2 Samuel 13:15-20 – Let’s cultivate a godly conscience

The first verse 0f 2 Samuel 13 tells us that Amnon loved Tamar. The affection he had for her was one-sided. When there is no mutuality, there will not be any chemistry. Unable to get near her, he became frustrated to a point where he became sick. At the advice of Jonadab, he pretended to be sick and made David sent Tamar to nurse him. In the privacy of his chamber, he raped her despite her desperate plea. Immediately after he had violated her, 2 Samuel 13:15 tells us that his love for her turned into hatred. Why did Amnon's feelings for Tamar change so drastically? Obviously, it was because of unrequited love. The once feeling of affection had become intense hatred. This plus his guilt of having raped her rendered him heartless. She became the object of his acrimonious aversion as he ordered her out of his presence. 

Tamar then again reasoned and pled with him. To thrust her out after violating her would be worse than the violation. Why? It would appear as if Tamar was the initiator and seducer. But her plea fell on death ears. Amnon ordered his servants to thrust her out and had the door bolted after her. Shamed and humiliated, Tamar went into mourning. She tore her multicolored garment, a common adornment for the king’s daughters. Then she put ashes on her head and covered her now unveiled face with her hands because the veil was also ripped off by Amnon in his violation. And she ran toward her brother’s home crying. Having ascertained that she was violated by Amnon, Absalom, her brother, counseled her to stay calm. He was probably thinking of avenging her. But he knew that if she raised the alarm, it would complicate his plot. So he told her to remain calm as he devised his scheme. Meanwhile, Tamar remained desolate in Absalom’s house as a recluse.

It is so repulsive to read an account like this. How could Amnon do such a thing to Tamar, who was his half-sister? How could he treat her so horribly? Here was an innocent sister coming with good intentions to nurse him yet so horrendously treated. Only the devil would repay evil for good. The truth about every human life is this: within each one of us lies both a positive and negative nature. Time and circumstances of life can awaken either one of these natures. Unless we take time to come before God to allow His Word and grace to nurture our conscience, we will not be able to choose and act rightly. We will most likely choose the path of least resistance. But when we take time and allow God’s transforming process to take effect in our life, self-control will be built over time. Then we will be able to resist the lure of our lower nature.

Here is the last stanza of the hymn, Take Time To Be Holy, to exhort us:  

“Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
Each thought and each motive beneath His control.
Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.