[0:00] Please turn with me to 2 Samuel 13.
[0:17] ! Our reading is from 2 Samuel 13, beginning at verse 1. Now Absalom, David's son, had a beautiful sister whose name was Tamar.
[0:36] And after a time, Amnon, David's son, loved her. And Amnon was so tormented that he made himself ill because of his sister Tamar.
[0:48] For she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible to Amnon to do anything to her. But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimea, David's brother.
[1:00] And Jonadab was a very crafty man, and he said to him, O son of the king, why are you so haggard morning after morning? Will you not tell me? Amnon said to him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.
[1:15] Jonadab said to him, Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill, and when your father comes to see you, say to him, Let my sister Tamar come and give me bread to eat, and prepare the food in my sight that I may see it and eat it from her hand.
[1:32] So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. And 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.
[1:46] Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go to your brother Amnon's house and prepare food for him. So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house where he was lying down, and she shook dough and kneaded it and made cakes in his sight and baked the cakes.
[2:06] And she took the pan and emptied it out before him. But he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Send out everyone from me.
[2:16] So everyone went out from him. Then Amnon said to Tamar, Bring the food into the chamber that I may eat from your hand. And Tamar took the cakes, and she had made and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother.
[2:33] But when she brought them near him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, Come, lie with me, my sister. She answered him, No, my brother, do not violate me.
[2:47] For such a thing is not done in Israel. Do not do this outrageous thing. As for me, where could I carry my shame? And as for you, you would be as one of the outrageous fools in Israel.
[3:00] Now therefore, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you. But he would not listen to her. And being stronger than she, he violated her and lay with her.
[3:17] Then Amnon hated her with very great hatred, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her.
[3:29] And Amnon said to her, Get up, go. But she said to him, No, my brother, for this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other that you did to me.
[3:43] But he would not listen to her. He called the young man who served him and said, Put this woman out of my presence and bolt the door after her. Now she was wearing a long robe with sleeves, for thus were the virgin daughters of the king distressed.
[4:01] So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. And Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the long robe that she wore. And she laid her hand on her head and went away crying aloud as she went.
[4:15] And her brother Absalom said to her, Has Amnon, your brother, been with you? Now hold your peace, my sister. He is your brother. Do not take this to heart.
[4:29] So Tamar lived a desolate woman in her brother Absalom's house. When King David heard of all these things, he was very angry.
[4:41] But Absalom spoke to Amnon, neither good nor bad. For Absalom hated Amnon because he had violated his sister Tamar. After two full years, Absalom had sheep shearers at Baal Hazor, which is near Ephraim.
[4:59] And Absalom invited all the king's sons. And Absalom came to the king and said, Behold, 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, let us not all go, lest we be burdensome to you.
[5:16] He pressed him, but he would not go, but gave him his blessing. 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?
[5:28] But Absalom pressed him until he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him. Then Absalom commanded his servants, Mark when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, And when I say to you, Strike Amnon, Then kill him.
[5:46] Do not fear. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and valiant. So the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose and each mounted his mule and fled.
[6:01] And while they were on the way, News came to David. Absalom has struck down all the king's sons and not one of them is left. And when the king arose and tore his garments and lay on the ground, On the earth.
[6:15] And all his servants who were standing by tore their garments. But Jonadab and the son of Sermiah, David's brother said, Let not my lord suppose that they have killed all the young men, The king's sons, For Amnon alone is dead.
[6:32] For by the command of Absalom, This has been determined from the day he violated his sister Tamar. Now therefore, Let not my lord the king so take it to heart, As to suppose that all the king's sons are dead.
[6:45] For Amnon alone is dead. But Absalom fled. And the young man who kept the watch lifted up his eyes and looked. And behold, Many people were coming from the road behind him by the side of the mountain.
[7:00] And Jonadab said to the king, Behold, The king's sons have come, As your servant said, So it has come about. And as soon as he had finished speaking, Behold, The king's sons came and lifted up their voice and wept.
[7:15] And the king also and all his servants wept very bitterly. But Absalom fled, And went to Talmai, The son of Amihud, King of Geshur.
[7:28] And David mourned for his son day by day. So Absalom fled, And went to Geshur, And was there three years. And the spirit of the king longed to go out to Absalom, Because he was comforted about Amnon's, Since he was dead.
[7:47] This is God's word. Thanks be to God. It's a large, Large chunk of passage, And I understand that it's quite heavy in content of what happens here.
[8:06] And I guess I like to kind of just state the elephant in the room. Because when we come to passages like this in the Bible, Don't we ask why?
[8:22] Like, why? Why is this in the Bible? Like, it's one thing to see things like this on the news. We see it.
[8:34] We say, oh, that's horrible. And then we move on with our lives. And here, We see in the midst of such wickedness, Desecration of the value of women, An image bearer of God.
[8:54] Why is this story told? Because if it says anything, It seems to say that God seems to be very silent. And at times, It seems as if he's passive.
[9:06] Why has God included this in his word? Well, thinking back, We might be able to solve that question.
[9:17] Thinking back to the heights of David's reign, Kind of falling out of 2 Samuel 7, When everything was unfolding, Just greatness was unfolding, Strength was unfolding, Until the rooftop incident With David and Bathsheba.
[9:38] And so, As the passage unfolds, You might say, Well, this is being told Because these are the consequences That was told to David. And that's true.
[9:50] That's a rightful observation. However, we really need to ask, Is there something deeper That God wants us to see In chapter 13?
[10:01] Not just this sort of broad stretch Of the consequences Of what David committed, But is there something deeper That God desires to see?
[10:12] And I believe that there is. Because when sin is not dealt with, Rightly dealt with, It creates a culture of destruction, A complete culture of destruction.
[10:25] And as sin spreads, As Nathan prophesied it would, It spreads quietly at first, Doesn't it? That's a little bit deeper In the passage.
[10:38] And then once it quietly manifests In the heart, It spreads relationally among. And before we know it, The culture in our surroundings Are completely backwards And upside down.
[10:55] It becomes the new normal, As COVID sort of coined the term. What was once hidden Becomes destructive. And this is exactly what I believe that we're seeing In this passage, Is just this spread And the toxic nature of sin.
[11:15] And so as we walk through this chapter, We are going to trace How that destruction spreads, First from the heart, Then to relationships, And then into the entire family And kingdom, Which we might be able to identify As the culture.
[11:32] So heart, Relationships, And culture. And I want to argue This simple main point today, According to the passage. Don't let sin grow Where God calls you to act.
[11:48] Don't let sin grow Where God calls you to act. The sermon title today Is Love Confronts.
[12:04] And I'm going to have a word of prayer here Once I get my bearings on our slides. Love Confronts. And I'm going to break this up Into three different sections To help our listening today.
[12:23] To kind of take this in bite sizes. But let's pray. Father, we come to you And we know that It doesn't need to be said.
[12:34] This is a horrible, horrific passage. A passage that left me convicted To text the entire church With sort of just a warning For any young kids In the congregation today.
[12:48] Father, we know that Your word is difficult. It's difficult on our lives. It's difficult in the situations In real history, In real time. It cuts Like a double-edged sword.
[13:02] No matter which way you swing it, It cuts. And this one definitely cuts. It hurts. It hurts. And we don't want to pretend Like what happens in the passage Doesn't happen.
[13:15] We don't want to solve the problem Preemptively. But we want to sit And we want to dive deep Into the reality That this passage presents To us today.
[13:26] Especially the reality Of sin's spread. Help us to be changed By your word today. Help us by your Holy Spirit Opening our ears And our hearts To receive your word Just as you speak Through it.
[13:42] We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Love confronts. Let's see this.
[13:53] I have three scenes. The first scene Is we see the scene Develop And set In verse 1 Through 14 Where sin distorts The heart.
[14:05] Sin distorts The heart. So as the chapter opens We're introduced To a troubling situation Right away. It hits us Like a train. Now Absalom In verse 1 David's son Had a beautiful sister Whose name was Tamar.
[14:23] And after a time Amnon David's son Loved her. So what you have here Is Absalom's blood sister You have Amnon's half sister.
[14:35] So a little bit Of a disconnect there Of what the passage Is explaining here. But we see that There is inter-familial Attraction.
[14:48] And at first glance The word love Maybe seems innocent A little bit. Even maybe noble That Amnon loved Tamar. But the narrator Quickly begins to expose That what Amnon Calls love As he coins As love Is something Entirely different In this passage.
[15:09] By verse 2 We are told That he is So tormented That he made himself Ill In verse 2. This is not Steady Enduring Covenantal love By any stretch Of the imagination This is Obsessive Desire That Amnon has For Tamar.
[15:36] It is Inward Consuming And unchecked And unchecked It is The thoughts That no one Else can hear The feelings That no one Else can Feel But he feels It so strongly It made him Ill And notice the phrase At the end of verse 2 It seemed impossible To Amnon To do anything To her Well that's revealing Because The problem Isn't Moral The problem Is logistical This is a terrible Situation He's not asking Should I He's asking Himself How can I In church This is what happens When sin is not Dealt with In your heart It reframes The entire Question God's law Is no longer The boundary That restrains
[16:36] To keep people Safe And one another Safe And desire Then becomes The driver This is what Happens when sin Is not dealt With In church In verse 3 We're introduced To Jonadab He's labeled As a very Crafty man In verse 3 And that word Should alert us Especially since We just read Through the entire Passage It should alert Us Because You can be Crafty And be Deceptive Right This is not Godly wisdom This is Cunningness A cunningness That Maybe likens Itself to The serpent In the garden Of eden In genesis 3 He uses His insight Here Not to Restrain Evil But to Actually Enable it He's not A very Godly Man At all When Abnon Confesses His desire To Jonadab Sin Finally
[17:36] Comes out Jonadab Doesn't Confront him With the Truth Or remind Him of God's law According to Leviticus 18 According to Leviticus 20 You're going Down This is Bad You have To repent For your Sin Instead Jonadab Enables him And provides A strategy For the Sin In verse 5 he Says Lie down On your Bed And pretend To be Ill There's a Logistical Solution For you Here Wisdom No longer Protects What is Good Wisdom Is actually Enabling Facilitating Evil And the Plan Unfolds And even David Becomes Unknowingly Involved Amnon Requests Tamar And David Is like Okay Right Verse 6 And as The scene Narrows Down Verse 8 Tamar
[18:38] Enters She prepares Food Serves Her brother Then Amnon Gets Everyone Out of The room Completely Self Consumed Sends Everyone Out In Verse 9 And as Sin Isolates By Verse 11 He Seizes Tamar His Desire Is Acted Upon The Desire He Confessed To Jonadab Is Acted Upon Tamar's Protest Is so Powerful So Powerful Which Makes This Scene All The More Sad She Says Verse 12 No My Brother Such A Thing Is Not Done In Israel Do Not Do This Outrage Thing Notice Tamar Is The Only One In This Entire Account Speaking Truth She Appeals To God's Law To Their Identity As God's People And
[19:38] The Real Consequences Of Sin And You See She's Reasoning She's Pleading She's Warning But Verse 14 Delivers A Chilling Conclusion This Is Theological A Chilling Theological Conclusion But He Would Not Listen To Her He Was So Consumed In His Desire To Act He Confessed It It Wasn't Confronted And We See In Verse 14 He Would Not Listen To Her In Other Words Theologically Sin Deafens Our Souls You Want To Ignore The Consequences Of Sin Just Allow It To Go Unaddressed For A Certain Time Period And Even The Wisest Godly Counsel Won't Be Able To Restrain That Action Sad
[20:39] It's True When It Is Not Dealt With Internally The Voice Of Truth Is Far From Absent You Could Be Surrounded In The Voice Of Truth You Could Be At Church Every Single Sunday On The Praise Team Serving Here And Serving There And You Can Be Surrounded By The Voice Of Truth It's The Reason!
[21:03] You Act On Sin Isn't Because The Voice Of Truth Wasn't Around It's Because It was Ignored Because Sin Deafens Our Souls Think About The Contrast Here Jonadab Uses Wisdom To Enable Sin Amnon Ignores Wisdom To Pursue Sin Sin And Look At Tamar Tamar Speaks Truth But She Is Ignored The Contrast Is Going To Continue To Absalom He Suppress He Will Suppress Sin Very Soon Here Instead Of Confronting It David Will Hear About Sin And Do Absolutely Nothing But Tamar Speaks Truth And She Is Ignored The Result Here Is Devastating In What Follows Is Quite
[22:04] Revealing Whatever Love Whatever Desire That Amnon Thought He Was Feeling And Thought It Was Justifying Whatever Jo And Jonadab Decided To Enable In Amnon's Life We See The Depth Of It In Verse 15 Just Look Ahead To Our Next Section It Says That That's Quite A Tongue Twister In Hebrew That Amnon Hated Her With Very Great Hatred Church We Need To Stop Protecting Sin We Need To Stop Protecting Sin Sometimes The One Who Sees Clearly And Speaks Rightly Is The One Who Is So Frequently Dismissed Minimized And Silenced And When This Happens Sin Is Not Stopped It's Protected We
[23:06] Must Be The Kind Of People Who Listen When Truth Is Spoken Especially When It's Costly Especially When It's Costly Especially When It's Uncomfortable Introverts In The Room Who Don't Like To Stir Things Up Yeah I'm Talking To All Of Us It's Uncomfortable In Fact The Cost Might Destroy An Entire Church And Close The Door Of A Church The Cost Of Sin Might Actually End The Course Of The Largest Denomination In Evangelical History And If That's The Cost So Be It Since When Has Our Reputation Been Something So Great That We Can Protect Sin In The Name Of Our Reputation We Are Fools
[24:06] We Don't Heed A Passage Like 2 Samuel 13 It Costs What It Costs To Do What's Right Have We Forgot The Mission That The Mission Is Tamar The Mission Is The Outcast The Vulnerable The Victims And The Church Sometimes Just Is So Focused On Their Reputation And Their Mission When The Truth Is Silenced Sin Doesn't Just Weaken It Doesn't Just Go Somewhere Else It Actually Spreads And This Is The Toxic Nature Of Sin That We'll See In This Next Section What Begins In The Hearts With Amnon Never Stays There Let's Continue To The Second Scene Where We See Silence Enables Sin In Verse 15 Damage Immediately Begins
[25:06] To Unfold All Of A Sudden Amnon Hated Her With A Very Great Hatred A Very Emphatic Hatred Here He Says Get Up And Go The One Who Pursued And Took Now Rejects And Discards Tamar Is not Only Violated But She's Expelled This Is Horrible Verse 17 Says She Is Put Out And The Door Was Bolted Behind Her The Very Door That Concealed The Sin Is Now Used To Conceal The Sinner Within In Verse 19 We Are Given One Of The Most Vivid Images Of The Passage Here Tamar Put Ashes On Her Head And Tore The Long Robe That She Wore And She Went Away Crying In Other Words This Is Public Shame
[26:06] This Is Public Grief In This Day Culturally The Robe That She Tore Was Worn By Royal Virgins It Symbolized Purity This Robe It Symbolized Dignity This Robe And The Future Hope That Is To Come And Now It Shredded You See Sin Has Not Only Robbed Her But It Has Altered The Course Of Her Life It's Devastating In The Now It's Devastating For Tomorrow And The Future It Completely Alters The Course Of Her Life This Is What Sin Does Church It Never Stays Contained But It Leaves Devastation In Its Wake But The Most Striking Thing In This Section Is Not Only Amnon's Cruelty But It's Everyone's
[27:07] Silence And That's What This Section I Want To Really Hone In On Is The Silence Of Everyone Around Because Think About It Tamar She's Clearly!
[27:19] In Grief She's Clearly An Object Of Public Shame Ashes Torn Robe And Everyone's Silent Look Verse 20 Amnon Meets Tamar And Says!
[27:30] Has Amnon Your Brother Been With You? Hold Your Peace Do Not Take This To Heart Well You Really Solved All Tamar Solutions Hasn't He?
[27:41] On The Surface It Seems Protective You Know Older Brother Protection Everything Like That Don't Worry About It Man You Are Dumb Right Telling People Don't Just Don't Worry About It I'll Take Care Of It But In Reality Isn't This Suppressive To Tamar This Doesn't Solve Anything In Other Words He's Confronting!
[28:11] He's Comforting But Not Confronting Evil In Turn He's Actually Containing Evil He's Allowing Evil To Just Quietly Spread Quietly Manifest He's Not Pursuing Justice But He's Actually Postponing It You See When Sin Continues To Be Undressed It Does Not Just Disappear It Doesn't Just Go Underground It Be Be Be It Flipped Off To The Moon Praise
[29:12] God He Feels Something He's Outraged But The Text Painfully Is Silent About Any Action For Tamar No Discipline No Justice No Confrontation Silence The King Who Is Responsible To Uphold Righteousness Does Nothing And This Is Where The Culture Begins To Shift Through The Power Of Leadership Because Leadership Always Communicates Something Even In Leadership Silence Or Maybe Even Just Blatant Inaction Think When Sin Is Not Confronted It Signals To Everyone Sin Can Be Tolerated Whoever The Amnon Next Amnon Was Back In This Day Go For It David Is Not Going To Do Anything About It Any
[30:12] Parents With Young Kids When They See Inconsistency In Your Leadership They Capitalize Upon That Don't They Oh Mom's Not Going To Follow Through Ha We Got Him We'll Just Keep Doing It Because We Don't Get A Consequence Right This Is The Power When Sin Is Not!
[30:30] Confronted It Signals That Sin Can Be Tolerated And That Evil Can Go Left Unchecked And Righteousness Within God's People All of A A Command To God's People Becomes Optional To God's People How Many Churches Communicate This Today When's The Last Time Some Churches Have Preached On Sin Or Even Hell Consequences Right Now You Can Go On The Far Side And That's All You Talk About It's All Just Fire And Brimstone You Can Miss It On Both Sides But Looking At The Temperature Of The Culture The Culture Can Very Much So Impede Upon The Convictions Of The Church And All A sudden What People That Were Called To Be Holy And Set Apart And Refined Comes Out About Abuse And They're Just Don't
[31:31] Stir The Pot Just Quiet Down Stop Being A Troublemaker Right This Is Real History Just Look Up Articles Look At What's Happening Even In Ligonier And With Steve Nichols And Just All Of This Unfortunate Situations This Misdealing With Sin Church David's Anger It's Real It Is Real And Our Anger Can Be Real But It Is Not Enough It's Not Enough Anger Is Not Righteousness Feeling Something Is Not The Same As Doing Something If All We Do Is Feel It's Called Virtue Signaling We're Just Putting A Sign Up Outside Walking Around Doing Nothing Making A Facebook Post And Saying I'm Against This But I'm Unwilling To Actually Do Something About It Virtue Signaling Very Popular In Our Culture Today In
[32:32] That Silence Though In Verse 22 Something Begins To Grow Absalom Hated Amnon The Word Hated Is The Seed Of What's Coming Next In The Last Section Because When Justice Is Absent It's A Seed Of What Happens When People Take Matters Into Their Own Hands Ignoring Sin Is A Common Problem In Our Day Today It's A Very Common Problem We Stay Silent In Other People's Lives When The Bible Commands Us To Speak We Give People Sort Of Like A Get Out Of Jail Free Card So We Don't Feel Uncomfortable We Don't Talk To Sally Or Betty Or Whoever That Might Be And Say You Know I Saw I Notice That This Is Happening And This Isn't Good Because The Bible Clearly Says This And
[33:32] You're Doing This Right We Don't Have Those Conversations We Stay Silent In Other People's Lives When The Bible Commands Us To Speak But Church We Have To Realize Something According To This Passage Today Is A Refresher We Have To Become Re Anchored In The Truth Of What It Means!
[33:56] To Be A One Another Community Of God No One Is Honored If We Over Look Sin To Keep Peace No One No One's Honored In That You Want To Know Why You Don't Get Into Pastoral Ministry For The Health Benefits Because This Is Constant It's Celebrating With People But Also Having Some Really Difficult Conversations With People And It Takes A Toll On Your Soul Because Pastors Every Pastor I Believe In This Church Wants To See Christ Church Flourish Right And Then A Situation Happens And A Conversation Has To Be Dealt With Truths Have To Be Reinforced Correction Has To Be Made Repentance Has To Be Seen And All Of A Sudden You Just See Division All
[34:57] Of Sudden You See Not Flourishing But It Seems Like There There's Like A Quenching Going! And You're You Feel That Tension Pastors Here Know And Everyone Should Know That True Love For Someone Means Moving Toward The Hard Conversations That That Christ Church Flourishing Right True Love For Someone Means Moving Toward The Hard Conversation Not Away From It That's Flourishing Because We Know According To This Passage Time Does Not Heal Unaddressed Sin It Just Makes It Worse It Deepens It And That's Exactly Where The Story Goes In Verse In The Next Final Section
[35:57] In Verse 23 Through 39 We See Vengeance Multiply Sin And We're Given A Historical Marker Here What Should Have Been Just Two Minutes Later From Absalom To Do Something I'm Not Saying Absalom Should Have Taken His Life I Don't Think That That Would Have Been Right But Two Years Of Unresolved Sin And Pain We See Here That The Depth That Sin Roots Itself In A Human Heart Can Get Stronger Almost As Desirous As It Was For Amnon's Love For Tamar It's Also The Same Level Of Desire For Those Who Hate It Can Get To The Point Where You Become Ill Because You Hate Them So Much Absalom Has
[36:57] My My My by. Absalom's anger is even deeper than it was two years prior. He's like, well, at least send Amnon. Oh, you know, Amnon, that guy, that rascal. Yeah, send him out for the sheep shearing feast.
[37:45] David obliges, right? Verse 24 to 27. And then the moment comes in verse 28. Absalom commands his servants. His hatred has not been forgotten. It's only thickened. Absalom commands his servants in 28. Mark when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, then kill him.
[38:12] This is an impulsive anger. It's premeditated vengeance, two years worth of premeditated vengeance. On this day, Absalom becomes the judge, the jury, and the executioner.
[38:30] A lot can happen in two years. And sadly, Absalom is at least doing something, but he's failing to do what David should have done two years prior, rather than just be mad.
[38:43] But he is doing it the wrong way. This isn't justice. This is vengeance. There's a difference there. Justice is much more relational. Vengeance is very selfish. Vengeance and revenge expose itself in taking action. Vengeance is very relational.
[39:36] Vengeance, people create their own versions of justice, right? People just do what's right in their own eyes. Human vengeance always fails, though. It does not restore what's broken, but it only escalates the damage. We have to remember Paul's words in Romans 12, verse 19. Vengeance is mine.
[39:57] I will repay, says the Lord. Church, the church must do what is right, what is holy, what is truth.
[40:10] God alone judges rightly. And when we take our role, that role of God's into our own hands, we don't correct sin. It's going to multiply. It's going to spread the disease.
[40:23] And this multiplication is exactly what we see. The pattern of sin continues through David's house, according to Nathan's prophecy, from David's murder with Uriah, from chapter 11 to Amnon's lust, to violation in verse 14, and Absalom's hatred to murder in verse 29 here. Sin is reproducing itself across generations. You know how the phrase goes, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
[41:02] Absalom definitely has fallen in his daddy's footsteps. So true. What was once hidden in David is now erupting openly in his sons. The consequences are immediate, very devastating in verse 29. Chaos erupts as the king's sons flee. False reports spread in verse 30 of who's dead? Is one dead? Are they all dead?
[41:28] David's lost in the mixture of what Fox News is saying, what CNN's saying. We're all lost in that conundrum, aren't we? David has overwhelming grief in verse 30.
[41:43] He's confused in the facts. He's confused in the facts, but the report is corrected. We have Jonadab. Why is cunning Jonadab once again, right? Amnon alone is dead. Not all your sons, David, but Amnon is dead.
[42:03] And we see the damage that's done. David's hair is dead, and the others fled into exile in verse 34. And look in verse 39. David is left mourning day after day.
[42:22] What do you think that David's thinking about? He's probably thinking about what Nathan informed him about. He's probably thinking about the act that should have ended on the roof.
[42:35] This is the end result when sin has not been dealt with. Distortion in the heart, then silence in the system, and now destruction through counterfeit justice.
[42:50] And even further, how pathetic it is for us to quickly lead into vengeance. But to lean into vengeance instead of leaning into loving confrontation.
[43:09] We are so quick to act as a response, but we're never quick to act before an action is to unfold.
[43:21] We never lovingly confront. We're always reactive, right? In order to apprehend both, to lean into vengeance and also to lean into loving confrontation, we must have a greater motivating hope that lays outside of our circumstances, outside the reputation of our lives, outside the reputation of the church, outside the reputation of a denomination, a Christian denomination.
[43:48] We have to have a motivating hope when things are messy and confrontation needs to happen. And that's found in the better son, Jesus Christ.
[44:00] Where Amnon's actions distort love, Jesus embodied it perfectly. Where David is passive, Jesus confronts sin directly.
[44:13] Where Absalom takes vengeance, Jesus entrusts himself to the Father and bears judgment in our place.
[44:24] And it's at the cross. He does what no person in this story could do. He deals with sin fully, deals with sin justly, and finally.
[44:38] Not by ignoring it, just letting humanity just have its fun, but by absorbing it. This is still available to us today.
[44:52] If you're not in Christ today, what a day you found yourself on a Sunday morning passage. Do I even have to say it?
[45:03] Deal with your sin now. How do you deal with it? How can you be assured that Christ will forgive your sin? It's by your faith in Jesus.
[45:19] You are forgiven from sin. Don't ignore your sin today. This is the hope. Sin can be dealt with, not by managing it, but by Jesus Christ removing it.
[45:33] Remember Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 6.11. It says, you are washed, you are sanctified, you are justified. Right? What sin destroys, Jesus Christ restores.
[45:48] Don't ignore your sin today. Surrender to Jesus and by our faith we are assured, according to God's word, that we will be forgiven of our sin.
[45:59] What do we do with a passage like this? Well, we can't just observe the destruction and pick up our popcorn and just watch it all unfold.
[46:14] We have to respond to it. We deal with sin rightly. I want you to think about these five different aspects. Whatever one hits you, let it hit.
[46:28] Deal with sin rightly. Number one, deal with sin in your heart. Amnon shows us that sin begins internally. It begins here when no one else is aware.
[46:39] And if we don't confront it early enough, it will distort everything in our lives. Don't just rename it or justify it or manage it.
[46:50] You have to kill your sin. You have to nail it to the cross and surrender that sin to Jesus. Deal with the sin in your heart.
[47:02] Secondly, we have to reject ungodly counsel. Reject ungodly counsel. This reminds me of Jonadab, right? Reminds us that not all advice is wisdom.
[47:17] Surround yourself with voices that lead you towards holiness, not ones that help you rationalize sin and make you feel better about what the Bible condemns.
[47:30] Surround yourself in wise biblical counsel. Number three, refuse the silence that hides sin. This reminds me of Absalom.
[47:42] His response shows us that suppression doesn't heal. By ignoring and just saying, oh, it's going to be okay. That doesn't do anything for anyone.
[47:56] Not the victim, not for God's glory. It doesn't do anything. Love does not ignore sin, but love brings evil to light. Number four, act with righteous courage where God has given responsibility.
[48:16] This reminds me of David. David's failure warns us that feeling strongly is just not enough. Whether in your home or your church or with leadership, sin must be addressed with truth and integrity always.
[48:35] And lastly, trust God with justice. Trust God with justice. Absalom took vengeance into his own hands and multiplied the destruction.
[48:50] Church, we are not the judge. God is. So trust him to make things, all things right in his time, in due season.
[49:04] Don't let sin grow where God calls you to act. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray.