2nd Samuel 13:23-39
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Absalom Murders Amnon/ Flees to Geshur
Absalom Murders Amnon/ Flees to Geshur
Alrighty , Hope that everyone had a good spring break
I know some of you had it already
But what a crazy couple of weeks it has been,
I always find it interesting that when we get close to Christmas or Easter the craziest stuff happens ( anybody have anything crazy happen to them during Easter or easter break ?)
Share the Story of Caleb , and the Story of Sonia and Rodger ( Caleb died on a motorcycle and Rodger committed suicide )
I believe that it is spiritual and that the enemy likes to take the attention off of the Lord
but remembering what Jesus did on the cross and the week leading up to His death is important
, its always a fun week here at our church and something that I enjoy every year, and I hope that you all enjoyed the Last week
I thank the Lord for blessing us with such a Healthy church that most of us get to call Home
but as I reflect on this resurrection Season I saw a-lot of new people, I saw a-lot of familiar people, I saw a lot of Kids and families that ID never seen before and as I sat in sunrise service and 1st service, I couldn’t Help but see that God is doing something in this church
Its healthy and its growing and He is moving amongst people in a way that I have not seen since before COVID
I don’t know if any of you see it but its happening and its happening fast, and its a blessing to witness
So I just thought id share that with you guys
any way today we are going to be finishing up in 2nd Samuel out of chapter 13
Before we get started though I want to Kind of just recap the first Part of the Chapter;
So the first part of chapter 13 is a pretty heavy portion of scripture
Its because Amnon the son of David raped His beautiful sister the Daughter of David by force
Amnon was a man that was driven by His flesh and the Lust that had built up inside of Him ( it took him over to the point of becoming physically ill)
He was completely consumed by the Lust in his heart
The Lust inside his heart was confused and misrepresented as Love
We all know that Amnon did not truly love His sister because a true love would never rape an innocent woman ( a true love is respectable and bears fruit )
Now going back into chapter 12 after David had taken another mans wife, slept with her and then had Him killed. The prophet Nathan said this on behalf of the Lord
2 Samuel 12:10–11 “10 Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.”
the rape that occured between Davids Kids was a result of the sin that David gave into
We can look at that and say that some of those dark character traits David had inside of Him were passed down to and through His kids and family
and its all a result of the Sin that was in Davids Life
Amnon was a creep and did the unthinkable to His sister ( He justified His actions disguised as love)
now just briefly when it comes to lust, its important that we flee youthful lusts and follow righteousness
Seeking the Lord is what gives us power to overcome the lusts that are in our heart
A commentator I read put it this way very simply, He said “ If you give into Lust you will have a little pleasure followed by a life time of Pain. If you flee lust you’ll have a little pain followed by a life time of Pleasure” ( read it again)
Now thats really something because when you see David , He is the root cause to everything thats going on now in His kingdom.
The Lust in his heart was filled with a little pleasure for a small moment but has lead him and now His family into a lifetime of Pain
If only David in that weak moment of His would have been able to think clearly…… These things would not be happening
we need to be careful when it comes to lust over love ,
Lust leads to Hatred and death,
Love leads to sacrificial service and fruit
So thats the first part of this chapter which focuses pretty much on Lust and now we are going to peel back the last part of this chapter from verse 23-39
In Some of your Bibles it may say Absalom Murders Amnon ,
and in Other translations it May say Absalom’s Revenge on Amnon
Absalom gets revenge for His sister by Killing Amnon
Alright so were going to start in verse 23
2 Samuel 13:23 “23 And it came to pass, after two full years, that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal Hazor, which is near Ephraim; so Absalom invited all the king’s sons.”
2 full years here in this first verse had passed after Amnon raped his sister Tamar
In ancient Hebrew tradition, sheep-shearing became a spring festival to celebrate a sheep-herder’s plenty ( blessing of abundance ) .
It became a significant celebration in the Old Testament characterized by feasting, heavy drinking, and the settling of old scores.
it was meant to be this big feast and celebration, a perfect time to settle OLD grudges….
BUT when we look at this whole tradition of Sheep shearing from the Perspective of David, we see that it was actually related mostly toward avenging a wrong that was committed against David or the House of David
The first time we see an example of this is in 1st Samuel chapter 25 When David sends messengers to a man Named Nabal in hopes of getting some food to feed His men,
and to shorten the story, this man NABAL refused to bless David and His men with food so then the Lord Hardens Nabal’ s heart and He dies, and then David takes his wife for Himself
so the whole tradition of sheep shearing and i’m not going to dig into the details of it but it was suppose to be a good time , a time of celebrating what God had provided
but from here on out we are going to continue to see the House of David implode from within
Absalom is going to use this time to carry out His evil agenda , to seek revenge and to avenge His sister rape
He held a GRUDGE for 2 Long years and had plenty of time to create this elaborate Plan to Kill his brother
2 Samuel 13:24 “24 Then Absalom came to the king and said, “Kindly note, your servant has sheepshearers; please, let the king and his servants go with your servant.””
2 Samuel 13:25 “25 But the king said to Absalom, “No, my son, let us not all go now, lest we be a burden to you.” Then he urged him, but he would not go; and he blessed him.”
2 Samuel 13:26 “26 Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us.” And the king said to him, “Why should he go with you?””
2 Samuel 13:27 “27 But Absalom urged him; so he let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with him.”
2 Samuel 13:28 “28 Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, “Watch now, when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon!’ then kill him. Do not be afraid. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and valiant.””
2 Samuel 13:29 “29 So the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons arose, and each one got on his mule and fled.”
2 Samuel 13:30 “30 And it came to pass, while they were on the way, that news came to David, saying, “Absalom has killed all the king’s sons, and not one of them is left!””
2 Samuel 13:31 “31 So the king arose and tore his garments and lay on the ground, and all his servants stood by with their clothes torn.”
2 Samuel 13:32 “32 Then Jonadab the son of Shimeah, David’s brother, answered and said, “Let not my lord suppose they have killed all the young men, the king’s sons, for only Amnon is dead. For by the command of Absalom this has been determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar.”
2 Samuel 13:33 “33 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 only Amnon is dead.”
Alright so This is the Main point that we are going to talk about right here regarding Absalom and the Grudge he held for 2 years
He obviously planned this out and used the festival to carry out His plan and It worked
Now this is where I want to camp out most of the time we have
We are going to talk about Holding Grudges, How many of you have held a grudge in your life time ? How many of you are currently holding a grudge against someone right now ? Anyone want to be honest ?
Now this may sound very simple and it may sound like kind of a weird topic to talk about but its actually a very biblical topic
throughout Gods word over and over again we see the Sin of Holding a grudge toward a person directly or indirectly
every-time we see this in the bible throughout scripture , we see that most of the time it actually never ends well
Holding a grudge toward someone instead of dealing with the issue is giving the enemy space and time to corrupt your mind with sin
I don’t really know anyone that has Held a grudge for some time that hasn’t done something stupid during the time that they have held a grudge ( people usually act out on the things they are upset about if they are not mature enough to deal with them)
Holding a grudge is a very emotional thing to do and a very honestly immature thing to do
We are born with a sinful nature and Holding a grudge for us is actually very easy to do
Its easier to Hold on to something and let it fester inside and build to create problems than it is to Hit the nail on the head and deal with it
we like to create more problems than are necessary when all we have to do is communicate that something is wrong
Absalom when we read through this chapter and through a few more, He is a-lot more like David than meets the eye
Absalom arranged for a murder to be carried out against His brother Or in this case his enemy, and David also arranged for a mans murder. Uriah the Husband of Bathsheba,
both men used alcohol to weaken and achieve their evil plans, David got uriah drunk and tried to get Him to lay with His wife , Absalom got Amnon drunk to have him killed by his servants
both men committed premeditated murder in hopes of covering up sin that was embedded in their heart
and thats the thing with Grudges, when they aren’t dealt with things get worst,
when we take on this fleshly way of Handling an issue instead of giving it to the Lord, the result is always going to be the same….. BAD
Now before we get deeper into holding grudges. How many of you would say or could say that you have social Life’s ? Id say a-lot of us , most of us
Most of you girls for certain, you are all social butterflies
most of you have a life that involves you interacting with multiple people on a daily occurrence
some of you interact with more people than others like probably public schoolers, you guys are around a ton more people each day than the homeschoolers ( Hints why everyone always says homeschool Kids are socially awkward)
But anyways we all to some extent have social life’s, some people are hermits and stay home all day but for the most part we have social interaction
so you guys know me I like reading research when I Have the chance because it really helps paint a picture
Now when it comes to social interactions, research suggests that the average person has an average of 12 interactions a day.
of those 12 interactions a day, 45% of those interactions are with family, 25% of the interactions are with friends, and 30% of those interactions are with other acquaintances
Additionally the average person passes by at least 1,000 people a day, so if you think about life in general , going to the store, driving , gas station, shopping and so on
but the whole point is we each have social interaction at almost all times
Now out of all those interactions and potential interactions, we can almost guarantee that at some point we will be sinned against.
Someone at some point will come along and offend you, hurt you, or in some way shape or form sin against you Even at the most random times ( expound )
Sometimes we are indirectly affected by the sin of someone else Like Absalom here in this passage
It is impossible to avoid being sinned against, its all part of the sinful world we live in
Now how we respond to that is everything, Holding onto a grudge because someone sinned against you is the wrong thing to do
We all have an Inclination to Hold grudges, but holding on to sin is the wrong thing to do
We all know how we can be when we do hold on to grudges, most of the time we are very irrational about the situation or the sin that has been done against us
Holding onto grudges does not solve anything and it does not please the Lord
I Have some other biblical examples to share that support this , Grudges lead to bad relationships, severe grudges lead to Murder .
In Genesis , we see it between Jacob and Esau when Jacob takes the place of Esau and receives the Blessing from their father Isaac and everything that came along with that blessing
1) Esau lost His birthright and was commanded that He serve His brother Jacob
Genesis 27:41 “41 So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
Esau Held a grudge against His brother out of anger and frustration which almost lead to him killing His brother and damaging their relationship as brothers
2) Another biblical story we see of a grudge is between Joseph and His brothers is in the book Of Genesis again, Jospeh was the favorite of the bunch and the one destined to reign over his brothers.
Genesis 37:4 “4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.”
Genesis 37:8 “8 And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.”
their grudge held on toward Joseph was brought on by jealousy, just like Jacob and Esau
3) King Saul and David Saul was jealous of the man David was becoming and did not want him to take the throne from him
1 Samuel 18:7–9 “7 So the women sang as they danced, and said: “Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.” 8 Then Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?” 9 So Saul eyed David from that day forward.”
Again a grudge brought on By jealousy
Severe Grudges lead to Murder:
1) the story of Cain and Abel in the beginning chapters of Genesis Which Leads to Cain Murdering His brother Abel all because the Lord accepted Abels offering and Not Cains
Genesis 4:8 “8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.”
here with the story of cain and Abel you see the grudge and jealousy because God was doing a work in one and not the other
this could actually be a whole topic but we wont go there , we know that when its evident that God is using certain people and working through their life, Satan likes to make people Jealous and they develop unhealthy Grudges
Another Grudge in the Bible that we see lead to the death of another is the very one that we are reading about today, Absalom Killing his brother
Responding to Grudges and How we go about it is everything
Now Absalom Had the right to be angry with what Happened to His sister
Righteous anger is Justified and there are examples in the bible of righteous anger
Exodus 22:22–24 “22 “You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry; 24 and My wrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.”
God gets angry with a righteous Anger :
Judges 2:11–12 “11 Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals; 12 and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger.”
Having a righteous anger is okay , Usually a righteous anger when it starts out is righteous. But our human nature likes to taint the anger and make it anything but righteous
Ephesians 4:26 “26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath,”
when we are angry and have the right to be angry its important that we don’t develop grudges because a grudge is giving time for sin to enter in and it corrupts the anger that we have
when we stew on things and allow sin in, it just grows and grows and gets worst and worst
and thats what happened here with Absalom, he had the right to be angry but 2 years of Holding onto it without anything being done was far too long
you see the flesh and what it did to the anger he had inside, it caused Him to murder his brother
2 wrongs don’t make a right
we should never chose to hold a grudge, a grudge is a choice that we all make but the right thing to do is to deal with the anger before it becomes corrupted by sin
Vengeance or revenge is not ours to deal with , Its something that we all should give over to the Lord and give Him the place to workout:
The revenge of Absalom was not His to take and that was a mistake on His behalf
Deuteronomy 32:35 “35 Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; Their foot shall slip in due time; For the day of their calamity is at hand, And the things to come hasten upon them.’”
Romans 12:19 “19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.”
when it comes to revenge when you look at it for what it is , first off God doesn’t need vigilantes , but when you look at revenge it doesn’t solve problems
Revenge actually turns around and hurts the person getting even
Romans 12:17 “17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.”
Vengeance when it is taken into our own hands is us being overcome by evil
when someone takes a matter into their own hands
Gods word says to do the exact opposite of being over come by evil and responding with Evil
How we respond to someone sinning against us
Romans 12:20–21 “20 Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
we can rest knowing that its okay to be Angry at sin, but we also need to trust in the Lord when it comes to revenge
doing good to those that may hold grudges against you,or doing good with the anger we have inside is what the Lord wants us to do
don’t be the person thats always Holding grudges or the person everyone fears to make upset because you hold grudges
“it takes 1 to forgive and 2 to reconcile”
“Theres this quote i read and ill read it to you, it says this”
Forgiveness is better than revenge, for forgiveness is the sign of a gentle nature, but revenge is the sign of a savage nature.
—Epictetus
Epictetus
Proverbs 25:21–22 “21 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; 22 For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the Lord will reward you.”
responding in violence, hate, and all that follows is not a way to respond
The worst example we have is Absalom but the best example we have is Jesus
Yes Jesus is a perfect example of all things but specifically this very topic
Before we move on to finish reading the Chapter turn your bibles over to 1st Peter ch 2 vs 18 i’m going to read the NLT version because its easy to understand
18 You who are slaves must submit to your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you—not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel.
19 For God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment.
20 Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you.
21 For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.
22 He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone.
23 He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.
24 He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.
25 Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.
The christian way to dealing with someone sinning against you and hurting you, someone who may be holding a grudge against you is the way of forgiveness and faith , trusting the Lord to work everything out for our good and His glory
12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.
13 Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.
14 If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you.
15 If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs.
16 But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name!
17 For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News?
18 And also, “If the righteous are barely saved, what will happen to godless sinners?”
19 So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.
Don’t give the enemy the pleasure of warping your mind with sin
we will be wronged and we will be sinned against, its a privilege to suffer for Christ
34 Then Absalom fled. And the young man who was keeping watch lifted his eyes and looked, and there, many people were coming from the road on the hillside behind him.
35 And Jonadab said to the king, “Look, the king’s sons are coming; as your servant said, so it is.”
36 So it was, as soon as he had finished speaking, that the king’s sons indeed came, and they lifted up their voice and wept. Also the king and all his servants wept very bitterly.
37 But Absalom fled and went to Talmai the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day.
38 So Absalom fled and went to Geshur, and was there three years.
39 And King David longed to go to Absalom. For he had been comforted concerning Amnon, because he was dead.
The last thing Ill add here to close this off is what Absalom did,
He fled
when ever we do something right , the first thing that comes upon us is usually peace, every time Ive ever done anything right, I have been filled with peace in my life in my heart and in my Soul
When things are done wrong ,the first thing to do Like Absalom here is to run
You run and you try to find peace in other places and you usually don’t, thats called fake peace. If you deal with things a proper way, the ways that please the Lord , you better believe you will be at peace and you wont have to run from your problems
John 14:27 “27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Peace comes from the Lord and all He has to offer. Don’t forget it and don’t stop seeking Jesus
