2 Samuel 13:7-19
7 Then David sent a messenger to the house for Tamar, saying, “Go now to your brother Amnon’s house, and prepare food for him.”
8 So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house, and he was lying in bed. And she took dough, kneaded it, made pastries in his sight, and baked the pastries.
9 Then she took the tray and served them to him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, “Have everyone leave me.” So everyone left him.
10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the bedroom, so that I may eat from your hand.” So Tamar took the pastries which she had made and brought them into the bedroom to her brother Amnon.
11 When she brought them to him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, “Come, sleep with me, my sister.”
12 But she said to him, “No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this disgraceful sin!
13 As for me, where could I get rid of my shame? And as for you, you will be like one of the fools in Israel. Now then, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.”
14 However, he would not listen to her; since he was stronger than she, he violated her and slept with her.
15 Then Amnon hated her with a very great hatred; indeed, the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Get up, go away!”
16 But she said to him, “No, because this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other that you have done to me!” Yet he would not listen to her.
17 Then he called his young man who attended him and said, “Now throw this woman out of my presence, and lock the door behind her!”
18 Now she had on a long-sleeved garment; for this is how the virgin daughters of the king dressed themselves in robes. Then his attendant took her out and locked the door behind her.
19 Tamar took ashes and put them on her head, and tore her long-sleeved garment which was on her; and she put her hand on her head and went on her way, crying out as she went.
Tamar’s Tragedy
Amnon’s assault
Unaware of anything, David responded to Amnon’s request and ordered Tamar to be sent to him. David’s sons each had their own houses. (1) Things proceeded just as Amnon had planned. Tamar made sweet cakes for him. (2) Next, Amnon dismissed everyone and said that he wanted to eat the sweet cakes directly from his sister’s hand, calling Tamar into his bedroom. (3) Amnon seized Tamar and said, “Come, sleep with me, my sister.” (4) But Tamar resisted, saying, “No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this disgraceful sin!” She knew that the Mosaic Law forbade marriage between half-siblings (Levi. 18:9, 11; 20:17). (5) Tamar’s response was the same as that of the brothers of Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, when she was violated by Shechem (Gen. 34:7). (6) Furthermore, Tamar told Amnon that once such disgrace was forced upon her, it could never be wiped away, and that he himself would forever be called a fool. She tried to dissuade him. But Amnon, relying on his physical strength, overpowered her and violated her by force.
Further malicious behavior
It becomes clear that what Amnon felt toward Tamar was not love, but mere lust. (1) Having satisfied his desire, he then felt a greater hatred toward her than the love he had previously claimed, and he tried to drive her out. (2) Tamar cried out that such treatment was an even more terrible evil than the violation itself, but Amnon would not listen and drove her out. (3) Tamar tore the long robe worn by virgin princesses, put ashes on her head, placed her hand on her head, and went away crying out in grief. What unfolds here is an ugly world completely disconnected from love. Let us once again recall what true love is: “Love is patient, love is kind… It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth” (1 Cor. 13:4-6).
Today's prayer
Heavenly Father, please transform me into a person of love. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.