SERIES K --- ISRAEL’S GOLDEN AGE --- LESSON 07

SINS AT HOME

PRINCE AMNON’S FOOLISH MISTAKE

From 2 Samuel 13:1-36

Princess Tamar, the daughter of King David, was very beautiful. She was so beautiful that her half-brother Amnon, the son of King David, fell in love with her. In fact, Amnon was so in love with Tamar [who was a full sister of Prince Absalom] that he became sick. Amnon couldn’t tell Tamar how he felt about her, for the princes and princesses were not permitted to be together regularly. Amnon had a cousin Jonadab, the son of King David’s brother Shimeah, who was a very cunning fellow. Before long, Jonadab came up with a plan to help Amnon. ‘Every morning you look very sad,’ Jonadab said to Amnon. ‘Why should a prince look like that? Tell me.’ ‘It’s Tamar!’ Amnon answered. ‘I’m in love with her and I want to be with her.’ ‘Well, that’s easy to arrange,’ Jonadab told him. ‘Lie on your couch and pretend you are sick. When your father comes to see you, ask him to send Tamar to prepare a meal for you.’ Amnon followed Jonadab’s advice. When King David came to see him, he asked him to send Tamar to prepare a meal for him. As soon as David returned home, he sent Tamar to do as Amnon had requested. Tamar mixed the bread dough, kneaded it, made some small loaves of bread and baked them while Amnon watched. But when Tamar brought the food to him, he would not eat. ‘Everyone but Tamar must leave!’ Amnon ordered. Everyone else left the room. ‘Now bring the food to my bed and feed me,’ Amnon said to Tamar. She did as he requested and brought the food to his bed, but Amnon would not eat it. ‘Come, get in bed with me!’ he begged. ‘No, you must not ask me to do that,’ Tamar answered. ‘Such a thing must not be done in Israel. How could I ever live with my shame if I did that? And you a prince, would be like one of the vulgar men of the street. Ask our father and I’m sure he will let us marry.’ But Amnon would not listen to Tamar and being stronger than she, he forced her into bed with him. However, Amnon’s supposed ‘love’ suddenly changed to loathing. He hated her now even more than he had thought he loved her. ‘Get up and get out of here!’ he commanded. ‘Would you send me away after you have forced me?’ she cried out. ‘That is even more wrong than forcing me into bed with you.’ Amnon would not listen to Tamar’s pleas. He called for his personal attendant and ordered, ‘get this woman out of my sight and lock the door behind her!’ Tamar was wearing a long robe with sleeves that reached almost to the floor, a symbol that she was a virgin princess. She tore her robe, put ashes on her head and with her face in her hands walked away, crying as she went. ‘Did Amnon do this to you?’ demanded her brother Absalom when he saw her. ‘Well, let’s not worry about it, for he is your brother.’ But Absalom really felt very deeply about it and he hated Amnon for what he had done. Tamar lived at her brother Absalom’s house, but what a desolate woman she was! King David too, was very angry when he heard what Amnon had done. Although Absalom hated Amnon, he hid his hatred, planning how he might get revenge. Two years went by and Absalom still did nothing about Amnon. One day he invited his father and brothers to a feast to celebrate the shearing of his sheep at Baal-hazor in Ephraim. ‘We can’t all go to the feast,’ King David answered. ‘That’s asking too much!’ Absalom insisted, but David still would not go to the feast. ‘Then send Amnon in your place,’ Absalom insisted. ‘Why do you want Amnon there?’ David asked. But Absalom kept pressing David until he let Amnon go with the other brothers. Then Absalom made plans to kill Amnon. ‘When Amnon gets drunk with wine, kill him!’ Absalom told his servants. ‘Do not be afraid, for I order you to do this.’ Absalom’s servants did as they were commanded and killed Amnon. Terrorized, the other brothers jumped on their mules and fled for their lives. News travels fast! Before long, someone told King David that Absalom had killed all his other sons. David was so anguished that he got up and tore his clothing in grief then fell to the ground. His attendants stood around him, tearing their clothing also. Jonadab was there among them. ‘You must not think that all your sons are dead,’ he said to David. ‘I’m sure that only Amnon was killed. Absalom has plotted his death ever since he did that to Tamar. Forget about all your sons being killed. I’m sure it’s only Amnon.’ Suddenly the young man who was watching on the wall saw a crowd approaching the city by the road on the hillside. ‘See!’ said Jonadab. ‘Here come your other sons, just as I said.’ The king’s sons rushed in and began to cry out with loud voices. King David and his attendants also began to cry loudly. As for Absalom, he escaped and went away to live with his mother’s father, Talmai the son of Amminihud, king of Geshur. Throughout the three years that Absalom stayed there, his father missed him badly. David’s heart longed for Absalom, for he had become reconciled to the fact that Amnon was dead.

COMMENTARY

ANCIENT ART WITH IVORY

Much of the modern knowledge about clothing fashions and hairstyles in Bible times comes from carved ivory inlays on furniture. Elephants could be found in Africa and Syria and their tusks were used for making luxury items. Ivory was used to make combs, boxes and for wall and furniture inlays in wealthy homes. Solomon is said to have had an ivory throne overlaid with gold; the throne was probably made of wood, then inlaid with ivory and gold was then inlaid into the ivory. Ivory was also used to decorate couches and to panel rooms of palaces. Ahab had a [house of ivory,] which must mean that it was panelled or inlaid on the inside with ivory since ivory itself is not strong enough to use as a building material. Women were not often carved on ancient steles and reliefs. The many ivory heads of women found at Megiddo and other places are very important for our knowledge of women’s clothing and hair styles in Bible times. They also reveal what the standard of beauty was in ancient cultures.