September 26 – 2 Samuel 13:1-6

September 26 – 2 Samuel 13:1-6

[1] Now Absalom, David’s son, had a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar. And after a time Amnon, David’s son, loved her. [2] And Amnon was so tormented that he made himself ill because of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible to Amnon to do anything to her. [3] But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David’s brother. And Jonadab was a very crafty man. [4] And he said to him, “O son of the king, why are you so haggard morning after morning? Will you not tell me?” Amnon said to him, “I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.” [5] 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.’” [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.”

[7] Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, “Go to your brother Amnon’s house and prepare food for him.” [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. [9] And she took the pan and emptied it out before him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, “Send out everyone from me.” So everyone went out from him. [10] Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the chamber, that I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the cakes she had made and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother. [11] But when she brought them near him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.” [12] She answered him, “No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this outrageous thing. [13] As for me, where could I carry my shame? And as for you, you would be as one of the outrageous fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.” [14] But he would not listen to her, and being stronger than she, he violated her and lay with her.

Okay, let’s be honest.  Does anyone see this ending well?  First of all, we see that Amnon was hanging out with people he shouldn’t have been, as the description suggests this friend was known to be trouble.  Next, why on earth would being ill give anyone the ability to ask for a specific personal nurse?  I have to admit they all sound either gullible or conniving. 

My thoughts for these verses come down to if you care about your motives, you will hang out with people who build you up and who won’t take whatever you say as law.  We need to have friends who will challenge us when they think we are wrong.  The best people to call friends are those who help us become better.

Who are your friends?  Do they just follow you blindly or do they challenge you in a loving way to help you see truth?  Do your friends cause you to grow?  Or do you need new friends?