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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1708)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>S E C O N D S A M U E L</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XIII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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The righteous God had lately told David, by Nathan the prophet, that,
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to chastise him for his son in the matter of Uriah, he would "raise up
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evil against him out of his own house,"
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:11"><I>ch.</I> xii. 11</A>).
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And here, in the very next chapter, we find the evil beginning to rise;
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henceforward he was followed with one trouble after another, which made
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the latter part of his reign less glorious and pleasant than the former
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part. Thus God chastened him with the rod of men, yet assured him that
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his "loving-kindness he would not utterly take away." Adultery and
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murder were David's sins, and those sins among his children (Amnon
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defiling his sister Tamar, and Absalom murdering his brother Amnon)
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were the beginnings of his punishment, and the more grievous because he
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had reason to fear that his bad example might help to bring them to
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these wickednesses. In this chapter we have,
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I. Amnon ravishing Tamar, assisted in his plot to do it by Jonadab his
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kinsman, and villainously executing it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:1-20">ver. 1-20</A>.
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II. Absalom murdering Amnon for it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:21-39">ver. 21-39</A>.
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Both were great griefs to David, and the more because he was
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unwittingly made accessory to both, by sending Tamar to Amnon and Amnon
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to Absalom.</P>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Amnon's Incest.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1032.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David
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had a fair sister, whose name <I>was</I> Tamar; and Amnon the son of
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David loved her.
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2 And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister
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Tamar; for she <I>was</I> a virgin; and Amnon thought it hard for him
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to do any thing to her.
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3 But Amnon had a friend, whose name <I>was</I> Jonadab, the son of
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Shimeah David's brother: and Jonadab <I>was</I> a very subtle man.
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4 And he said unto him, Why <I>art</I> thou, <I>being</I> the king's son,
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lean from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto
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him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.
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5 And Jonadab said unto him, Lay thee down on thy bed, and make
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thyself sick: and when thy father cometh to see thee, say unto
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him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come, and give me meat, and
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dress the meat in my sight, that I may see <I>it,</I> and eat <I>it</I> at
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her hand.
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6 So Amnon lay down, and made himself sick: and when the king
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was come to see him, Amnon said unto the king, I pray thee, let
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Tamar my sister come, and make me a couple of cakes in my sight,
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that I may eat at her hand.
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7 Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy brother
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Amnon's house, and dress him meat.
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8 So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house; and he was laid
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down. And she took flour, and kneaded <I>it,</I> and made cakes in his
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sight, and did bake the cakes.
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9 And she took a pan, and poured <I>them</I> out before him; but he
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refused to eat. And Amnon said, Have out all men from me. And
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they went out every man from him.
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10 And Amnon said unto Tamar, Bring the meat into the chamber,
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that I may eat of thine hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she
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had made, and brought <I>them</I> into the chamber to Amnon her
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brother.
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11 And when she had brought <I>them</I> unto him to eat, he took
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hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister.
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12 And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me; for
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no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly.
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13 And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for
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thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore,
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I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me
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from thee.
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14 Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being
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stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her.
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15 Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred
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wherewith he hated her <I>was</I> greater than the love wherewith he
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had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone.
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16 And she said unto him, <I>There is</I> no cause: this evil in
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sending me away <I>is</I> greater than the other that thou didst unto
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me. But he would not hearken unto her.
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17 Then he called his servant that ministered unto him, and
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said, Put now this <I>woman</I> out from me, and bolt the door after
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her.
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18 And <I>she had</I> a garment of divers colours upon her: for with
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such robes were the king's daughters <I>that were</I> virgins
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apparelled. Then his servant brought her out, and bolted the door
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after her.
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19 And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of
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divers colours that <I>was</I> on her, and laid her hand on her head,
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and went on crying.
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20 And Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath Amnon thy
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brother been with thee? but hold now thy peace, my sister: he
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<I>is</I> thy brother; regard not this thing. So Tamar remained
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desolate in her brother Absalom's house.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here a particular account of the abominable wickedness of Amnon
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in ravishing his sister, a subject not fit to be enlarged upon nor
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indeed to be mentioned without blushing, that ever any man should be so
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vile, especially that a son of David should be so. Amnon's character,
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we have reason to think, was bad in other things; if he had not
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forsaken God, he would never have been given up to these vile
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affections. Godly parents have often been afflicted with wicked
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children; grace does not run in the blood, but corruption does. We do
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not find that David's children imitated him in his devotion; but his
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false steps they trod in, and in those did much worse, and repented
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not. Parents know not how fatal the consequences may be if in any
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instance they give their children bad examples. Observe the steps of
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Amnon's sin.</P>
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<P>
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I. The devil, as an unclean spirit, put it into his heart to lust after
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his sister Tamar. Beauty is a snare to many; it was so to her. She was
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fair, and therefore Amnon coveted her,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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Those that are peculiarly handsome have no reason, on that account, to
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be proud, but great reason to stand upon their watch. Amnon's lust was,
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1. Unnatural in itself, to lust after his sister, which even natural
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conscience startles at and cannot think of without horror. Such a
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spirit of contradiction there is in man's corrupt nature that still it
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desires forbidden fruit, and the more strongly it is forbidden the more
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greedily it is desired. Can he entertain the thought of betraying that
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virtue and honour of which, as a brother, he ought to have been the
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protector? But what wickedness so vile as not to find admittance into
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an unsanctified unguarded heart, left to itself?
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2. It was very uneasy to him. He was so vexed that he could not gain an
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opportunity to solicit her chastity (for innocent converse with her was
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not denied him) that he <I>fell sick,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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Fleshly lusts are their own punishment, and not only <I>war against the
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soul,</I> but against the body too, and are the <I>rottenness of the
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bones.</I> See what a hard master sinners serve, and how heavy his yoke
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is.</P>
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<P>
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II. The devil, as a subtle serpent, put it into his head how to compass
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this wicked design. Amnon had a friend (so he called him, but he was
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really an enemy to him), a kinsman, that had in him more of David's
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blood (for he was his nephew) than of David's spirit, for he was a
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subtle man, cunning to carry on any bad design, especially an intrigue
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of this nature,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.</P>
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<P>
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1. He took notice that Amnon looked ill, and, being a subtle man,
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concluded that he was love-sick
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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and asks him, "<I>Why art thou, being the king's son, lean from day to
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day?</I> Why dost thou pine, being the king's eldest son, and heir to
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the crown. <I>Being the king's son,</I>"
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(1.) "Thou hast the pleasures of the court to divert thee; take those
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pleasures then, and with them drive away the sorrow, whatever it is."
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Content and comfort are not always to be found in royal palaces. With
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much more reason may we ask dejected and disconsolate saints why they,
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who are the children of the King of kings and heirs of the crown of
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life, are thus <I>lean from day to day.</I>
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(2.) "Thou hast the power of a prince to command what thou wantest and
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wishest for; use that power therefore, and gratify thyself. Pine not
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away for that which, lawful or unlawful, thou, being the king's son,
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mayest have. <I>Quicquid libet licet--Your will is law.</I>" Thus
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Jezebel to Ahab in a like case
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+21:7">1 Kings xxi. 7</A>),
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<I>Dost not thou govern Israel?</I> The abuse of power is the most
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dangerous temptation of the great.</P>
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<P>
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2. Amnon having the impudence to own his wicked lust, miscalling it
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<I>love (I love Tamar</I>), Jonadab put him in a way to compass his
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design,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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Had he been what he pretended (Amnon's friend), he would have startled
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at the mention of such horrid wickedness, would have laid before him
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the evil of it, what an offence it was to God and what a wrong to his
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own soul to entertain such a vile thought, of what fatal consequence it
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would be to him to cherish and prosecute it; he would have used his
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subtlety to divert Amnon from it, by recommending some other person to
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him, whom he might lawfully marry. But he seems not at all surprised at
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it, objects not either the unlawfulness or the difficulty, the reproach
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or so much as his father's displeasure, but puts him in the way to get
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Tamar to his bed-side, and then he might do as he pleased. Note, The
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case of those is very miserable whose friends, instead of admonishing
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and reproving them, flatter them and forward them in their sinful ways,
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and are their counsellors and contrivers to do wickedly. Amnon is
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already sick, but goes about; he must take upon him to be so ill (and
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his thin looks will give colour enough to the pretence) as not to be
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able to get up, and to have no appetite to any thing but just that
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which pleases his fancy. Dainty meat is abhorred,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+33:20">Job xxxiii. 20</A>.
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The best dish from the king's table cannot please him; but, if he can
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eat any thing, it must be from his sister Tamar's fair hand. This is
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what he is advised to.</P>
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<P>
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3. Amnon followed these directions, and thus got Tamar within his
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reach: <I>He made himself sick,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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Thus he <I>lieth in wait secretly, as a lion in his den, to catch the
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poor,</I> and to <I>draw them into his net,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+10:8-10">Ps. x. 8-10</A>.
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David was always fond of his children, and concerned if any thing ailed
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them; he no sooner hears that Amnon is sick than he comes himself to
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visit him. Let parents learn hence to be tender of their children and
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compassionate towards them. The sick child commonly <I>the mother</I>
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comforteth
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+66:13">Isa. lxvi. 13</A>),
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but let not the <I>father</I> be unconcerned. We may suppose that when
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David came to see his sick son he gave him good counsel to make a right
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use of his affliction, and prayed with him, which yet did not alter his
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wicked purpose. At parting, the indulgent father asks, "Is there any
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thing thou hast a mind to, that I can procure for thee?" "Yes, Sir,"
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says the dissembling son, "my stomach is weak, and I know not of any
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thing I can eat, unless it be a cake of my sister Tamar's making, and I
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cannot be satisfied that it is so unless I see her make it, and it will
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do me the more good if I eat it at her hand." David saw no reason to
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suspect any mischief intended. God hid his heart from understanding in
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this matter. He therefore immediately orders Tamar to go and attend her
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sick brother,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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He does it very innocently, but afterwards, no doubt, reflected upon it
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with great regret. Tamar as innocently goes to her brother's chamber,
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neither dreading any abuse (why should she from a brother, a sick
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brother?) nor disdaining, in obedience to her father and love to her
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brother (though but her half-brother), to be his nurse,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:8,9"><I>v.</I> 8, 9</A>.
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Though she was a king's daughter, a great beauty
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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and well dressed
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>),
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yet she did not think it below her to knead cakes and bake them, nor
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would she have done this now if she had not been used to it. Good
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house-wifery is not a thing below the greatest ladies, nor ought they
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to think it a disparagement to them. The virtuous woman, whose husband
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sits among the elders, yet <I>works willingly with her hands,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+31:13">Prov. xxxi. 13</A>.
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Modern ages have not been destitute of such instances, nor is it so
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unfashionable as some would make it. Preparing for the sick should be
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more the care and delight of the ladies than preparing for the nice,
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charity more than curiosity.</P>
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<P>
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4. Having got her to him, he contrives to have her alone; for <I>the
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adulterer</I> (much more so vile an adulterer as this) is in care that
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<I>no eye see him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+24:15">Job xxiv. 15</A>.
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The meat is ready, but he cannot eat while he is looked at by those
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about him; they must all be turned out,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
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The sick must be humoured, and think they have a privilege to command.
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Tamar is willing to humour him; her chaste and virtuous soul has not
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the least thought of that which his polluted breast is full of; and
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therefore she makes no scruple of being alone with him <I>in the inner
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chamber,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
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And now the mask is thrown off, the meat is thrown by, and the wicked
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wretch calls her <I>sister,</I> and yet impudently courts her to
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<I>come and lie with him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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It was a base affront to her virtue to think it possible to persuade
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her to consent to such wickedness when he knew her behaviour to be
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always exemplarily modest and virtuous. But it is common for those that
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live in uncleanness to think others such as themselves, at least tinder
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to their sparks.</P>
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<P>
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III. The devil, as a strong tempter, deafens his ear to all the
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reasonings with which she resisted his assaults and would have
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persuaded him to desist. We may well imagine what a surprise and terror
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it was to the young lady to be thus attacked, how she blushed and how
|
|
she trembled; yet, in this great confusion, nothing could be said more
|
|
pertinently, nor with greater strength of argument, than what she said
|
|
to him.
|
|
|
|
1. She calls him <I>brother,</I> reminding him of the nearness of the
|
|
relation, which made it unlawful for him to marry her, much more to
|
|
debauch her. It was expressly forbidden
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+18:9">Lev. xviii. 9</A>)
|
|
|
|
under a severe penalty,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+20:17">Lev. xx. 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
Great care must be taken lest the love that should be among relations
|
|
degenerate into lust.
|
|
|
|
2. She entreats him not to force her, which intimates that she would
|
|
never consent to it in any degree; and what satisfaction could he take
|
|
in offering violence?
|
|
|
|
3. She lays before him the great wickedness of it. It is
|
|
<I>folly;</I> all sin is so, especially uncleanness. It is wickedness
|
|
of the worst kind. Such abominations ought not to be committed in
|
|
Israel, among the professing people of God, that have better statutes
|
|
than the heathen have. We are Israelites; if we do such things, we are
|
|
more inexcusable than others, and our condemnation will be more
|
|
intolerable, for we <I>reproach the Lord,</I> and <I>that worthy name
|
|
by which we are called.</I>
|
|
|
|
4. She represents to him the shame of it, which perhaps might influence
|
|
him more than the sin of it: "For my part, <I>whither shall I cause my
|
|
shame to go?</I> If it should be concealed, yet I shall blush to think
|
|
of it as long as I live; and, if ever it be known, how shall I be able
|
|
to look any of my friends in the face? For thy part, <I>thou shalt be
|
|
as one of the fools in Israel,</I>" that is, "Thou wilt be looked upon
|
|
as an atrocious debauchee, the worst of men; thou wilt lose thy
|
|
interest in the esteem of all that are wise and good, and so wilt be
|
|
set aside as unfit to rule, though the first-born; for Israel will
|
|
never submit to the government of such a fool." Prospect of shame,
|
|
especially everlasting shame, should deter us from sin.
|
|
|
|
5. To divert him from his wicked purpose at this time, and (if
|
|
possible) to get clear of him, she intimates to him that probably the
|
|
king, rather than he should die for love of her, would dispense with
|
|
the divine law and let him marry her: not as if she thought he had such
|
|
a dispensing power, or would pretend to it; but she was confident that,
|
|
upon notice given to the king by himself of this wicked desire, which
|
|
he would scarcely have believed from any one else, he would take an
|
|
effectual course to protect her from him. But all her arts and all her
|
|
arguments availed not. His proud spirit cannot bear a denial; but her
|
|
comfort, and honour, and all that was dear to her, must be sacrificed
|
|
to his brutish and outrageous lust,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is to be feared that Amnon, though young, had long lived a lewd
|
|
life, which his father either knew not or punished not; for a man could
|
|
not, of a sudden, arrive at such a pitch of wickedness as this. But is
|
|
this his love to Tamar? Is this the recompence he gives her for her
|
|
readiness to attend him in his sickness? Will he deal with his sister
|
|
as with a harlot? Base villain! God deliver all that are modest and
|
|
virtuous from such wicked and unreasonable men.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. The devil, as a tormentor and betrayer, immediately turns his love
|
|
of her into hatred
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>He hated her with great hatred, greatly,</I> so it is in the margin,
|
|
and grew as outrageous in his malice as he had been in his lust.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. He basely turned her out of doors by force; nay, as if he now
|
|
disdained to touch her with his own hands, he ordered his servant to
|
|
<I>pull her out</I> and <I>bolt the door after her,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
Now,
|
|
|
|
(1.) The innocent injured lady had reason to resent this as a great
|
|
affront, and in some respects (as she says,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>)
|
|
|
|
worse than the former; for nothing could have been done more barbarous
|
|
and ill-natured, or more disgraceful to her. Had he taken care to
|
|
conceal what was done, her honour would have been lost to herself only.
|
|
Had he gone down on his knees and begged her pardon, it might have been
|
|
some little reparation. Had he given her time to compose herself after
|
|
the horrid confusion she was put into, she might have kept her
|
|
countenance when she went out, and so have kept her counsel. But to
|
|
dismiss her thus hurried, thus rudely, as if she had done some wicked
|
|
thing, obliged her, in her own defence, to proclaim the wrong that had
|
|
been done her.
|
|
|
|
(2.) We may learn from it both the malignity of sin (unbridled passions
|
|
are as bad as unbridled appetites) and the mischievous consequences of
|
|
sin (at last, it bites like a serpent); for here we find,
|
|
|
|
[1.] That sins, sweet in the commission, afterwards become odious and
|
|
painful, and the sinner's own conscience makes them so to himself.
|
|
Amnon hated Tamar because she would not consent to his wickedness, and
|
|
so take part of the blame upon herself, but to the last resisted it,
|
|
and reasoned against it, and so threw all the blame upon him. Had he
|
|
hated the sin, and loathed himself for it, we might have hoped he was
|
|
penitent. <I>Godly sorrow worketh indignation,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+7:11">2 Cor. vii. 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
But to hate the person he had abused showed that his conscience was
|
|
terrified, but his heart not at all humbled. See what deceitful
|
|
pleasures those of the flesh are, how soon they pass away, and turn
|
|
into loathing; see
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+23:17">Ezek. xxiii. 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
[2.] That sins, secret in the commission, afterwards become open and
|
|
public, and the sinners themselves often make them so. Their own
|
|
tongues fall upon them. The Jewish doctors say that, upon the occasion
|
|
of this wickedness of Amnon, a law was made that a young man and a
|
|
young woman should never be alone together; for, said they, if the
|
|
king's daughter be so used, what will become of the children of private
|
|
men?</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. We must now leave the criminal to the terrors of his own guilty
|
|
conscience, and enquire what becomes of the poor victim.
|
|
|
|
(1.) She bitterly lamented the injury she had received, as it was a
|
|
stain to her honour, though no real blemish to her virtue. She tore
|
|
her fine clothes in token of her grief, and put ashes upon her head, to
|
|
deform herself, loathing her own beauty and ornaments, because they had
|
|
occasioned Amnon's unlawful love; and she went on crying for another's
|
|
sin,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) She retired to her brother Absalom's house, because he was her own
|
|
brother, and there she lived in solitude and sorrow, in token of her
|
|
modesty and detestation of uncleanness. Absalom spoke kindly to her,
|
|
bade her pass by the injury for the present, designing himself to
|
|
revenge it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
It should seem by Absalom's question (<I>Has Amnon been with thee?</I>)
|
|
that Amnon was notorious for such lewd practices, so that it was
|
|
dangerous for a modest woman to be with him; this Absalom might know,
|
|
and yet Tamar be wholly ignorant of it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa13_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa13_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa13_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa13_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa13_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa13_26"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa13_27"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa13_28"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa13_29"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Plot Against Amnon.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1032.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>21 But when king David heard of all these things, he was very
|
|
wroth.
|
|
22 And Absalom spake unto his brother Amnon neither good nor
|
|
bad: for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister
|
|
Tamar.
|
|
23 And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had
|
|
sheepshearers in Baal-hazor, which <I>is</I> beside Ephraim: and
|
|
Absalom invited all the king's sons.
|
|
24 And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold now, thy
|
|
servant hath sheepshearers; let the king, I beseech thee, and his
|
|
servants go with thy servant.
|
|
25 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.
|
|
26 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?
|
|
27 But Absalom pressed him, that he let Amnon and all the
|
|
king's sons go with him.
|
|
28 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.
|
|
29 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.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
What Solomon says of the beginning of strife is as true of the
|
|
beginning of all sin, it is as the letting forth of water; when once
|
|
the flood-gates are plucked up, an inundation follows; one mischief
|
|
begets another, and it is hard to say what shall be in the end
|
|
thereof.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. We are here told how David resented the tidings of Amnon's sin:
|
|
<I>He was very wroth,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
So he had reason to be, that his own son should do such a wicked thing
|
|
and draw him to be accessory to it. It would be a reproach to him for
|
|
not giving him a better education; it would be a blot upon his family,
|
|
the ruin of his daughter, a bad example to his kingdom, and a wrong to
|
|
his son's soul. But was it enough for him to be angry? He ought to have
|
|
punished his son for it, and have put him to open shame; both as a
|
|
father and as a king he had power to do it. But the LXX. here adds
|
|
these words: <I>But he saddened not the spirit of his son Amnon,
|
|
because he loved him, because he was his first-born.</I> He fell into
|
|
Eli's error, whose sons <I>made themselves vile, and he frowned not on
|
|
them.</I> If Amnon was dear to him, his punishing him would have been
|
|
so much the greater punishment to himself for his own uncleanness. But
|
|
he cannot bear the shame those must submit to who correct that in
|
|
others which they are conscious of in themselves, and therefore his
|
|
anger must serve instead of his justice; and this hardens sinners,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+8:11">Eccl. viii. 11</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. How Absalom resented it. He resolves already to do the part of a
|
|
judge in Israel; and, since his father will not punish Amnon, he will,
|
|
from a principle, not of justice or zeal for virtue, but of revenge,
|
|
because he reckons himself affronted in the abuse done to his sister.
|
|
Their mother was daughter to a heathen prince
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+3:3"><I>ch.</I> iii. 3</A>),
|
|
|
|
which perhaps they were upbraided with sometimes by their brethren, as
|
|
children of a stranger. As such a one Absalom thought his sister was
|
|
now treated; and, if Amnon thought her fit to be made his harlot, he
|
|
would think him fit to be made his slave. This enraged him, and nothing
|
|
less than the blood of Amnon will quench his rage. Here we have,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. The design conceived: <I>Absalom hated Amnon</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>and he that hateth his brother is a murderer</I> already, and, like
|
|
<I>Cain, is of that wicked one,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:12,15">1 John iii. 12, 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
Absalom's hatred of his brother's crime would have been commendable,
|
|
and he might justly have prosecuted him for it by a due course of law,
|
|
for example to others, and the making of some compensation to his
|
|
injured sister; but to hate his person, and design his death by
|
|
assassination, was to put a great affront upon God, by offering to
|
|
repair the breach of his seventh commandment by the violation of his
|
|
sixth, as if they were not all alike sacred. <I>But he that said, Do
|
|
not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:11">James ii. 11</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. The design concealed. He said nothing to Amnon of this matter,
|
|
either good or bad, appeared as if he did not know it, and maintained
|
|
towards him his usual civility, only waiting for a fair opportunity to
|
|
do him a mischief. That malice is the worst,
|
|
|
|
(1.) Which is hidden closely, and has no vent given to it. If Absalom
|
|
had reasoned the matter with Amnon, he might have convinced him of his
|
|
sin and brought him to repentance; but, saying nothing, Amnon's heart
|
|
was hardened, and his own more and more embittered against him;
|
|
therefore rebuking our neighbour is opposed to hating him in our
|
|
hearts,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+19:17">Lev. xix. 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
Let passion have vent and it will spend itself.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Which is gilded over with a show of friendship; so Absalom's was,
|
|
<I>his words smoother than butter but war in his heart.</I> See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+26:26">Prov. xxvi. 26</A>.
|
|
|
|
(3.) Which is harboured long. Two full years Absalom nursed this root
|
|
of bitterness,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>.
|
|
|
|
It may be, at first, he did not intend to kill his brother (for, if he
|
|
had, he might have had as fair an opportunity to do it as he had at
|
|
last), and only waited for an occasion to disgrace him or do him some
|
|
other mischief; but in time his hatred ripened to this, that he would
|
|
be no less than the death of him. If the <I>sun going down</I> once
|
|
<I>upon the wrath gives such place to the devil</I> (as is intimated,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+4:26,27">Eph. iv. 26, 27</A>),
|
|
|
|
what would the sunsets of two full years do?</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. The design laid.
|
|
|
|
(1.) Absalom has a feast at his house in the country, as Nabal had, on
|
|
occasion of his sheep-shearing,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
Attentive as Absalom was to his person
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+14:26"><I>ch.</I> xiv. 26</A>),
|
|
|
|
and as high as he looked, he <I>knew the state of his flocks and looked
|
|
well to his herds.</I> Those who have no other care about their estates
|
|
in the country than how to spend them in the town take a ready way to
|
|
see the end of them. When Absalom had sheep-shearers he would himself
|
|
be with them.
|
|
|
|
(2.) To this feast he invites the king his father, and all the princes
|
|
of the blood
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>),
|
|
|
|
not only that he might have this opportunity to pay his respects to
|
|
them, but that he might make himself the more respected among his
|
|
neighbours. Those that are akin to great folks are apt to value
|
|
themselves too much on their kindred.
|
|
|
|
(3.) The king would not go himself, because he would not put him to the
|
|
expense of his entertainment,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
It seems Absalom had an estate in his own hands, on which he lived like
|
|
himself; the king had given it to him, but would have him to be a good
|
|
husband of it: in both these he is an example to parents, when their
|
|
children have grown up, to give them a competency to live upon,
|
|
according to their rank, and then to take care that they do not live
|
|
above it, especially that they be no way accessory to their doing so.
|
|
It is prudent for young house-keepers to begin as they can hold out,
|
|
and not to spend the wool upon the shearing of it.
|
|
|
|
(4.) Absalom got leave for Amnon, and all the rest of the king's sons,
|
|
to come and grace his table in the country,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:26,27"><I>v.</I> 26, 27</A>.
|
|
|
|
Absalom had so effectually concealed his enmity to Amnon that David saw
|
|
no reason to suspect any design upon him in that particular invitation:
|
|
"Let my brother Amnon go;" but this would make the stroke more cutting
|
|
to David that he was himself drawn in to consent to that which gave the
|
|
opportunity for it, as before,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
It seems, David's sons, though grown up, continued to pay such a
|
|
deference to their father as not to go such a small journey as this
|
|
without leave. Thus ought children, even when they have become men and
|
|
women, to honour their parents, consult them, and do nothing material
|
|
without their consent, much less against their mind.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
4. The design executed,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:28,29"><I>v.</I> 28, 29</A>.
|
|
|
|
(1.) Absalom's entertainment was very plentiful; for he resolves that
|
|
they shall all be merry with wine, at least concludes that Amnon will
|
|
be so, for he knew that he was apt to drink to excess. But,
|
|
|
|
(2.) The orders he gave to his servants concerning Amnon, that they
|
|
should mingle his blood with his wine, were very barbarous. Had he
|
|
challenged him, and, in reliance upon the goodness of his cause and the
|
|
justice of God, fought him himself, though that would have been bad
|
|
enough, yet it would have been more honourable and excusable (our
|
|
ancient law, in some cases, allowed trial by battle); but to murder
|
|
him, as he did, was to copy Cain's example, only that the reason made a
|
|
difference: Abel was slain for his righteousness, Amnon for his
|
|
wickedness. Observe the aggravations of this sin:--
|
|
|
|
[1.] He would have Amnon slain <I>when his heart was merry with
|
|
wine,</I> and he was consequently least apprehensive of danger, least
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|
able to resist it, and also least fit to go out of the world; as if his
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|
malice aimed to destroy both soul and body, not giving him time to say,
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|
<I>Lord, have mercy upon me.</I> What a dreadful surprise hath death
|
|
been to many, whose hearts have been <I>overcharged with surfeiting and
|
|
drunkenness!</I>
|
|
|
|
[2.] His servants must be employed to do it, and so involved in the
|
|
guilt. He was to give the word of command--<I>Smite Amnon;</I> and then
|
|
they, in obedience to him, and, upon presumption that his authority
|
|
would bear them out, must <I>kill him.</I> What an impious defiance
|
|
does he bid to the divine law, when, though the command of God is
|
|
express, <I>Thou shalt not kill,</I> he bids them kill Amnon, with this
|
|
warrant, "<I>Have not I commanded you?</I> That is enough. <I>Be
|
|
courageous,</I> and fear neither God nor man." Those servants are ill
|
|
taught who obey their masters in contradiction to God, and those are
|
|
wicked masters who have taught them to do so. Those are too obsequious
|
|
that will damn their souls to please their masters, whose big words
|
|
cannot secure them from God's wrath. Masters must always command their
|
|
servants as those that know they also have a Master in heaven.
|
|
|
|
[3.] He did it in the presence of <I>all the king's sons,</I> of whom
|
|
it is said
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+8:18"><I>ch.</I> viii. 18</A>)
|
|
|
|
that they were <I>chief rulers;</I> so that it was an affront to public
|
|
justice which they had the administration of, and to the king his
|
|
father whom they represented, and a contempt of that sword which should
|
|
have been a terror to his evil deeds, while his evil deeds, on the
|
|
contrary, were a terror to those that bore it.
|
|
|
|
[4.] There is reason to suspect that Absalom did this, not only to
|
|
revenge his sister's quarrel, but to make way for himself to the
|
|
throne, which he was ambitious of, and which he would stand fair for if
|
|
Amnon the eldest son was taken off. When the word of command was given
|
|
Absalom's servants failed not to execute it, being buoyed up with an
|
|
opinion that their master, being now next heir to the crown (for
|
|
Chileab was dead, as bishop Patrick thinks), would save them from harm.
|
|
Now the threatened sword is drawn in David's house which should not
|
|
depart from it. <I>First,</I> His eldest son falls by it, himself
|
|
being, by his wickedness, the cause of it, and his father, by his
|
|
connivance, accessory to it. <I>Secondly,</I> All his sons flee from
|
|
it, and come home in terror, not knowing how far their brother
|
|
Absalom's bloody design might extend. See what mischief sin makes in
|
|
families.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa13_30"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa13_31"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa13_32"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="2Sa13_33"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa13_34"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa13_35"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa13_36"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa13_37"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa13_38"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Sa13_39"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Amnon's Death; Absalom's Flight.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1032.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>30 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.
|
|
31 Then the king arose, and tare his garments, and lay on the
|
|
earth; and all his servants stood by with their clothes rent.
|
|
32 And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David's brother, answered
|
|
and said, Let not my lord suppose <I>that</I> they have slain all the
|
|
young men 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.
|
|
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 Amnon only
|
|
is dead.
|
|
34 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.
|
|
35 And Jonadab said unto the king, Behold, the king's sons
|
|
come: as thy servant said, so it is.
|
|
36 And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of
|
|
speaking, that, behold, the king's sons came, and lifted up their
|
|
voice and wept: and the king also and all his servants wept very
|
|
sore.
|
|
37 But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai, the son of Ammihud,
|
|
king of Geshur. And <I>David</I> mourned for his son every day.
|
|
38 So Absalom fled, and went to Geshur, and was there three
|
|
years.
|
|
39 And <I>the soul of</I> king David longed to go forth unto
|
|
Absalom: for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was
|
|
dead.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is,
|
|
|
|
I. The fright that David was put into by a false report brought to
|
|
Jerusalem that Absalom had <I>slain all the king's sons,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:30"><I>v.</I> 30</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is common for fame to make bad worse; and the first news of such a
|
|
thing as this represents it as more dreadful than afterwards it proves.
|
|
Let us not therefore be afraid of evil tidings, while they want
|
|
confirmation, but, when we hear the worst, hope the best, at least hope
|
|
better. However, this false news gave as much affliction to David, for
|
|
the present, as if it had been true; he <I>tore his garments, and lay
|
|
on the earth,</I> while as yet it was only a flying story,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:31"><I>v.</I> 31</A>.
|
|
|
|
It was well that David had grace; he had need enough of it, for he had
|
|
strong passions.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The rectifying of the mistake in two ways:--
|
|
|
|
1. By the sly suggestions of Jonadab, David's nephew, who could tell
|
|
him, <I>Amnon only is dead,</I> and not all the king's sons
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:32,33"><I>v.</I> 32, 33</A>),
|
|
|
|
and could tell him too that it was done by the appointment of Absalom,
|
|
and designed from the day Amnon forced his sister Tamar. What a wicked
|
|
man was he, if he knew all this or had any cause to suspect it, that he
|
|
did not make David acquainted with it sooner, that means might be used
|
|
to make up the quarrel, or at least that David might not throw Amnon
|
|
into the mouth of danger by letting him go to Absalom's house. If we do
|
|
not our utmost to prevent mischief, we make ourselves accessory to it.
|
|
<I>If we say, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the
|
|
heart consider</I> whether we did or no? See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+24:11,12">Prov. xxiv. 11, 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is well if Jonadab was not as guilty of Amnon's death as he was of
|
|
his sin; such friends do those prove who are hearkened to as
|
|
counsellors to do wickedly: he that would not be so kind as to prevent
|
|
Amnon's sin would not be so kind as to prevent his ruin, when, it
|
|
should seem, he might have done both.
|
|
|
|
2. By the safe return of all the king's sons except Amnon. They and
|
|
their attendants were speedily discovered by the watch
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:34,35"><I>v.</I> 34, 35</A>),
|
|
|
|
and soon arrived, to show themselves alive, but to bring the certain
|
|
sad news that Absalom had murdered their brother Amnon. The grief David
|
|
had been in for that which was not made him the better able to bear
|
|
that which was, by giving him a sensible occasion, when he was
|
|
undeceived, to thank God that all his sons were not dead: yet that
|
|
Amnon was dead, and slain by his own brother is such a treacherous
|
|
barbarous manner, was enough to put the king and court, the king and
|
|
kingdom, into real mourning. Sorrow is never more reasonable than when
|
|
there is sin in the case.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. Absalom's flight from justice: <I>Absalom</I> immediately
|
|
<I>fled,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:34"><I>v.</I> 34</A>.
|
|
|
|
He was now as much afraid of the king's sons as they were of him; they
|
|
fled from his malice, he from their justice. No part of the land of
|
|
Israel could shelter him. The cities of refuge gave no protection to a
|
|
wilful murderer. Though David had let Amnon's incest go unpunished,
|
|
Absalom could not promise himself his pardon for this murder; so
|
|
express was the law in this case, and so well known David's justice,
|
|
and his dread of blood-guiltiness. He therefore made the best of his
|
|
way to his mother's relations, and was entertained by his grandfather
|
|
<I>Talmai, king of Geshur</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:37"><I>v.</I> 37</A>),
|
|
|
|
and there he was protected <I>three years</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:38"><I>v.</I> 38</A>),
|
|
|
|
David not demanding him, and Talmai not thinking himself obliged to
|
|
send him back unless he were demanded.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. David's uneasiness for his absence. He mourned for Amnon a good
|
|
while
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:37"><I>v.</I> 37</A>),
|
|
|
|
but, he being past recall, time wore off that grief: he was
|
|
<I>comforted concerning Amnon.</I> It also wore off too much his
|
|
detestation of Absalom's sin; instead of loathing him as a murderer, he
|
|
<I>longs to go forth to him,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:39"><I>v.</I> 39</A>.
|
|
|
|
At first he could not find in his heart to do justice on him; now he
|
|
can almost find in his heart to take him into his favour again. This
|
|
was David's infirmity. Something God saw in his heart that made a
|
|
difference, else we should have thought that he, as much as Eli,
|
|
<I>honoured his sons more than God.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
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