Editor’s Note: AMI Quiet Times from May 11-17 are written by pastor David Kwon of Journey Community Church.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

2 Samuel 13:21-22

When King David heard of all these things, he was very angry. [22] But Absalom spoke to Amnon neither good nor bad, for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had violated his sister Tamar.     

Have you ever had a moment of indecisiveness that resulted in unwanted consequences? I remember about a year ago, I was trying to buy an airplane ticket online, but when I saw how high the price was, I figured I would wait. I kept checking the price in the days after but the ticket price was not going down. I became indecisive of whether to purchase the ticket and after a few more days of waiting, I ended up paying more than when I first started to look. I was met with unwanted consequences because of my indecisiveness.

When King David learned about the rape of Tamar, he was furious, but his anger did not amount to anything. David could have sought out justice and set things right but nothing became of David’s anger—he was indecisive and failed to pursue justice despite the power to do so. The text also fails to mention that David grieved over the situation or even went to comfort Tamar.  At the very least David should have confronted Amnon, rebuking and punishing him.  Here is how one commentator describes David’s actions: “We have known David as a man of decisive action, but in this and subsequent episodes narrating the drama of his own family, David is curiously passive and indecisive.  Perhaps David is himself so morally compromised by his own flagrant crimes that he cannot confront the excesses of his sons.  David may be angry, but he joins the conspiracy of silence around the rape of Tamar, and in doing so he unwittingly allows Absalom’s murderous revenge to run its course” (Bruce C. Birch, “The First and Second Books of Samuel,” The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. II).

What can we learn from this passage? First, we must learn how to decisively and quickly deal with sin in our own lives. We cannot let sin linger hoping that things will get better; rather, we should identify and repent of sin immediately. We also must learn how to confront others about sin in their lives with love and wisdom. As a body of Christ, we are called to help one another, but by ignoring sin in people’s lives, it hurts the person as well as others.   Silence provides room for sin to fester and grow.  Absalom was probably hoping that his father, King David, would respond to Tamar’s rape. The fact that David remained silent probably caused Absalom to despise David, so Absalom, being infuriated with Tamar’s disgrace, planned for Amnon’s death later on in the chapter.

Prayer:

Lord, open my eyes to my own sin that I’m often blinded by. Help me to always repent and not let sin linger in my life. Also, give me the courage to confront others who are living in sin so that I would do it wisely and out of love for them. Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Ezekiel 13

Lunch Break Study

Read Romans 6:5-14 

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. [6] We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. [7] For one who has died has been set free from sin. [8] Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. [9] We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. [10] For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. [11] So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. [12] Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. [13] Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. [14] For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Questions to Consider

1. What do we learn about sin in this passage?
2. What does it mean that Christ has set us free from sin? What does it mean to you?
3. How do these verses help you in your fight against sin?

Notes

1. We are no longer slaves of sin, but we are slaves of righteousness. Practically, this means that sin is not our master and we have victory because of what Jesus has done. We have the power to overcome sin in our daily lives.
2. We need to depend on Jesus through the power of the Spirit. Since Christ has given us the power, we cannot overcome sin by our own flesh and will power.
3. We can have hope over sin in our lives. It should give us immense motivation today to continue to fight against sin knowing that the fight will end in victory—sin, shame, failures, and guilt no longer have rule over us because of Christ. Glory to God!

 Evening Reflection

Reflect and spend time thinking on Christ’s great love for you. In our constant fight against sin, we must always remind ourselves that we have a God who loves us unconditionally, despite all of our weaknesses and failures. Thank Him for His constant love that never ceases.