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Thoughts on the Bible Readings (2 Samuel 13; Jeremiah 17 and Matthew 28) for July 27th.
Episode 974
In 2 Samuel 13 we see further consequences of the sword coming to David's house. Verses 1-22 speak of Amnon's intense desire for his half sister Tamar. His cunning friend Jonadab helped Amnon plan the defiling of Tamar. A strategy was devised for Amnon to feign sickness and to request of David his father to ask Tamar to look after her half brother by cooking Amnon food. Amnon tricks Tamar into preparing the food in his bedroom. Then Amnon demanded that all his servants leave his presence while he forces his unwanted pent up desires on Tamar. Tamar pleads with Amnon not to follow through with his demands but to ask David for permission to marry her. The king's son refuses and carries through with his vile act. Then Amnon, loathes her and thrusts her from his company and commands that the door be locked after discarding her. Hear the disdain in Amnon's voice as he refers to his sister as "this woman". Tamar tore her beautiful royal robes and cried putting ashes on her head. Absalom, Tamar's brother, conceals his vehement anger and tells his sister to go home and keep quiet. David was greatly angered by Amnon's crime. But rather than deal with the problem David simply avoids talking to Amnon. Absalom on the other hand plans his revenge. Verses 23-33 tell us that these matters continue unchanged for two years until Absalom arranges with a celebration at the end of shearing to which he insists all the king's sons be present. Absalom commands his servants to slay Amnon. The ensuing chaos sees the remaining king's sons excepting Amnon and Absalom flee to their father. The first report speaks of all the king's sons being slain. Then Jonadab clarifies by saying to David that Amnon alone has died and that Absalom had probably planned this after Tamar's defiling. Verses 34-39 tell of the king's sons coming as Jonadab had predicted. Absalom fled to his maternal grandfather Talmai king of Geshur. David mourns the death of Amnon until eventually being reconciled to the loss and then David longed to be reunited with Absalom.
In Jeremiah 17 verses 1-4 the Almighty tells the prophet that Judah's sin was graven with an iron pen. The figure suggests that the nation's ways were fixed like an adamant stone, but the LORD was able to record and punish their iniquities. The word picture is also used when Job describes his desire that his belief in the resurrection be inscribed with an iron pen: Job 19 verses 23-27. Verses 5-8 tell of Jeremiah's meditation on Psalm 1. If the person who trusts in the LORD is comparable to a flourishing tree planted by a river then the converse is equally true. "Cursed is the person who trusts in flesh", ie themselves. That individual is parched and starved of all vitality. Such a person is dried up and wretched and can be compared with a heath in the desert. When contemplating the Scriptures we should see what we are being taught - both positive and negative. Jeremiah here shows us how to read the Scriptures. Verses 9-10 speak of the deceitfulness of our own hearts and so to trust our own judgment is folly. The word for deceitful means "gravely, or desperately, sick". This is why we can be thankful that God is the One who tests our hearts. Verse 11 gives an example from nature of the partridge and explains how this bird's folly is like a person believing that their riches can save them. And so verses 12-13 reveal that our only hope is to trust in our Almighty Sovereign. Verses 14-18 tell of the prophet's prayer for Yahweh to support Jeremiah in the day of disaster and appropriately repaying the prophet's adversaries. The LORD commands Judah in verses 19-27 to keep the Sabbath holy - that is to forsake the nation's contempt for God's laws. To obey the voice of their Omnipotent Creator would result in the throne continuing with the kings of Judah. God in His foreknowledge had foreseen that the nation would fail to comply and so the LORD said what would happen if they failed to hearken to the voice of the LORD.
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