and this is the account of Amnon's
murder by Absalom. So, 2 Samuel chapter 13, and
we're going to read from verse 23, and I'll read down to verse
35. We'll leave the last few verses,
but verse 23. And it came to pass, after two
full years, that Absalom had sheep-shearers in Beelhazor,
which is beside Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king's
sons. And Absalom came to the king
and said, Behold, now thy servant hath sheep-shearers. Let the
king, I beseech thee, and his servants go with thy servant. And the king said to Absalom,
Nay, my son, let us not all now go, lest we be chargeable unto
thee. And he pressed him, howbeit he
would not go, but blessed him. Then said Absalom, If not, I
pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said
unto him, Why should he go with thee? But Absalom pressed him,
that he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him. Now
Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon's
heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon,
then kill him. Fear not. Have not I commanded
you? Be courageous, and be valiant. And the servants of Absalom did
unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose,
and every man gat him up upon his mule, and fled. And it came
to pass, while they were in the way, that tidings came to David,
saying, Absalom hath slain all the king's sons, and there is
not one of them left. Then the king arose, and tear
his garments, and lay on the earth, and all his servants stood
by with their clothes rent. And Jonadab the son of Shimea,
David's brother, answered and said, Let not my lord suppose
that they have slain all the young men of the king's sons,
for Amnon only is dead. For by the appointment of Absalom,
this hath been determined from the day that he forced his sister
Tamar. Now therefore let not my lord
the king take the thing to his heart to think that all the king's
sons are dead, for Amnon only is dead. But Absalom fled, and
the young man that kept the watch lifted up his eyes and looked,
and behold, there came much people by the way of the hill side behind
him. And Jonadab said unto the king,
Behold, the king's sons come, as thy servant said, So it is. Amen. May the Lord bless to us
this reading from his word. It seems that following the abuse
and the shaming of Temar by Amnon, her brother, that David did nothing
to punish his son for the crime that he had committed. Perhaps
you remember last week how we read that Amnon had taken and
abused Tamar and then pushed her out into the street and he
had hated her more than he thought he had loved her. It was a lust
that was in Amnon and once that lust had been satisfied, he detested
Tamar and shunned her. David did nothing to punish him
for this crime that he had committed against his sister. Nor Does
it appear that Amnon in any way repented of his sin or tried
to be reconciled with Tamar? And as a result Absalom hated
Amnon and Absalom who was Tamar's brother hated Amnon, and that
hatred was allowed to grow and worsen because David refused
to discipline or punish his son. We sometimes speak about it festering. It grew worse and worse. You know, there's a reason why
law and order is necessary in society. When justice isn't done
and seen to be done, then wrong appears to prosper and men take
matters into their own hands. What ought to have been dealt
with by David as a father and should certainly have been dealt
with as king was left unresolved. For two years Absalom nursed
his anger. He waited and he schemed and
he planned his revenge until an opportunity arose when he
might catch Amnon unawares and slay him out of vengeance for
his sister. Well that opportunity arose. Absalom kept sheep which shows
that although he was a prince, he was not above working hard
or at least keeping and maintaining an estate for a living and to
support his family, his house. And at the end of the time of
shearing sheep, ordinarily in those days, a feast was held
for the workers. and Absalom invited his father
David and his brothers to come to the celebration. David declined
and he suggested that it would be too much of a burden, too
expensive for Absalom to provide for him and all the servants
and soldiers that must travel with the king. So Absalom said, well, what about
Amnon? Can he come? Perhaps because
Amnon was the heir to the throne, it would be quite prestigious
if the heir to the throne should come to Absalom's estate and
be part of his celebration. David wasn't sure about this.
He questioned whether Amnon need attend, since as the heir to
the throne, he probably had to have a large bodyguard and entourage
as well. However, Absalom insisted, and
sure enough, Amnon, unsuspecting, agrees to attend. We might wonder
if David had doubts about Amnon's presence because he was suspicious
in some way. But even if he did, those doubts
were not heeded. Amnon wanted to go and party
with the rest of his brothers. And this was the opportunity
that Amnon had waited for for so long. Absalom promised his servants
protection and instructed them to act on his command when Amnon
was merry with wine. Nowadays we might say that he
was drunk. And Absalom gave his order and
Amnon was cut down and killed. It is likely that Amnon was neither
prepared for this attack, nor capable of defending himself
when it happened. And in that moment, two things
happened. First of all, chaos broke out. All the other brothers ran for
their mules. Not horses, by the way, which
we might have expected them to ride upon, but horses were not
looked upon with any great sense of importance amongst the children
of Israel. The Lord had said that they should
not use them in battle. and it seems rather, perhaps
because this was a mountainous region, that mules were the preferred
way of travelling. So the brothers ran for their
mules and they fled the scene, fearing for their lives. Someone
managed to get out ahead and get back to the palace and told
David that all the sons were dead. And that greatly distressed
the king and his court who tore their garments and lay on the
ground and wept and mourned. And then Jonadab, Amnon's cousin. You'll remember Jonadab from
last week. Jonadab was Amnon's cousin and
advisor who had schemed with Amnon against Tamar. Here he appears. and he assures
the king that only Amnon is dead. How he knew that is not said,
but some people have wondered if he was perhaps in on the plot
that Absalom had hatched to slay his brother. Be that as it may,
Jonadab seems to have had an inside intelligence as far as
Absalom's activities were concerned. The second thing that happened
was that Absalom fled. He left his estate, he left his
sheep, he left his home. Presumably he fled with his murderous
servants and he went to another kingdom where his mother's relatives
lived. They likely approved of his actions
since Tamar also was their relative. And there he remained for three
years during which David mourned for Amnon over that extended
period. Here are some lessons that I
think we can learn from this passage today. Let us not ever
underestimate the depths of sin. Jealousy, revenge and ambition
all played their awful part in the disintegration of this family
and the catastrophe that overtook David's family. Absalom surely
had reason to feel angry at Amnon and David ought to have acted
to address the dishonour of his daughter. His failure to do so
opened the door to Absalom's own sin. And yet the same law
that says do not commit adultery also says do not murder. And sin breeds sin. What began as a desire for revenge
appears to have become an ambition for the crown and for the throne. Killing Amnon in Absalom's mind
would serve multiple purposes. Do you see how sin grows? You and me, we must guard against
harbouring sin in our hearts. It is always soothing to think
that we'll get our own back on someone who has wronged us. But as the old saying goes, two
wrongs don't make a right. And we should not let the sun
go down on our anger. Two sins brings two condemnations. and it brings more and more evil
consequences. The Lord Jesus tells us that
we are not to avenge ourselves when we are wronged. Now sometimes
that's hard. but it is what the Lord commands. He told his disciples in Matthew
chapter 5, you have heard that it has been said, an eye for
an eye, a tooth for a tooth. You take my eye, I'll take yours. You take my tooth, I'll take
yours. You knock my tooth out, I'll
knock yours out. That's what the Old Testament
view used to be. You have heard that it has been
said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you,
this is the Lord's words, this is the Lord's direction to his
people, that ye resist not evil. Don't try to withstand and counter
that evil. But whosoever shall smite thee
on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. That's hard. But you see, what the Lord is
telling us is this. It is up to God to deal with
these things. It is up to the Lord. He is our
protector. He is our defender. He is our
helper. He knows what is happening to
His little ones. God sees and records wrongdoing. And He takes from us the role
of retribution and the responsibility of getting even. The Lord will
exercise justice in his time and in his way. Men and women
in this world will reap what they sow and we should not take
matters into our own hands. Paul tells us in Romans chapter
12 Dearly beloved, he's writing to the church, he's writing to
the Lord's people, he's writing to those who have a profession
of faith. He says, dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves. Don't try to get revenge for
yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath. For it is written,
vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. Think about the
Lord Jesus as our big brother, and our big brother will look
after us. Our big brother will defend us. Our elder brother will watch
out for us in this world. We do not have to take these
actions ourselves. If you find yourself thinking,
I'll get him back, or I'll get her back, or I'll get even someday. Pause and remember Absalom. Here's another thing that we
can learn. Absalom fled from the country of Israel, Judah
and Israel, and he dwelt three years away from his home. I don't know what happened to
Tamar in those three years, but I don't imagine that her life
improved any now that her brother was a fugitive. Our sinful actions
have consequences for others as well. David mourned for Amnon
for a long time, but I think that much of his distress arose
from personal shame as he traced these family troubles back to
his own sin, that sin with Bathsheba and with Uriah. He must have
felt that he had brought these tragedies upon himself and upon
his family. Had not the Lord said the sword
would never depart from David's house, So it proved. I think that for you and me,
I think it is a great comfort for us to be able to trust in
the Lord, that he will work good from our faults and our failures. Life would be very sad and depressing
if sin reigned without the overruling hand of God to assert His goodness
and stop sin in its tracks. In a world that is wrecked and
ruined by sin, it is a great blessing for you and for me to
be able to trust in God, who is all wise and all powerful. Were it not for divine mercy,
we would be cast adrift, having no hope and without God in the
world. So let us thank God in our prayers
for his protective hand and his care and his promise that he
will deliver us out of this present evil world. And thirdly, David
certainly had faults as a father. Have not we all? David could not find the right
balance between love and justice, between indulging his sons and
doing what was right by them. The message of the gospel is
that God the Father has found the perfect balance between love
and justice, between mercy and doing what is right. God the
Father does not overlook the sins of his children, but he
deals with them justly while finding a way to show them mercy
and love. We are all sinners, doesn't matter
what age we are. From the youngest of us to the
oldest of us, we are all sinners. But God has found a way to be
gracious, and just at the same time. Our Lord Jesus Christ,
who is God the Son, came into this world and went to the cross
to carry our sin, to bear our sin and he bore our sin and he
bore our punishment for that sin. The Lord Jesus Christ has
represented us before God's justice, so we shall not be chargeable
with our own sins. We are the sinners, but the Lord
Jesus Christ stood in the place of his people, in the court of
God's justice, to carry our guilt and to bear our punishment for
us. In this way, God is both just
and merciful to those that he loves. As we look at the sad
effects of sin in the life of David and see those same effects
in our own lives as well, let us thank God for the great salvation
that he has provided that we might escape the punishment we
deserve and let us trust Him for His good and wise dealings
with His children in Christ. Amen. May the Lord bless these
thoughts to us today.