Today’s Reading 2 Samuel 13-15
Focal Scripture: 2 Samuel 13:15 “So Amnon hated Tamar with such intensity that the hatred he hated her with was greater than the love he had loved her with. “Get out of here!” he said.”
One thing about scripture is that is gives the good and the bad of people. Here we see David’s family make poor choices and seek revenge. Amnon rapes his sister. Abasalom kills Amnon. Chaos ensues. I do not want you to move far from this scene. I want you to mediate on the fact that scripture shows us just how depraved we are and why we are in such need of a Savior. You might be asking why does scripture tell these stories. The reason is to demonstrate that nobody is perfect. That God must intervene to redeem mankind. Evil must be dealt with one way or another.
Things are so messed up in this account that Amnon first loves his sister. After the rape he hates her. Soul corruption is obvious to those who are paying attention in David’s family. Imagine being the sinner and then hating the person you sinned against. That is what is happening here in this account.
The application here for believers is to understand that evil is everywhere around us. Our families can produce evil. We can produce evil. We need hope. We must be submitted to the Lord or we can do just as much evil. The faith of David did not go down to his family. Each person must make their own decision to follow the Lord.
I challenge you today to submit all you have to Christ. Our flesh is wicked. It will take us down a path we don’t want go. However, the spirit is stronger. He does a miraculous work and will lead us how we should live. The question is will we submit to the flesh and commit evil in the sight of the Lord or will we love the Lord with all that we have.
May our stories be that our hearts are good and free of sin. May the Lord view our hearts and see that they desire to serve him above everything else.
Tomorrow I plan on reading 2 Samuel 16-18
