firstborn was Amnon”  So Amnon is the oldest son, he is the rightful heir to the throne, in their culture.  “Amnon, of the Jezreelitess, and his second son was Chileab, son of Abigail.”  We never hear of him again, whether he died, whether he got sick, he’s gone, we have nothing of Chileab.  And it says “the third son was Absalom, the son of Maachah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;” so he’s David’s son, but he’s the son of this gal, a foreign gal whose an unbeliever, and her father is a foreign king.  So Absalom has this sister that’s beautiful.  Look, there’s gotta be trouble in the house.  As far as we know, at this point, there’s more than ten wives and ten sons, from different wives.  There’s no way for that to be a happy home.  It’s just not gonna happen.  And it’s again, the fruit of something that David had sown the seeds of that long before Bathsheba, he had reached out, he had taken, he had done what he had shouldn’t have done, he had displayed a weakness in his life.  So he’s got all of these sons in the house, they’re all David’s sons, and they all have different moms.  And Absalom, whose the second oldest, because Chileab seems to have disappeared, he’s gone, he has a beautiful sister named Tamar.  And Amnon, the oldest son, heir to the throne desires her, he wants her, says he loves her.  “And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and Amnon thought it hard for him to do any thing to her.” he’s so sick he couldn’t stand it, he wants her.  “and Amnon thought it hard for him to do any thing to her.” well I’m glad.

 

Watch Out For The Jonadab’s In Your Life!

 

“But Amnon had a friend,” that’s a joke, “whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother:  and Jonadab was a very subtle man.” (verse 3) if you have a friend named Jonadab, get rid of him, now!  Get him off your Facebook, get him off of your cell-phone, get him out of your directory, make him disappear.  “Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother:” so he’s a cousin, half-cousin, “and Jonadab was a very subtle man.” very sneaky, crafty man, I’m tired of those men, but there’s one here.  And you don’t need any sneaks in your life, just take my word for it. Now, here’s the problem.  The Law said this, “None of you shall approach unto any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness, I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 18) “The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father or daughter of thy mother, whether she is born at home or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.”  In chapter 20 of Leviticus it says “And if a man shall take his sister, his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness, it is a wicked thing, they shall be cut off in the sight of their people, he hath uncovered his sister’s nakedness, and he shall bear his iniquity.”  So Amnon is in love with his sister Tamar, and we know he’s in love because he’s losing weight.  You ever notice that?  I notice that in couples in the church, when they fall in love, it’s the love-diet, it’s more powerful than Jenny Craig or all those other things you see on TV, I can always tell when somebody’s slimming down, getting a little buffed, coming their hair, looking a little sharp, they’re in love, they have a problem.  [Chemistry! Chemistry! It’s coupled to hormones and something else they don’t have a clue what it is.]  So Amnon here is trimming down, he can’t eat, he’s lovesick for Tamar, but he knows that this is wrong and he can’t touch her.  He has a “quote, unquote” friend named Jonadab, whose a sneak.  “And he said unto him, Why art thou, being the king’s son, lean from day to day? wilt thou not tell me?  And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.” (verse 4) ‘You’re the king’s son, you could be eating rack of lamb every night, what’s your problem?  You’re withering away here.  You look so lean from day to day.’  ‘And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.’  “And Jonadab said unto him,” here’s the plan, “Lay thee down on thy bed, and make thyself sick:” pretend that you’re sick, “and when thy father cometh to see thee, say unto him, I pray thee, Let my sister Tamar come, and give me meat, and dress the meat in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it, at her hand.” (verse 5)  And then he’s going to say ‘You get her while she’s there.’  Now what Jonadab should have said to Amnon, if he was really his friend, he’d have said ‘You want to have sex with your sister?  Are you out of your mind!?  Have you lost your marbles?  What is wrong with you, don’t you see the difficulty and pain?’  Hey, listen, if you have a friend, “quote unquote” friend, whoever encourages you to compromise, to cross a line you know in your heart you shouldn’t cross, that is not a friend.  That is not a friend.  If you have a boyfriend who tries to get you to cross a line sexually, that’s a boy, but it’s not a friend.  These days, if you have a girlfriend, run, man, Joseph ran, just run, get it out of there.  Because a true friend is going to tell you the truth.  And you may not want to hear it, but they’re going to care more about what’s healthy for you than your stupidity.  And I’m telling you this, look, how many people have sinned who know the story of David?  How many have sinned knowing the story of Samson?  How many numbers of people that call themselves Christian whose lives are broken today, either because they listened to bad counsel and knew it, and because they deliberately transgressed the written Word of God?  And listen, this is an open book test, this is a no-brainer.  We could line them up.  The pain, the destruction of families and marriages, the difficulty, it’s not like this is a new lesson and we’re really surprised.  Because there are knuckleheads like Jonadab everywhere.  If you have one, get rid of him.  Your real friends are going to tell you the truth, and they’re going to tell you to stay away from all of that.  Now listen, here’s the problem, Amnon is in an environment where he’s thinking ‘Hey, my dad, David, he knew, the Law of Moses said ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery,’ didn’t stop him.  ‘Thou shalt not murder,’ didn’t stop him.’  The standard in the home, the bar, has been lowered to the point where there’s no standard there.  Because with kids, more is caught than taught.  And the greatest disservice we can do to our kids is to go to church like we’re Christian and act in front of other people like we’re Christian, and then be cussing at them on the way home in the car, or them hearing language or watching us get half-pickled drinking.  The worst thing we can do to them is send confusing signals.  And the thing that we need desperately, all of us, is to stand up and be counted.  We’re running the last lap here [and he gave this sermon in 2010, right now in 2023 with a serious war raging in Ukraine between the Ukrainians and the Russians, we really are running the last lap here], Jesus Christ is coming, he’s coming.  And get rid of your Jonadabs.  Make the bumper-sticker, ‘Get Rid Of Your Jonadabs.’ 

 

Amnon Carries Out Jonadab’s Sick Plan

 

So Amnon lay down, and made himself sick:  and when the king was come to see him, Amnon said unto the king, I pray thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make me a couple cakes in my sight, that I may eat at her hand.” (verse 6)  ‘Let her cook for me, let her see how thin I am, dude.’  “Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy brother Amnon’s house, and dress him meat.” (verse 7) ‘make some food.’  Just as he had sent for Bathsheba, now he is sending for his own daughter to come to his own son.  “So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house; and he was laid down.  And she took flour, and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and did bake the cakes.  And she took a pan, and poured them out before him; but he refused to eat.  And Amnon said, Have out all men from me.  And they went out every man from him.  And Amnon said unto Tamar, Bring the meat into the chamber,” the bedroom, “that I may eat of thine hand.  And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother.  And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her,” that was the cake he was interested in, “and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister.  And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me;” ‘do not rape me,’ “for no such thing ought to be done in Israel:  do not thou this folly.” (verses 8-12)  That’s what Jonadab should have said to his friend.  “And I, wither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel.  Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.” (verse 13) she’s trying to buy time, she saying ‘Hey look, if this is going to happen, there has to be a right way, talk to the king and see if he’ll let this happen.’  “Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice:  but, being stronger than she,” oh that’s infuriating, “forced her, and lay with her.  Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her.  And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone.” (verses 14-15)  You know, when sin is driving, there is little distance between love and hate, when sin is the driving force there is little distance between love and hate.  How sad, he’s done with her now.  Look, again, if a man loves you, he’s going to wait until your wedding night, if he loves himself, he’s not going to wait.  If he loves his own flesh and his own desire, he’s not going to honour you.  And sadly, look, in our culture that’s going both ways at this point in time.  Amnon then, once he had it, he had his conquest, once it was over, she’s probably crying, then it says ‘Then he hated her exceedingly, so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he loved her.  And Amnon said to her, Arise, be gone.’  “And she said unto him, There is no cause:  this evil in sending me away is greater than the other that thou didst unto me.  But he would not hearken unto her.” (verse 16)  Because in the Law it says if you took a woman and you raped her, forced yourself on her, that then you had to marry her or you were put to death, and she’s saying ‘this has all been wrong from the get-go, now you’re adding insult to injury, this is more wrong than what happened before.’  “Then he called his servant that ministered unto him, and said, Put now this woman out from me, and bolt the door after her.” (verse 17)  ‘Get her outa here and bolt the door behind her.’  I’m sure if I asked for a show of hands, and I won’t, there are a few in here that feel like somebody put you out and bolted the door behind you [yup], once they had their way, how sad.  Boy this is a hard story to end here, we should sell previews for next week, at least.  It says “And she had a garment of divers colours upon her:  for with such robes were the king’s daughters that were virgins apparelled.  Then his servant brought her out, and bolted the door after her.” (verse 18) she’s the kings daughter, it’s a sign of royalty.  He throws her out and bolts the door.  “And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colours that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying.” (verse 19)  king’s daughter, her purity is now ruined, her marital future is gone, because if you found out a gal was not a virgin on your wedding night, the marriage was disqualified and so forth.  He’s taken her life, he’s taken her future, she runs away, crying.  “And Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee?  but hold now thy peace, my sister:  he is thy brother; regard not this thing.  So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom’s house.”  Now he knew, he knew the way he looked at her, you know, your reputation goes before you, it’s no secret, anybody who knows you, they see what you’re doing, you don’t get away with anything.  I think of how stupid I was before I was saved, my poor parents.  My dad’s with the Lord now.  You know, I didn’t speak English until I was five, I mean, I’m raised in this culture, I spoke German, I couldn’t speak English, I was raised in the house with grandparents, it was a very strange culture.  You just got beat, you didn’t take time-out or ridalyn or anything, you got beat, it was just a different culture.  And my parents were old country, they had kind of a hard time with me, as I got into the ‘60s I started, my hair was long, whenever I came downstairs my mom started crying, ‘I thought I was raising a son, look at you, your life.’  But I remember coming home one time, just and I was still tripping, I was on LSD, and they called me down for breakfast, and I came down to the breakfast table with sunglasses on [😊], like now they won’t notice [laughter].  It was before I was saved, but sin makes you so stupid, you know.  I just think, Amnon had been looking at her, and looking at her, her older brother Absalom must be thinking, ‘What are you doing lookin’ at your sister, you perv.’  And when she comes back crying, there’s no secret here.  “Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee? but hold now thy peace, my sister:  he is thy brother; regard not this thing.” ‘Don’t let it sink you,’ “Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom’s house.” (verse 20)

 

Lessons To Be Learned Here

 

And I think we’re going to hear after this, two full years go by, and David does nothing.  I think Absalom’s looking to see if the king is going to take charge.  But what is the king going to do?  The king, David, is he going to condemn Amnon for having sex with his half-sister?  How can a man who committed adultery condemn someone else for sexual sin?  As we get through this chapter, Absalom’s going to murder Amnon.  And then Absalom flees, and it says David loves Absalom, his heart is broken, he misses him.  How’s David going to condemn Absalom for murdering his brother, when David murdered Uriah?  And too many times, parents can be impotent, they can be afraid to use God’s Word as a standard, because of compromise and sin in their own lives.  Listen, parents, you may have been a maniac before you were saved.  I was a dog, I was good for nothing.  But I determined, I never wanted my kids to live the way I lived, I never wanted them to have my moral standards, I never wanted them to be involved in the things I was involved in, and was never afraid to use God’s Word as a standard.  It was never ‘You guys can’t do that, I’m Pastor Joe,’ I never ever pulled that card, to me it’s nonexistent.  It was strictly this, this is our rulebook, if I played Baseball it’d be our rulebook, if I was a carpenter it would be our rulebook, I’m a Christian man, your mother’s a Christian woman, we do what we do because of this right here [holding up his Bible], it’s written in there.  And ya, I was a maniac, and ya, I make mistakes, and ya, there’s times I have to go here and say ‘Lord, forgive me, I see where I’m doing something wrong.’  But that doesn’t remove the responsibility from you or for me to do this right.  Parents, because of your own failures, that doesn’t mean the Word of God is not the Word of God.  Because if you’re on the stakes, it does not mean the Word of God is not the Word of God.  Because you may have had a failed marriage, that does not mean that you can’t talk to your children about what marriage is supposed to be.  Because you had a moral failure does not mean that you can’t talk to your kids about Biblical morality.  You can say ‘I blew it, God is gracious, he’s forgiven me, but it’s hurtful and it’s wrong, and I never want to see you make the mistakes that I made.  I never want to see you fail and fall into sin.’  David could have gone to his sons, David could have interdicted himself, David could have stepped into this and stopped so much.  But David is a man, he’s a passionate man, he’s broken by his own compromises and failing, and it leaves him, as a father and as a king, weakened.  We’ll see that as we go on, not the man that he had been before, sadly.  So, read ahead, we’re in the middle, we know where we’re at.  Tamar is crying.  She’s torn her multicoloured outfit, and Absalom her brother said ‘That no-good Amnon, he messed around with you, didn’t he?’  ‘OK, you just hold it together, you can live here at my house,’ and the scene closes, read ahead, that’s where we pick up.  Read ahead, don’t believe me, that way you’ll know I’m not making stuff up here, read ahead, read the rest of chapter 13, read into chapter 14, we’re going to see what God does in these circumstances and how he works in the house of this man whom he loves so dearly.  Let’s stand…[transcript of a connective expository sermon on 2nd Samuel 12:14-31 and 2nd Samuel 13:1-20, given by Pastor Joe Focht, Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19116]

 

related links:    

Within the Body of Christ there are various beliefs about heaven and hell and the afterlife.  To read some of these various secondary beliefs see https://unityinchrist.com/plaintruth/battle.htm

Audio version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED672

 


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