This tragic story follows immediately after the David and Bathsheba tragedy. Details and names change, but we have a beautiful woman, fulfilled lust, and then murder.

The Text

“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 Sam. 13:1-39)

Summary of the Text

Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar, and Amnon loved her (v. 1). Amnon made himself sick over it (v. 2). Amnon had a friend in Jonadab, his cousin, and he was a man full of twists and turns (v. 3). He saw Amnon’s condition and found out the problem (v. 4). Jonadab came up with a plot to get them alone together (v. 5). So Amnon did it (v. 6). So David sent Tamar to her half-brother in his sick bed (v. 7). She prepared the food, but he refused it, and sent everybody out (vv. 8-9). He invited her to his inner chamber (v. 10).

When she did, he grabbed her and said “come, lie with me” (v. 11). She refuses—it would disgrace both her and him (vv. 12-13). But he was stronger, and raped her (v. 14). Then Amnon hated her with greater hatred than the love he had for her before (v. 15).

She refused again, saying that this would be even a greater evil (v. 16). So he called a servant and had him throw her out, and lock the door behind her (v. 17). She had a beautiful robe, the kind that the virgin daughters of the king would wear (v. 18). So Tamar put ashes on her head, tore her robe, laid her hand on her head, and left weeping (v. 19). Absalom tried to comfort her (v. 20), and she remained, desolate, in her brother’s house. David was very angry . . . but did nothing (v. 21). Absalom also did nothing . . . or so it appeared (v. 22).

Two years later, Absalom invited all the princes to party out of town, celebrating the shearing of the sheep (v. 23). He invited the king first, knowing he wouldn’t go (vv. 24-25). This made it possible for him to invite Amnon, as the king’s representative (v. 26). David thought it odd, but let them all go (v. 27). Absalom told his servants to wait until Amnon was merry with wine, and to strike on the signal (v. 28). They did this, and all the other princes fled (v. 29). Rumors got to David before the princes did (v. 30), and so he tore his robe, and lay on the ground (v. 31).

Jonadab has apparently switched sides, or at least has distanced himself from the former episode, and he tells the king that only Amnon is dead, and it has been in the works for two years (vv. 32-33). Absalom fled (v. 34), and the watchman saw many people coming. Jonadab said that it was just as he said (v. 35). When he was done, the king’s sons all came in, weeping, and the king and his servants wept also, greatly (v. 36). Absalom fled to Geshur, home of his maternal grandfather (v. 37). David mourned for Amnon daily, and Absalom remained in Geshur three years (v. 38). And David’s soul turned to Absalom after he was comforted concerning Amnon (v. 39).

A Very Structured Story

There are seven interlocking “pages” in this story, each one with two characters, and one of these characters will appear in the next scene. They are: 1. Jonadab/Amnon 2. Amnon/David 3. David/Tamar 4. Tamar/Amnon 5. Amnon/servant 6. Servant/Tamar, and 7. Tamar/Absalom

Odd Details

The dumplings that are prepared are “heart-shaped.” Amnon used “heart-nourishing” food to violate his sister. And Absalom used feasting to make Amnon’s heart merry with wine before the murder.

So God is true in Christ. Christ’s robe was not like the robes in this story—it was not torn. And Christ’s body, which was the veil in the Temple, was in fact torn. That is how God determined to bring all these stories, some of them pretty grim, into a glorious conclusion. Christ is risen.

David sinned grievously, but his repentance went as deep as his sin had gone. We see complete forgiveness in this portion of the story, offered to David, and received by him. We also see that the reality of ongoing consequences is not the same thing as lack of forgiveness. We must learn to stop reading the latter in terms of the former.

The Text

“And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor . . .” (2 Sam. 12:1-31)

Summary of the Text

As many messengers had been sent in the previous chapter, so now the Lord sends Nathan the prophet to David (v. 1). The prophet tells him a stylized story about a rich man and a poor one (v. 1). The rich man had many flocks (v. 2), while the poor man had only one small ewe lamb, like one of the family (v. 3). A traveler came, and the rich man killed the poor man’s sheep in order to feed his guest (v. 4). David got angry, and said that such a man deserved to die (v. 5). Because he had no pity, he will have to restore four-fold (v. 6). And so Nathan then said, “You are the man” (v. 7). God made you king over everything (vv. 7-8), and God would have done even more than that (v. 8). But you killed Uriah and took his wife (v. 9). The sword will therefore not depart from your house (v. 10). Revolt will come from within your own house (v. 11), and another man will publicly sleep with your wives (v. 12).

David confesses fully (v. 13). Nathan tells him that he won’t die, but because he opened the way for blasphemies, the child will die (v. 14). So Nathan departed, and the (unnamed) child got very sick (v. 15). David fasted, and prostrated himself on the ground before the Lord (v. 16). The elders tried to get him to get up, but he refused (v. 17). After seven days of this, the child died (v. 18), and the servants were afraid to tell him. When David sees them whispering, he understands the child was dead and asks about it (v. 19). So David gets up, and cleanses himself, goes to the house of the Lord, worships, and comes home to eat (v. 20). Obviously, the servants ask him about it (v. 21). He replies that while the child was alive, there was a chance (v. 22). Now that he is dead, the matter is settled (v. 23). David then comforts Bathsheba, and she bore a son—Solomon (v. 24). The Lord loved him, and Nathan came with another name, Jedidiah, which means “beloved of the Lord” (v. 25). In the meantime, the siege of Rabbah was almost done (v. 26). Joab sent word—he had already captured the city’s water supply (v. 27). David had better come quickly if he didn’t want Joab to get the credit (v. 28). So David comes against Rabbah, and captures it (v. 29). The ceremonial crown that they place on David’s head weighed between 65-75 pounds (v. 30). David then puts the Ammonites to forced labor, and returns to Jerusalem (v. 31).

A King Under Law

One of the great differences between pagan forms of government and biblical forms of government is that in biblical forms of government the “king” is not divine. This means that it becomes possible for a prophetic rebuke to come to the king. It is possible for a “thus saith the Lord” to come from outside the Oval Office. Nathan comes to David because he was sent. Remember that David had already had one man killed as part of this cover-up, and there was no reason to assume that he wouldn’t do it again. And yet, once sent, Nathan courageously came with the message.

Ego Camouflage

If we look at David’s descriptions of his internal state during this time (Psalm 32 & 51), we know that his conscience was tormenting him. We see in his reaction to Nathan’s story that his conscience was fully functional. He says that the rich man deserved to die, even though he was not guilty of murder. David’s moral outrage here is conflicted.

Nathan uses a prophetic form of godly deception. He frames the case in a way that David would not recognize, but where all the essential elements of the offense were still there. When David pronounces sentence on that offense, he was pronouncing sentence on himself, a fact that would be revealed to him immediately afterwards.

Some Numbers

David pronounced a four-fold judgment, which was a kind of restitution that law sometimes required (Luke 19:8). It is striking that this is exactly what happened to David’s house—he lost four sons because of this. First was this small child, then Amnon, then Absalom, and last Adonijah.

Uriah had slept on the ground for two nights, outside David’s palace. Here David sleeps on the “earth” for seven nights.

Rich man, poor man, a man came . . . and for the seventh occasion of it, we hear Nathan saying, “You are the man . . .”

Forgiveness in the Aftermath

David is laid low by his sin. He could have doubled down on it, had Nathan executed, and declared himself an absolute ruler.

He accepts the statement of his guilt, full stop. He also accepts the consequences, but feels free to intercede concerning those consequences before the Lord makes it final. One of the consequences is that the sword will not depart from his house (v. 10). This is what lies behind David not being permitted to build the Temple. The reason stated there was that he was a “man of blood” (1 Chron. 28:3), which did not refer to him fighting the Lord’s battles. Rather, I take it as referring to the blood of Uriah, and the cascading bloodshed and warfare in his house as a result of it.

David is a penitent, and exhibits that repentance in truth. He sorrows in the presence of the Lord. In a type, when “a son of David” dies, he then gets up. He then washes and dresses himself. He then goes to worship the Lord. A son of David dies, and David the sinner is restored. Then another son of David is born, a son who is beloved by God.

God has established David as a great king in a newly created Israel. This is the account of a new fall, marring that new creation. In this chapter, David commits adultery, followed up with murder. His subsequent attempts at a bungled cover-up resulted in one of the best known stories of human history. So much for cover-ups. But though the outlines of the story are well-known, there is a lot more to it than is commonly supposed.

The Text

“And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem. . .” (2 Sam. 11:1-27).

Summary of the Text

The time of year came when kings go out to battle, but David does not go out to battle (v. 1). When David gets up from a long afternoon nap, and while walking on his roof in his palace pjs, he sees a beautiful woman bathing (v. 2). He inquires and finds out who she is (v. 3). David sends messengers for her, and she came to him in adultery (v. 4). After a time, she sends word to David that she is pregnant (v. 5). These are her only words in the entire narrative. So David summons Uriah from the front (v. 6). When he arrives, David asks him about this and that (v. 7). David then dismisses Uriah to go home, and David sends along a catered, romantic dinner after him (v. 8). But Uriah didn’t go home—he camped at the door of the king’s house (v. 9). David was told this the next day, and so he asked Uriah why he hadn’t gone home (v. 10). Uriah’s answer was a true rebuke full of faith —the Ark of the Covenant is in the field. The armies of Israel and Judah are in the field. How could he go home to sleep with his wife (v. 11)? So David tells him to stay another day before he returned (v. 12). That evening, David called him to the royal table—where Mephibosheth was, remember—and got him drunk. But he still wouldn’t go home (v. 13). So the next day, David sends Uriah back to Joab, carrying his own death warrant in a letter (v. 14). The instructions were to abandon Uriah on the field of battle so that he would be killed (v. 15). Joab followed instructions, in modified form, and Uriah was killed (vv. 16-17). Joab then sent a messenger to tell David that a number of men had to die in order to accomplish his wishes. If David gets angry, then console him with news of an additional casualty (vv. 18-21). So the whole sordid affair is an open secret by this point, and the messenger doesn’t wait to be asked (vv. 22-24). David tells the messenger to tell Joab not to be displeased (v. 25), because these things do happen in war. When Bathsheba heard that Uriah was dead, she mourned for him (v. 26). When that mourning was over (typically seven days), David summoned her, married her, and she bore him a son (v. 27). But the Lord was displeased.

Palace Intrigues

This is a story full of palace intrigue, with messengers coming and going. This adultery was an open secret. One of his courtiers told David who Bathsheba was—that woman, there, bathing—and then messengers fetched her. She was a willing participant, which can see seen in the subject/object switch in v. 4, where she “came in unto him.” Like the Eagles had it in Lyin’ Eyes, she rushes to his arms, they fall together.

And Joab had David figured out, as we can see from the Abimelech story—a woman took him out, just like some other people he could mention. Uriah was killed from the wall. David looked down on Bathsheba from the wall, but he was the one destroyed—by a woman—from another wall, one he couldn’t see. Uriah was not the only one sacrificed (v. 17), because to abandon Uriah all by himself would have been too obvious, too transparent.

Uriah the Great

Uriah is a true Hittite convert. He is identified as a Hittite, but his name is a pious Israelite name, meaning “the

Lord is my light.” He is one of David’s elite corps of 30 (2 Sam. 23:39). His loyalty was the real thing. He

would not go home sleep with his wife when the Ark of the Covenant was at war. He swore by David’s life, and David’s soul’s life, that he would not do such a thing (v. 11). But he was actually swearing by his own life. Another member of that elite corps was Eliam (2 Sam. 23:34; 1 Chron. 3:5), Bathsheba’s father. His father, Bathsheba’s grandfather, was Ahithophel, one of David’s great counselors, who later went over to Absalom. Wonder why. Absalom executed vigilante justice against Amnon over Tamar, but at least he did something. There are two possibilities here in this story. Either Uriah knew he had been cuckolded or he did not. If he did not, the story is suffused with irony. If he did, it is a story of high brinksmanship, suffused with irony.

Competitive Crackle

The issue here was not simple physical desire. As the prophet Nathan later points out, there were plenty of women available that would not have brought all this trouble upon David’s house (2 Sam. 12:8). Whenever there was a regimental banquet for the 30, you can be assured that it was a room full of testosterone. It would have been a room full of top gun pilots, a room full of swagger. This was the heroic age—Achilles and Hector were only a century or so earlier, and about 700 miles away. David could easily have had some Trojans in his army.

Now when such men give way to ungodly competition, it usually involves the three g’s—gold, glory, and girls. Never make the mistake of thinking that desire is a straight line affair. This kind of desire is always a web. And too many Christian women think that desire—lust—is an affliction that the men have to deal with, poor buddies, and the men are patted on the head patronizingly. But sorry, I don’t buy it. The world lies under the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Men want to want, and women want to be wanted. Men want to attain and women want to be attained. Moreover, they want this in the presence of others, with others in view.

C.S. Lewis once wrote in a letter, “The idea of female beauty is the erotic stimulus for women as well as men . . . i.e. a lascivious man thinks about women’s bodies, a lascivious woman thinks about her own. What a world we live in!” Human sexuality is a key and a lock—it is a complete mechanism. When we fell, the whole thing fell, and not just the key. The lesson here is to not kid yourself.

Bathsheba Blessed

This is the story where we are introduced to Bathsheba, an ancestress of the Lord Jesus. There are four women mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus, and all of them had reputation issues. One is Tamar, who slept with her father-in-law (Matt. 1:3). Another was Rahab the harlot from Jericho (Matt. 1:5), the great-great- grandmother of David. A third was Ruth the Moabitess, the daughter-in-law of Rahab (Matt. 1:5). And the last was Bathsheba, mother of Solomon (Matt. 1:6).

God promised David a line of kings to sit on the throne, and God fulfilled that promise through the woman who disqualified him from receiving the fulfillment of that promise. Bathsheba was a sinner, along with David, but she, along with David, was a true penitent. Later in the narrative, when Nathan the prophet is organizing the godly faction within the court, Bathsheba is allied with him. We should not hesitate to call her sister—the Lord Jesus could call her mother. The Lord Jesus is the Son of David, and that is quite a glory. But how was it possible for Him to be the Son of David? Through adultery and murder, that’s how.

In the previous chapter, David showed covenant kindness (hesed) to a prince who had lost his father, which is what happens in this chapter also. In the previous chapter, it was received with loyalty and deep gratitude. In this chapter, it starts a war.

The Text

“And it came to pass after this, that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead. Then said David, I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father shewed kindness unto me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father . . .” (2 Sam. 10:1-19).

Summary of the Text

The king of Ammon died, and his son Hanun came to the throne (v. 1). David determined to show kindness (hesed) to Hanun, the son of Nahash, as a reciprocal kindness (v. 2). Incidentally, Hanun means gracious and Nahash means serpent, meaning that this is a role reversal story. David sent diplomats as envoys/comforters, and Hanun’s counselors tell him that they must be spies (vv. 2-3). So Hanun has half their beards cut off, and their special diplomatic garments cut off at the hip (v. 4). They were humiliated, so David told them to stay in Jericho until their beards grew out again (v. 5). So the Ammonites saw that they had successfully picked a fight, and so they hired some Syrian mercenaries (v. 6). David heard this, and sent Joab to fight (v. 7). The Ammonites came out and set up in front of their city, and the Syrians were deployed in the field (v. 8), which hemmed the Israelites in. Joab saw this, and picked an elite group to fight the Syrians (v. 9), and the main body under Abishai to fight the Ammonites (v. 10). The agreement was that if either Israelite body faltered, the other would help (v. 11). Joab, for all his faults, was a superb field commander, and gave them all a stirring word of faith (v. 12). So Joab routed the Syrians (v. 13), and the Ammonites fled from Abishai (v. 14). When the Syrian mercenaries were seen to have been defeated, all the Syrians gathered en masse (vv. 15-16). David hears, and he goes out to battle (v. 17). The battle was joined, and David won a decisive victory (v. 18). And when the Syrian vassals saw the situation, they transferred their allegiance to David (v. 19), and the Syrians were done helping Ammon.

Victory with Foreboding

In this section of the story, even though David is triumphant in these two battles, something is missing. This chapter is the set-up and crucial background for the Bathsheba story, which is coming in the next chapter. In David’s previous victories, the historian went out of his way to say how the Lord was “with” David. Nothing but mojo in every direction. But here that blessing is not pronounced, and there is a sense that David is on autopilot. For the first battle, he sends Joab out to the fight, and a little voice inside us should say uh oh. For the big, second battle, David rallies, but then the next chapter sees David hanging around in Jerusalem again, giving way this time to sleep and to lust.

Resting on Past Accomplishments

Cotton Mather said it well. Faithfulness begat prosperity, and the daughter devoured the mother. It is so easy to tell yourself that you have “earned” the respite. It is so easy to be seduced away from God’s kindness to us by being stupidly dazzled . . . by God’s kindness to us.

But our task is to swim upstream. And the moment we stop swimming upstream (by faith) is the instant that we are floating downstream. In this life, in this setting, in this circumstance, there is no “neutral.” We are not walking up a path, but rather swimming up a river. There is no way to stop in order to “consolidate your gains.”

A Pattern of Division

This chapter is remarkable for how things are cut in two. We begin with the beards, and then with the diplomats’ garments. After that, the Ammonite forces are divided in two, and Joab divides his forces in two. Joab prevails by means of this tactic, but it seems that what we might have here is a thematic introduction of fundamental division. The rest of 2 Samuel is all about division—particularly the division of the kingdom—and it begins here.

The cutting of the beards was an insult to their masculinity, and it was true humiliation. The cutting of the garments was treacherous, an assault on diplomatic immunity, and it was also a sexual indignity. Moreover, to hack their beards was an insult to their religious identity (Lev. 19:27), and the cutting of the robes was the same thing again (Num. 15:37-41). This was an insult to the Torah.

In the previous chapter, there was no dialogue. We had a summary of David’s exploits, and a testimony to how wonderfully God had established him on his throne. In this chapter, we return to ground level, beginning with “And David said . . .”

The Text

“And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan’s sake? . . .” (2 Sam. 9:1-13).

Summary of the Text

David, now well established as king, remembers his covenant with Jonathan. Is there anyone he can show kindness to (hesed) from the house of Saul, for the sake of Jonathan? (v. 1). David’s courtiers apparently didn’t know of anyone, so they called someone who might know—Ziba, a man who had been a servant to Saul (v. 2). Ziba tells David that there was a son to Jonathan, lame in both feet (v. 3). He is living up north, in Lo-Debar, with a man named Machir (v. 4). Lo-Debar means nothing or no word. Think of it as living in Nothingburg. But for such an out of the way place, it housed one of Scripture’s greats—Machir (2 Sam. 17:27). So David sent, and brought Mephibosheth from there (v. 5). Mephibosheth came into David’s presence and prostrated himself (v. 6), which must have been very hard for him to do. David reassured him, made him a rich man, and gave him a seat with all the princes (v. 7). Mephibosheth responds by calling himself a dead dog, which makes self- esteem counselors everywhere shift uneasily in their seats (v. 8). David then entrusts the management of all the estates to Ziba, with a charge to take care of them for Mephibosheth, together with Ziba’s sons and servants (vv. 9-11). Mephibosheth had a son named Micha, who only appears here (v. 12). And so Mephibosheth ate at the king’s table, and he was lame in both of his feet (v. 13).

A Shot at the Throne

Mephibosheth did not pose any real threat to David’s position, especially from his out-of-the-way place as recipient of Machir’s kindness. But when he is brought near to the court, with a son, he is brought close enough to make Ziba’s later slander of him at least some kind of plausible (2 Sam. 16:3). It was never very plausible, both because of Mephibosheth’s lameness, and the fact that David was fleeing because of another very powerful pretender to the throne. But ambition is capable of not making very much sense, and his new position made that slander more plausible than it would have been before.

Hessed

Hesed is what David shows to Mephibosheth. This word refers to faithfulness to obligations under a covenant (in this case, between David and Jonathan), a faithfulness that is expressed by means of generosity and kindness. Think of it as covenant kindness, and so we should remember this incident as we are seeking to live as God’s covenant people. The covenant is not this great contract in the sky—the covenant is kept by means of remembrance and kindness. That is covenant keeping, and it can only be done by faith working through love.

Hesed takes the initiative. It overflows. It is not reluctant and does not hang back. Mephibosheth had no idea of what was coming, and it was hesed that was coming to him. Do you want to be faithful as God’s covenant people? Then surprise one another.

When David had been driven from the king’s table, Jonathan took the initiative, sought David out, and made a covenant with him. And now, when the king’s table is David’s table, he seeks out the son of Jonathan. We receive in order that we might give. We should long to receive much because we long to give much. We should give in order to get, in order that we may give some more.

Two Men Exalted

There were two men exalted here—Ziba and Mephibosheth, but only one of them fully. We learn from the following narrative that the one who was exalted as a result of hesed returned that covenant kindness with covenant loyalty, which is part of hesed. When Absalom revolted against David, Ziba brought provisions to David, but did so while lying grievously about Mephibosheth (2 Sam. 16:1-4). His ploy worked, at least initially, and David gave him all the lands that he had been steward of. But when David returned from exile, he discovered that Mephibosheth had been entirely faithful (2 Sam. 19:24-30). Ziba was promoted, but not really. Just as David had his Joab, so Mephibosheth had his Ziba. Mephibosheth was promoted, and the grandson of Saul remained faithful to the grace of God that had come to him.

There are forms of loyalty that are unhealthy, but in this passage we see the kind of character that is loyal in the right way. We see it first in Machir—who is kind to Mephibosheth, excluded from the throne, and then later kind to David, when he was excluded from the throne. Machir was loyal. Mephibosheth expected no kindness, and when it was given to him, he responded to it with the right kind of loyalty. Hesed is the foundation of the right kind of loyalty.

Dead Dogs at the Table

We are gathering around a Table here. All of us belonged at one point to the house of the previous king. We are all of us lame in both our feet, and couldn’t rule over a paper kingdom. And yet, despite our helplessness and contemptible estate, God showed us mercy and kindness. He, through His great Son of David, invited us to come to the court, and to be seated with princes. We came, knowing ourselves to be nothing but dead dogs. That is the disposition that a true convert has. Who am I, that the great God of Heaven should show such kindness to me? David follows the instruction of Jesus here, showing kindness to someone who cannot pay him back.

Note that Mephibosheth said, “who am I, that I should come?” but then he came. Worm theology, in the sense that is unedifying and unhelpful, is the kind of theology that says “who am I, that I should come?” and then does not come. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and He will lift you up (1 Pet. 5:6). The Syro- Phoenician woman also called herself a dog, eating the crumbs under the table, but she also came.

The hand under which we are humbled is the hand of Christ, and the hand that lifts us up is the hand of Christ. When we are lifted up, when we are summoned, we come to the table, and we come in order to eat the bread of the Lord continually (vv. 7, 10, 13).