2 Samuel 13: David Fails Amnon, Hated Tamar Loves as ☧

Rev. Doug Minton in Blaine, Minnesota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 2 Samuel 13.

Are we in love with a person, or an idea? When King David’s son Amnon falls in love with his half-sister Tamar, it’s not self-giving unconditional love, but infatuation with an “impossible” forbidden fruit. Jonadab, “a very crafty” snake of a man, merely stirs the pot—like the serpent of Eden. Guilt rests squarely on man, not God or anything else. David set a poor example for his sons with his power-crazed lust, even as he closes the chapter lamenting that his firstborn will never inherit his throne. The real tragedy however is that of Tamar, who like the first Tamar, only tries to make the best out of an impossible situation. In her suffering she is the most like Christ, willing even to marry the one who has most heinously wronged her. God’s love for us is even greater than our faithless wrongdoing.