106 – Tamar
2 Samuel 13:1-39
Amnon was David’s oldest son—and his favorite. Amnon had everything he wanted, except one thing. He wanted his half-sister Tamar. She was beautiful and a virgin. He thought about her all the time. He literally got sick wishing he could go to bed with her.
He had a cousin who was known to be crafty. Once he heard how Amnon felt, he came up with a plan. He said, “Lay in your bed as if you’re sick. When the king asks about you, tell him you want Tamar to come make some bread in your room. Tell him you want her to feed it to you.”
Amnon followed this plan, so the king asked Tamar to go help her brother with some food. While she was there, Amnon sent all the servants out of the room. As she handed him some food, he grabbed her and said, “Get in bed with me!”
She begged him, “No, please. Stop this. This is a horrible sin. You’re putting me to shame. Ask the king and he’ll give me to you. He’ll give you anything.”
But Amnon wouldn’t listen. He pulled her into bed and raped her. As soon as he was done, he no longer wanted her. In fact, he hated her. He said, “Get out of here!”
She yelled, “No! Don’t throw me away. What you’ve done is wrong, but sending me away is worse.”
He shouted for his servant. “Take this woman out of here and lock the door behind her.”
After Tamar was put out, she tore her clothes, the ones that showed she was a virgin. She put ashes on her head and cried as she walked along.
Her brother was Absalom. As soon as he heard what happened, he vowed to kill Amnon. But he knew it had to be planned out carefully. So, he had his sister move into his house. He told her, “For now, try to put it out of your mind. Don’t say anything about it.”
From that day on, Tamar was sad and moody, and Absalom totally stopped speaking to Amnon. The king was furious when he heard about the rape. Still he didn’t do anything about it.
Two years later, Absalom held a sheep shearing party and invited all of David’s sons. He made sure Amnon would be there. Absalom provided a large banquet for the occasion. Everyone had plenty to eat and drink.
Absalom told the servants to watch Amnon carefully. He said, “Wait until he’s had plenty to drink, then kill him. Don’t be afraid. You won’t get into trouble. You’re simply following my orders.”
They did exactly as they were told. When the time was right, they killed Amnon. The other sons ran for their lives.
News of this quickly got back to the king. He was told Absalom had killed all of the king’s sons. David ripped his clothes and fell to the ground. Finally, someone told him that it wasn’t true. Only Amnon had died. They said, “Absalom has been planning this since his sister was raped.”
Finally, the other sons of David came down the road and went before the king. Everyone cried together.
Absalom ran to a neighboring country to hide from his father. David grieved for Amnon for three years.
