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[0:00] Turn with me to 2 Samuel chapter 13, 2 Samuel chapter 13, as we just continue to make our way through the Word of God, and we're in particular in the book of 2 Samuel.

[0:12] We will look at the chapter in its entirety. It is rather, at some points, disturbing, but it should not be surprising in light of what precedes it, 2 Samuel 13.

[0:26] You know, it's astounding when we open up the Word of God. There's some portions of Scripture which seem so dark, some portions of Scripture which seem so depressing, that if it had not been for the hope that we have in Christ, we would despair.

[0:42] We are in the midst of that, especially in light of the historical writings of God's interactions with the people of Israel. We see what goes on with the nation of Israel, even now in our thoughts of current events and current circumstances.

[0:57] But we see the dark days recorded for us in Scripture. And rather than pointing and looking at, oh, look at what they did, Scripture should serve as a mirror to show us really who we are.

[1:13] And by we, I mean mankind. Because this is so much more than just the story of the nation of Israel. This is God's interaction with His people.

[1:25] The Bible was a grand narrative starting in Genesis 12 of God's redemption of man. We looked at it several years ago.

[1:35] Every problem of man is recorded in the first 11 chapters of Scripture. From Genesis 1 to Genesis 11, every problem of man is recorded. Man's rebellion, man's neglect, man's animosity, his hatred, his murderous, his coveting, his fornications, every problem of man is recorded in the first 11 chapters.

[1:55] Chapter 12 of Genesis is when God calls Abram out of the land of the Ur of the Chaldeans. Thus begins God's redemption of man. So when we read of God's history with His people, we need to understand that His people were only special because God called them to Himself.

[2:15] Other than that, they are just like everyone else. And He is using them to display His glory. Now I say all of that because when we look at passages such as this, we seem to think, well, how could God ever use this?

[2:29] Or how could God ever use them? And really the question even resonates in our own mind, how could God ever use me? But yet, He is a great God, He is a merciful God, but He is also a God of justice, a God of righteousness, and a God of truth.

[2:45] Leading up to this, David has reached the pinnacle of his career in chapter 10. Chapter 11 is David's sin with Bathsheba. Chapter 12 is God's declaration of the consequences of David's sin.

[2:59] God had declared that David would have trouble in his own household. That trouble begins here. The trouble which God had promised, which were the consequences of David's sin, begin here.

[3:13] You need to understand, and I say this before we read it, that 2 Samuel 13 through 18, chapters 13 through 18, are the biblical account of David's son, Absalom.

[3:28] His thirdborn. His thirdborn. You need to understand that, because when we start this chapter, you're going to think it's about Amnon. We'll get to him.

[3:39] But what we need to understand is, and I give you the title this evening, is the troubling road of sin. This began when David should have been at war, but he was on the housetop.

[3:53] This began when David should have been surrounded by counselors, but took matters into his own hand, which started the road. The accounts that we have before us is the opening up of the story of Absalom's rebellion and eventual death.

[4:08] But it doesn't start with Absalom. Ultimately, it starts with David, but even before it gets to Absalom, it starts with someone else. And we see this troubling road of sin, that if we're not careful, that we too will end up on that road, and it will take us places we never intended to go.

[4:24] 2 Samuel 13. Now it was after this. After what? After David sinned with Bathsheba. After God's declaration of the consequences of David sinned with Bathsheba. Now it was after this that Absalom, the son of David, had a beautiful sister whose name was Tamar.

[4:38] And Amnon, the son of David, loved her. Amnon was so frustrated because of his sister Tamar that he made himself ill, for she was a virgin, and it seemed hard to Amnon to do anything to her.

[4:50] But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother. And Jonadab was a very shrewd man. He said to him, O son of the king, why are you depressed morning after morning?

[5:03] Will you not tell me? Then Amnon said to him, I am in love with Tamar, the sister of my brother Absalom. Jonadab then said to him, lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill. When your father comes to see you, say to him, please let my sister Tamar come and give me some food to eat and let her prepare the food in my sight that I may see it and eat from her hand.

[5:22] So Amnon laid down and pretended to be ill. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, please let my sister Tamar come and make a couple of cakes in my sight that I may eat from her hand.

[5:33] Then David sent to the house for Tamar, saying, Go now to your brother Amnon's house and prepare food for him. So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house and he was lying down. And she took dough, kneaded it, made cakes in his sight and baked the cakes.

[5:47] And she took the pan and dished them out before him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, have everyone go out from me. So everyone went out from him. Then Amnon said to Tamar, bring the food into the bedroom that I may eat from your hand.

[5:59] So Tamar took the cakes which she had made and brought them into the bedroom to her brother Amnon. When she brought them to him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, Come lie with me, my sister.

[6:10] But she answered him, No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing. As for me, where can I get rid of my reproach? And as for you, you will be like one of the fools in Israel.

[6:23] Now, therefore, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you. However, he would not listen to her. Since he was stronger than she, he violated her and lay with her.

[6:33] Then Amnon hated her with a very great hatred, for the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, Get up, go away. But she said to him, No, because this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other that you have done to me.

[6:49] Yet he would not listen to her. 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. Now she had on a long-sleeved garment, for in this manner the virgin daughters of the king dressed themselves in robes.

[7:03] Then his attendant took her out and locked the door behind her. Tamar put ashes on her head and tore her long-sleeved garments, which was on her, and she put her hand on her head and went away crying aloud as she went.

[7:15] Then Absalom, her brother, said to her, Has Amnon, your brother, been with you? But now keep silent, my sister. He is your brother. Do not take this matter to heart. So Tamar remained and was desolate in her brother Absalom's house.

[7:28] Now when King David heard of all these matters, he was very angry. But Absalom did not speak to Amnon either good or bad, for Absalom hated Amnon because he had violated his sister Tamar. Now it came about after two full years that Absalom had sheep shearers in Belhazor, which is near Ephraim.

[7:45] And Absalom invited all the king's sons. Absalom came to the king and said, Behold, now your servant has sheep shearers. Please let the king and his servants go with your servant. But the king said to Absalom, No, my son, we should not all go, for we will be burdensome to you.

[8:01] Although he urged him, he would not go, but blessed him. Then Absalom said, If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said to him, Why should he go with you? But when Absalom urged him, he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him.

[8:16] Absalom commanded his servants, saying, See now when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, strike Amnon, then put him to death. Do not fear, have not I myself commanded you.

[8:27] Be courageous and be valiant. The servants of Absalom did to Amnon just as Absalom had commanded. And when all the king's sons arose and each mounted his mule and fled. Now it was while they were on the way that the report came to David, saying, Absalom has struck down all the king's sons, and not one of them has left.

[8:43] Then the king arose, tore his clothes, and lay on the ground, and all his servants were standing by with clothes torn. Job, the son of Shemaah, David's brother, responded, Do not let my lord suppose they have put to death all the young men, the king's sons, for Amnon alone is dead, because by the intent of Absalom, this has been determined since the day he violated his sister Tamar.

[9:06] Now therefore, do not let my lord the king take the report to heart, namely, all the king's sons are dead, for only Amnon is dead. Now Absalom had fled, and the young man, who was the watchman, raised his eyes and looked, and behold, many people were coming from the road behind him by the side of the mountain.

[9:24] Jonadab said to the king, Behold, the king's sons have come, according to your servant's word, so it happened. As soon as he had finished speaking, behold, the king's sons came and lifted their voices and wept, and also the king and all his servants wept bitterly.

[9:37] Now Absalom fled and went to Tamaiah, the son of Amihud, the king of Geshur, and David mourned for his son every day. So Absalom had fled and gone to Geshur and was there three years.

[9:48] The heart of King David longed to go out to Absalom, for he was comforted concerning Amnon since he was dead. 2 Samuel 13, not a very encouraging passage, but it is a revealing passage, for in it we see the troubling road of sin.

[10:05] I know it was of great length, but we needed to see it in its entirety, because until we understand this road and where it leads, we would not walk with caution in our own lives to ensure that we do not get on that road, or we will establish the people around us to help us, if we do end up there.

[10:20] I will, in light of the fact that we have business meeting and all that tonight, I will try to be as quick as I can, but also try to be as thorough and as honest to the text as we can do it. The first thing that we notice about this road to the sin, even though we understand these are the consequences of David's sins, yet we understand that no man dies for the sin of his father, so Amnon and Absalom's judgment is a result of their own sin.

[10:45] Yet they are walking in the sins of their father. We see them in adultery, plotting and conniving murder, secrecy, all these things which David had done. We see his sons doing it as well.

[10:58] We understand that Amnon is the firstborn. Being the firstborn, therefore, he is heir to the throne. He is heir to the Davidic covenant. He is the one who is the king to be.

[11:10] Absalom is the thirdborn. And in light of things, he is the one right behind Amnon. We understand here that these are two princes which should have been in a place of rule, and David more than likely gives them a little bit more freedom and a little bit of privilege, responsibility because of who they are.

[11:27] Yet they end up on this troubling road of sin, and it takes them much further than they ever intended to go. There's a few things that I want you to see about this road, things that they got into, things that we are tempted to get into, and things that we must avoid.

[11:39] The first thing that we notice is the unchecked sin of the individual. Now, we know this is a story about Absalom because the very first person we meet is Absalom, not Amnon.

[11:50] It came about after these things that Absalom had a sister. Why do we need to know that it's Absalom's sister? Because the account is about Absalom. We can read the rest of the account. We can go all the way down to the 18th chapter, and we can read in the 18th chapter how beautiful Absalom, with all of his long hair, gets stuck in a tree and gets a spear stuck through his heart, right?

[12:07] It's amazing to understand that both Absalom and his sister evidently were very appealing to the eye, and both of their looks got them in trouble. Not that Tamar's was of our own choosing, but we understand that.

[12:20] You also need to understand that when Absalom fled, he went to his maternal grandparents' house because his mother, one of David's wives, was the daughter of the king of Geshur.

[12:30] So that's where he went to find security and a place to be. But those are all just historical matters. The first thing that we notice is this unchecked sin. It tells us that in those days, Amnon loved Absalom's sister Tamar.

[12:46] He had a desire. Now, we know that it's not love. It's not love as we would define it. This is, in reality, lust. Because when he fulfilled his desires, he hated her with the same amount of love, or the hatred he had for her was greater than the, quote, unquote, love he had for her.

[13:00] So this is lust, not love. We understand that because love does no wrong. Love does no harm. Love is for good. But yet we see in the scripture that it says, Amnon loved his sister.

[13:13] It's his half-sister, but it's his sister. Now, that should all of a sudden catch us because according to the Mosaic law, this is absolutely inexcusable. It is against all biblical standards.

[13:25] It's against all biblical practices for a man to have his half-sister as a wife. This is very clear. It is laid out in the word of God. And yet what we find is that Amnon, though understanding this, because if he is the king to be, and if David was to do what kings were to do, that is to memorize the Mosaic law, and to recite it, and to teach it in their homes, and to teach it to their children, Amnon would have had the opportunity to hear it and to read it and to understand it more than anyone else.

[13:57] And yet we find that Amnon, even though the sin is present, ends up making himself sick because he doesn't know what to do about it. So the first problem we see is that Amnon doesn't check himself with his sin.

[14:12] Because as the book of James says, it's not sin until we give way to it, right? We allow it to take root. We allow it to fester. We allow it to be there. Amnon allowed it to reside, though the word of God had said it shouldn't be.

[14:25] Much like when David lingered on the roof instead of removing himself from the presence. Amnon doesn't repent. He doesn't turn away from this. He doesn't confess it.

[14:35] He is there and he stays in it so much so that he makes himself physically sick over this reality because he's got comfortable in that sin. And he understands, though the word says it's wrong, the flesh is telling him it's right.

[14:50] And there are none righteous, no, not one, for the heart is desperately wicked in all men. So be careful how much we judge Amnon. But more than that, we find that Amnon has a cousin, Jonadab, which we meet him twice in this passage.

[15:03] And we see that at least others know about this sin as well because he confesses this. More than likely, Absalom knew it because the moment he saw Tamar, he realized Amnon had done something.

[15:21] Probably David knew about it. And yet what we find is no one calls it to account. It's an unchecked sin.

[15:36] Remember, last time we were together, I know it wasn't Sunday, but last time we were together, last Wednesday night, we looked at the word confrontation, how confrontation is not a bad thing. It means to stand before someone, to stand before for the purpose of being transparent.

[15:51] No one confronted Amnon with his sin. Everything that follows all the way to the end of the 18th chapter could have been stopped if someone had checked him in his sin.

[16:04] But they didn't. Because when sin remains unchecked, it always takes us down a road further than we want to go. We don't like it when people confront us.

[16:15] We don't like it when people stand before us. But the reality is that every one of us needs someone, every one of us, myself included, needs someone to help check our sin.

[16:26] Because unchecked sin always takes root. And we see this going on in Amnon's life. This problem that he has, and no one's calling it to account.

[16:40] The second dangerous thing with this unchecked sin is we also notice that there was unfit counsel. Amnon, in his sin, sought out unfit counselors.

[16:54] Jonadab, his cousin, comes to him and asks him what's wrong. Amnon confesses what is going on. He has a desire for his sister. And Jonadab, rather than being one who calls him to account, actually enables him to further sin.

[17:10] The Bible says, And a multitude of counselors' wisdom is found. It says in Proverbs 18, That it is a fool who isolates himself.

[17:22] But not all counselors are worthy of listening to. It's the right counsel that man desperately needs. We don't need anyone that will help us sin. We can do that well enough on our own.

[17:35] I mean, we don't have to teach children how to sin. We don't have to teach children how to do wrong. What we try to do is instruct them to do right, right? We instruct them in the way they should go, not in what they shouldn't do. We don't need anyone, even as adults, we don't need anyone to counsel us on how to sin further because we're pretty good at that on our own.

[17:52] But yet when Jonadab hears of Amnon's problem, he is a shrewd man, and he enables him to do that which is wrong. Friend, be careful if you have those around you who enable you to do greater wrong.

[18:06] And make sure that the counsel you receive, though it may make you uncomfortable, it always brings you back to the truth. Because Jonadab should have known better as well.

[18:19] And he's unfit to give counsel to anyone as to how they should live their lives. Here is the disparity of the human heart.

[18:31] And I mean the human heart because this is a human issue, this is a mankind issue, this is not just a Jonadab or an Amnon issue, this is a mankind issue. We will always find somebody to validate what we want to do if we want to do it bad enough.

[18:45] I promise you, you can find whatever it is, you can find someone that will give you the counsel to do what you want to do if you want to do it bad enough.

[19:02] I mean if you think of the greatest, the most evil, the most wicked schemes you can ever think of. Think of the Holocaust. There were a multitude of counselors.

[19:14] Sounds like a good idea. It wasn't just one. There were ordinary men who gave counsel to one another and they validated their own actions. And they isolated themselves with those who agreed with them and only did what they wanted to do.

[19:32] The heart of mankind is desperately wicked. And if we're not careful, the counselors we put around us may be very unfit to be the ones speaking into our lives.

[19:43] It is a very hard thing to find wise counsel today. Our kids, grandkids, even adults, there are a multitude of people who want to lead us to do wrong.

[20:00] But what we find in Amnon's life is he took counsel, but it was unfit counsel. So we need to make sure that the counselors around us are fit to speak into our lives.

[20:16] Well, how do you know if they're fit? Well, if they always agree with what it is you want to do, then more than likely they're not fit to give you counsel. I don't like that any more than you do.

[20:27] I like for everybody to agree with my plans, but if they always agree with you, then more than likely they're not fit to give us counsel. If they never question your motives, if they never question your actions, if they never question why you're doing what you're doing, then they're not fit.

[20:43] We ought to get a little bit uncomfortable with the truth because none of us are perfect. No, not one. All of us have fallen. And there's wise counsel for every one of our lives that would help correct us.

[20:57] We see unfit counselors. So we follow this road. Third, we see an unchecked sin, unfit counselors. Third, we see unaddressed matters.

[21:10] Tamar does what her father told her to do. She's living with all the other princesses, the unwed virgin princesses in this house.

[21:21] David tells her to go to Amnon's house, and she does. You know the story. You read the story. But what's disturbing is she's thrown out of Amnon's house.

[21:33] She comes out. She rips the sleeves off her garment, puts out her garment. Really, the sign she's giving is of a widow in mourning. And she goes forward mourning. And Absalom, her brother, meets her.

[21:46] And Absalom knows immediately what has happened. And this is disturbing, by the way, because what has happened is punishable by death. Sure. If this had not been his sister, and Amnon had violated the young lady, then he would have been forced to pay a dowry to the father and take her as his wife, and he could never divorce her.

[22:06] But then he would violate the command of God not to marry his sister. So we're kind of in a fix here, right? It's punishable by death. Absalom says, Has your brother Amnon been with you?

[22:18] He said, yes. And then he says this, Be quiet. Don't say a word. That is, let's not deal with it now.

[22:32] It was something that should have been cried out. If you read the word of God, you understand it. When a lady is violated, she is to cry out. And in crying out, that is how they would know she was innocent of what has just taken place.

[22:43] And in her crying out, it would have brought guilt upon the individual. But yet Absalom says, Be quiet. Takes her into his own house, tends to her, and doesn't say a word.

[22:57] For two years, Absalom is silent, never speaks to Amnon. Two years. But what bothers me in the passage more than that is that David, and it tells us King David, heard of the matter and was very angry.

[23:13] Well, that's good. I'm, and I'm not trying to be tongue-in-cheek here, and I'm not trying to make light of the word of God, but I'm glad he was very angry, but he also did nothing.

[23:28] He didn't address the issue. He is king. You know, I have kind of a suspicion as to why he didn't address it. Because we are most silent on the sins of others that we too have walked in.

[23:48] What could David say? He had done the very same thing. We usually refrain from addressing matters in others that we wrestle with ourselves.

[24:02] And David left it alone. He was angry, but that doesn't take care of the problem. That's not following biblical counsel.

[24:14] That's not adhering to the word. That's allowing the sin to continue to go down the road. And again, if David had heard, and David did hear, and if David was angry, and David was, and if David had responded biblically, then what follows this would have never taken place.

[24:30] It's okay if sin angers us and disturbs us, but if we do nothing about it, it really doesn't help. We should be angry at sin.

[24:43] We should be angry, not at individuals. We should be angry at sin and the consequences of sin. And we should be angry at the harm that it does and causes to others and in our own lives. And we should be upset at those realities, but then we should take that emotion and make action upon it.

[24:57] That is, try to alleviate the circumstances, situation. We're not casting judgment. We ought to raise up restoration. David does nothing. So for two years, the matter is completely unaddressed.

[25:11] Everybody knows about it, but nobody's doing anything. You know, that happens in a lot of churches. Everybody knows, but nobody does anything.

[25:22] And it just continues and continues and continues until eventually we get to this last, fourth, and final thing. An unavoidable outcome.

[25:35] When sin is allowed to remain unchecked and unaddressed, we get to the unavoidable outcome. Absalom, two years later, he's shearing his sheep and he wants to throw a party.

[25:51] Very common thing. Think Nabal, sheep shearing party. David wanted some of the spoils, right? It's a very common thing when you're shearing the sheep. It's a party. You want to call everybody in. So Absalom, for two years, has been silent.

[26:06] He goes and he goes to the king. He says, won't you come to my party? And David says, no, it would be too big of a burden for you. So he says, what about Amnon? Now, this ought to be a red flag. You haven't talked to Amnon in two years, right? But, it is also normal for Amnon, the king to be, to show up in the king's place.

[26:27] David says, okay, I'll let Amnon go but I'm going to let all my sons go. So all the sons of David go. Now Absalom has a little bit of his father in him too because he's decided he's going to come up with a plan and he's going to use the sword of other men to take care of his problem.

[26:43] Because see, Uriah didn't die at the hand of David, he died at the plotting of David. Absalom doesn't kill his brother Amnon but he dies at the plotting of Absalom at the hands of others.

[26:59] Amnon goes to the party, Absalom has already arranged, it's two years of planning, two years of scheming, two years of plotting. He says, when I give you the son, strike Amnon and kill him but don't worry because it's I who does.

[27:10] That sounds a lot like David, right? Don't worry. It's okay. I gave you the command. Amnon is killed at the party for the wages of sin is death and when sin is allowed to tarry and sin is allowed to reign and sin is allowed to just kind of ferment, it's always going to lead to death.

[27:30] And Amnon dies as the king's sons flee. We see that there, the council comes back to the king that all the sons are dead and that's not right and then all of a sudden we meet Jonadab again. He says, oh, let's not know.

[27:41] This ought to stand out to you because he counsels the king. Jonadab, the son of Shemaah, David's brother, responded, do not let my lord suppose that they have put to death all the young men, the king's sons. Look at this.

[27:52] Now he's not there. They're about 15 miles away. Right? They're about 15 miles away. It's where they're at. But yet, somehow or another, Jonadab knows this. For Amnon alone is dead because by the intent of Absalom, this has been determined since the day he violated his sister Tamar.

[28:11] Which tells me that Jonadab probably knew that Absalom wanted to kill his brother and yet didn't say a thing. Had been his intent for two years, but yet he didn't say a thing.

[28:31] Unchecked, unchallenged, unaddressed, Amnon's dead and Absalom's dead. David mourns over Absalom.

[28:45] It's kind of, in English, it's kind of confusing because it says, for he was comforted concerning Amnon for he was dead. It doesn't mean he had comfort like solace. It just means that he said, well, he died in his sin.

[28:56] That's what it is. There's nothing else I can do about that. Yet he mourns for Absalom. We know that next chapter we'll get into Absalom will come back. David won't say anything to him.

[29:07] Doesn't talk to him and eventually ends up with a revolt. But all of this happened, every bit of this, because of the troubling road of sin. It's not amazing when men and women fall into sin.

[29:25] What's amazing, because we're sinners, right? I mean, we're redeemed. We're saved by the blood of the Lamb. But we are not yet what we should be.

[29:37] But what's amazing to me in the passage is how many people knew but nobody did anything. And they just let him go down that road.

[29:48] Just let him go down that road. Amnon's dead. Absalom's fled. The kingdom's going to be divided. That road always takes you further than you want to go. What's the application?

[30:00] It's really quick. We don't need to get on that road, but when we find ourselves on that road, we need to make sure we've got good counselors. We need to be bold enough in our own walk to counsel, give wise, true, biblical counsel to one another, to check the sins in other individuals, to give caution where caution is due, to address matters lovingly and honestly, because we don't want it to go down the road far enough that it ends like this.

[30:31] Sin never has a good outcome. It just doesn't. This is why when we open up the New Testament, we see so many one another passages.

[30:43] One another passages. We ought to walk one another, encourage one another, rebuke one another, correct one another, you know, admonish one another. All the one another passages because we need that on that road that we're on.

[30:56] And we see it in 2 Samuel chapter 13. Thank you, my brothers. Thank you.

[31:39] Thank you. Thank you.

[32:10] Thank you.