consequences

Extremes

Wisdom does not keep us from committing sin. Sometimes people say, if I knew then what I know now, I would have done things differently, implying that you will make better choices as you grow wiser. The truth of the matter is that we make bad choices because we have a sin nature or tendency to sin, not because we are stupid and don’t know any better.

Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived, disobeyed God by marrying multiple foreign wives. It says in 1 Kings 11:3 that Solomon “had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.” Initially, Solomon was committed to the LORD God of Israel who appeared to him on two separate occasions (1 Kings 11:9), but when Solomon was recognized by the people for his gifts of leadership, wisdom and justice (2205), he began to care more about pleasing his wives that he did about pleasing God (1 Kings 11:4).

The interesting thing about Solomon’s situation was that Solomon’s disobedience wasn’t punished. When David committed adultery with Bath-Sheba, the child that was conceived died shortly after he was born. Solomon’s disobedience continued throughout his life, to the extreme that he accumulated 1000 wives and concubines, a direct violation of God’s command (Deuteronomy 17:17).

Deuteronomy 17:14-20 makes it clear that God knew in advance that Solomon would turn away from him and may even have set up or prearranged the situation by giving Solomon extreme wealth. In ancient times, the number of wives a man had was closely tied to his wealth. From a cultural perspective, it was appropriate for Solomon to have an outrageous number of wives because he was the wealthiest man on earth. The problem was that Solomon had foreign wives that wanted to keep worshipping their own gods and Solomon let them.

In says in 1 Kings 11:9 that “the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice.” The word translated turned, natah “connotes ‘extending something outward and toward’ something or someone…This is a figure of God’s active, sovereign, and mighty involvement in the affairs of men. So this phrase means ‘to stretch out’ something until is reaches a goal” (5186).

God had a purpose for allowing Solomon’s disobedience to continue unpunished. It may have been that God wanted Israel to see that they could be like everyone else, enjoy peace and prosperity, but they would be miserable without him at the center of their lives (Ecclesiastes 12:8).

Divine intervention

“And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man: so that they sent this word unto the king, Return thou, and all thy servants” (2 Samuel 19:14). David’s return to Jerusalem after the death of Absalom was the result of a sovereign act of God. The word translated bowed, nâtâh (naw – taw´) means to stretch or spread out (5186). It is a picture of God extending his hand in order to accomplish something.

God does not always intervene in the lives of men, but he does control the outcome of events over time. God’s involvement in the affairs of men is a sign of his power (5186). As the creator of the universe, he does not just watch or oversee what is going on, he engages in activity that keeps the process going until a particular goal is achieved.

David’s return to Jerusalem was a sign that all was well again. The conflict was over. The word translated return, shûwb (shoob) means to turn back. “The basic meaning of the verb is a movement back to the point of departure” (7725). Although it is clear that David was returning to the city he had left sometime earlier, the significance of his return was greater. I believe his return signaled a return or restoration of his life from the point in time when he sinned against Uriah (2 Samuel 11:15).

The death of Absalom marked the end of a chapter in David’s life that had caused conflict in his family and in his country. Even though things had not reach the point of chaos, there was a great disturbance when Absalom attempted to take the throne from his father. The people of Israel lost confidence in David and were unsure of God’s will for their nation (2 Samuel 19:9-10). God’s involvement was necessary to restore order.

It says in 2 Samuel 19:9 that, “all the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel.” The word translated strife, dûwn (doon) means to rule (1777). This word is comparable to the words adon and adonay which mean sovereign, Lord, and master (113, 136). If you think of strife in terms of conflict or a fight amongst people, it marks the point when an umpire is needed to settle the dispute. In Israel’s case, it marked the point when God needed to step in and make it clear that David was still his chosen leader of their nation.

Unfortunately, only the tribe of Judah was given the opportunity to welcome David back into the country and the other tribes of Israel did not appreciate being left out. “And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more right in David than ye: why then did ye despise us, that our advice should not be first had in bringing back our king?” (2 Samuel 19:43). In spite of David’s return to the throne, there was not a complete restoration of peace to the nation of Israel. The damage that was done by Absalom’s revolt left a permanent mark on David’s reputation as king and a crack in the foundation of Israel as a nation. The peace the nation experienced when David was at the peak of his career (2 Samuel 10:19), seemed to be lost when Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel (2 Samuel 15:6).

Starting over

Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun. (2 Samuel 12:11-12)

These words were spoken to David by Nathan the prophet when he confronted David about his sin with Bath-sheba. The word translated raise, qûwm (koom) means to arise or stand up. “It is also used to denote the inevitable occurrence of something predicted or prearranged” (6965).

The prophecy was fulfilled after Absalom came into Jerusalem and took over as king. At the advice of Ahithophel, it says in 2 Samuel 16:22, “So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house; and Absalom went in unto his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.”

Although it may seem as if the prophecy against David was harsh, David knew God was right to punish him and when David was ridiculed by Shimei, he did not doubt that he deserved to be cursed. What guided David through the experience was a belief that God still cared about him and would not bring on him more than David could handle.

David said regarding his punishment, “It may be that the LORD will look on mine affliction and that the LORD will requite me good for his cursing this day” (2 Samuel 16:12). The word translated requite, shûwb (shoob) means to turn back. “The basic meaning of the verb is movement back to the point of departure” (7725). David’s hope was that he would regain his position of right standing with God, so that the LORD could bless him as he once had.

Two Hebrew words related to shuwb are nacham which means to repent (5162) and teshubah which is a recurrence or beginning (8666). Together these words convey the idea of starting over or beginning a new life. Because, in a sense, the penalty for David’s sin with Bath-sheba was paid when Absalom desecrated his wives in public, David was free to move on and was given a fresh start.

Note: Unlike David, we do not have to pay a penalty for the sins we commit. Jesus paid the penalty for all our sins when he died on the cross. He made it possible for the LORD to “requite us good” automatically at the moment of our conversion. The only thing we have to do from that point forward is confess our sins and the penalty is taken care of by Jesus’ death.

Actions & Consequences

If sin were a disease, it would be feared and dreaded more than any other because of the pain and suffering it causes those who contract it. Sin is a killer and like cancer, it often spreads so quickly, that by the time it is detected, it’s too late to do anything about it. Sin is both hereditary and contagious. You have to be careful to not get too close to someone infected with it and be aware that you may be predisposed toward a certain type of sin because of the sins of your parents.

“And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister” (2 Samuel 13:4). Amnon’s confession of love to his friend Jonadab was understood to mean that he wanted to have sexual relations with his brother’s sister, Tamar. In response, Jonadab lays out a plan for Amnon to rape her. These two men were not only related to each other, they were both related to king David, the father of the woman Amnon was planning to rape.

David’s sin with Bath-sheba had caused his family to become infected with sin. In the same way that David had given in to his lust for Bath-sheba, Amnon decided he was going to have sex with Tamar. What was different about Amnon’s situation was that Tamar was a virgin and unlikely to agree to have sex with him outside of marriage.

Amnon’s friend Jonadab is described as being very subtil. The Hebrew word for subtil, chakam actually means wise (2450). Jonadab’s plan was not some sinister plot, but a well thought out means of obtaining what Amnon wanted, a private encounter with Tamar. Most likely, the intent was to have sex secretly, so that if anyone found out, Amnon could deny it.

“And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel; do not thou this folly” (2 Samuel 13:12). The word translated folly, “nebalah is most often used as a word for serious sin. It signifies ‘disregarding God’s will'” (5039). In other words, Amnon knew what God’s will for him was regarding Tamar and he decided to do the opposite. Jonadab was an accessory to his crime, and together, the two of them planned to deceive king David and trap his daughter Tamar, so that Amnon could have sex with her.

Rather than keeping it a secret, Tamar displayed her shame openly after Amnon raped her. “And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colours that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying” (2 Samuel 13:19). The word used to describe Tamar’s condition afterward, desolate or shamem in Hebrew means ruined (8076), but the root word shâmêm (shaw – mame´) means to stun or intransitively to grow numb (8074). Tamar was traumatized by what happened to her and most likely suffered from what we know today as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) the rest of her life.