March 8 2 Sam 13-16 Morning 13:1 In the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David. 2 Amnon became frustrated to the point of illness on account of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her. 3 Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab son of Shimeah, Davids brother. Jonadab was a very shrewd man. 4 He asked Amnon, Why do you, the kings son, look so haggard morning after morning? Wont you tell me? Amnon said to him, Im in love with Tamar, my brother Absaloms sister. 5 Go to bed and pretend to be ill, Jonadab said. When your father comes to see you, say to him, `I would like my sister Tamar to come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I may watch her and then eat it from her hand. 6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to him, I would like my sister Tamar to come and make some special bread in my sight, so I may eat from her hand. 7 David sent word to Tamar at the palace: Go to the house of your brother Amnon and prepare some food for him. 8 So Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was lying down. She took some dough, kneaded it, made the bread in his sight and baked it. 9 Then she took the pan and served him the bread, but he refused to eat. Send everyone out of here, Amnon said. So everyone left him. 10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand. And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom. 11 But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, Come to bed with me, my sister. 12 Dont, my brother! she said to him. Dont force me. Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Dont do this wicked thing. 13 What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you. 14 But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her. 15 Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, Get up and get out! 16 No! she said to him. Sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me. But he refused to listen to her. 17 He called his personal servant and said, Get this woman out of here and bolt the door after her. 18 So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. She was wearing a richly ornamented robe, for this was the kind of garment the virgin daughters of the king wore. 19 Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the ornamented robe she was wearing. She put her hand on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went. 20 Her brother Absalom said to her, Has that Amnon, your brother, been with you? Be quiet now, my sister; he is your brother. Dont take this thing to heart. And Tamar lived in her brother Absaloms house, a desolate woman. 21 When King David heard all this, he was furious. 22 Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad; he hated Amnon because he had disgraced his sister Tamar. 23 Two years later, when Absaloms sheepshearers were at Baal Hazor near the border of Ephraim, he invited all the kings sons to come there. 24 Absalom went to the king and said, Your servant has had shearers come. Will the king and his officials please join me? 25 No, my son, the king replied. All of us should not go; we would only be a burden to you. Although Absalom urged him, he still refused to go, but gave him his blessing. 26 Then Absalom said, If not, please let my brother Amnon come with us. The king asked him, Why should he go with you? 27 But Absalom urged him, so he sent with him Amnon and the rest of the kings sons. 28 Absalom ordered his men, Listen! When Amnon is in high spirits from drinking wine and I say to you, `Strike Amnon down, then kill him. Dont be afraid. Have not I given you this order? Be strong and brave. 29 So Absaloms men did to Amnon what Absalom had ordered. Then all the kings sons got up, mounted their mules and fled. 30 While they were on their way, the report came to David: Absalom has struck down all the kings sons; not one of them is left. 31 The king stood up, tore his clothes and lay down on the ground; and all his servants stood by with their clothes torn. 32 But Jonadab son of Shimeah, Davids brother, said, My lord should not think that they killed all the princes; only Amnon is dead. This has been Absaloms expressed intention ever since the day Amnon raped his sister Tamar. 33 My lord the king should not be concerned about the report that all the kings sons are dead. Only Amnon is dead. 34 Meanwhile, Absalom had fled. Now the man standing watch looked up and saw many people on the road west of him, coming down the side of the hill. The watchman went and told the king, I see men in the direction of Horonaim, on the side of the hill. 35 Jonadab said to the king, See, the kings sons are here; it has happened just as your servant said. 36 As he finished speaking, the kings sons came in, wailing loudly. The king, too, and all his servants wept very bitterly. 37 Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But King David mourned for his son every day. 38 After Absalom fled and went to Geshur, he stayed there three years. 39 And the spirit of the king longed to go to Absalom, for he was consoled concerning Amnons death. 2 Samuel 14 14:1 Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the kings heart longed for Absalom. 2 So Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. He said to her, Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and dont use any cosmetic lotions. Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead. 3 Then go to the king and speak these words to him. And Joab put the words in her mouth. 4 When the woman from Tekoa went to the king, she fell with her face to the ground to pay him honor, and she said, Help me, O king! 5 The king asked her, What is troubling you? She said, I am indeed a widow; my husband is dead. 6 I your servant had two sons. They got into a fight with each other in the field, and no one was there to separate them. One struck the other and killed him. 7 Now the whole clan has risen up against your servant; they say, `Hand over the one who struck his brother down, so that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed; then we will get rid of the heir as well. They would put out the only burning coal I have left, leaving my husband neither name nor descendant on the face of the earth. 8 The king said to the woman, Go home, and I will issue an order in your behalf. 9 But the woman from Tekoa said to him, My lord the king, let the blame rest on me and on my fathers family, and let the king and his throne be without guilt. 10 The king replied, If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me, and he will not bother you again. 11 She said, Then let the king invoke the LORD his God to prevent the avenger of blood from adding to the destruction, so that my son will not be destroyed. As surely as the LORD lives, he said, not one hair of your sons head will fall to the ground. 12 Then the woman said, Let your servant speak a word to my lord the king. Speak, he replied. 13 The woman said, Why then have you devised a thing like this against the people of God? When the king says this, does he not convict himself, for the king has not brought back his banished son? 14 Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him. 15 And now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought, `I will speak to the king; perhaps he will do what his servant asks. 16 Perhaps the king will agree to deliver his servant from the hand of the man who is trying to cut off both me and my son from the inheritance God gave us. 17 And now your servant says, `May the word of my lord the king bring me rest, for my lord the king is like an angel of God in discerning good and evil. May the LORD your God be with you. 18 Then the king said to the woman, Do not keep from me the answer to what I am going to ask you. Let my lord the king speak, the woman said. 19 The king asked, Isnt the hand of Joab with you in all this? The woman answered, As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything my lord the king says. Yes, it was your servant Joab who instructed me to do this and who put all these words into the mouth of your servant. 20 Your servant Joab did this to change the present situation. My lord has wisdom like that of an angel of God-he knows everything that happens in the land. 21 The king said to Joab, Very well, I will do it. Go, bring back the young man Absalom. 22 Joab fell with his face to the ground to pay him honor, and he blessed the king. Joab said, Today your servant knows that he has found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, because the king has granted his servants request. 23 Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. 24 But the king said, He must go to his own house; he must not see my face. So Absalom went to his own house and did not see the face of the king. 25 In all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him. 26 Whenever he cut the hair of his head-he used to cut his hair from time to time when it became too heavy for him-he would weigh it, and its weight was two hundred shekels by the royal standard. 27 Three sons and a daughter were born to Absalom. The daughters name was Tamar, and she became a beautiful woman. 28 Absalom lived two years in Jerusalem without seeing the kings face. 29 Then Absalom sent for Joab in order to send him to the king, but Joab refused to come to him. So he sent a second time, but he refused to come. 30 Then he said to his servants, Look, Joabs field is next to mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire. So Absaloms servants set the field on fire. 31 Then Joab did go to Absaloms house and he said to him, Why have your servants set my field on fire? 32 Absalom said to Joab, Look, I sent word to you and said, `Come here so I can send you to the king to ask, Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there! Now then, I want to see the kings face, and if I am guilty of anything, let him put me to death. 33 So Joab went to the king and told him this. Then the king summoned Absalom, and he came in and bowed down with his face to the ground before the king. And the king kissed Absalom. NIV 2 Sam 15 15:1 In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. 2 He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, What town are you from? He would answer, Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel. 3 Then Absalom would say to him, Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you. 4 And Absalom would add, If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that he gets justice. 5 Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. 6 Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the men of Israel. 7 At the end of four years, Absalom said to the king, Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the LORD. 8 While your servant was living at Geshur in Aram, I made this vow: `If the LORD takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron. 9 The king said to him, Go in peace. So he went to Hebron. 10 Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, `Absalom is king in Hebron. 11 Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter. 12 While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, Davids counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absaloms following kept on increasing. 13 A messenger came and told David, The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom. 14 Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin upon us and put the city to the sword. 15 The kings officials answered him, Your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses. 16 The king set out, with his entire household following him; but he left ten concubines to take care of the palace. 17 So the king set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at a place some distance away. 18 All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king. 19 The king said to Ittai the Gittite, Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland. 20 You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your countrymen. May kindness and faithfulness be with you. 21 But Ittai replied to the king, As surely as the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be. 22 David said to Ittai, Go ahead, march on. So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him. 23 The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved on toward the desert. 24 Zadok was there, too, and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had finished leaving the city. 25 Then the king said to Zadok, Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the LORDs eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again. 26 But if he says, `I am not pleased with you, then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him. 27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, Arent you a seer? Go back to the city in peace, with your son Ahimaaz and Jonathan son of Abiathar. You and Abiathar take your two sons with you. 28 I will wait at the fords in the desert until word comes from you to inform me. 29 So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and stayed there. 30 But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up. 31 Now David had been told, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. So David prayed, O LORD, turn Ahithophels counsel into foolishness. 32 When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him, his robe torn and dust on his head. 33 David said to him, If you go with me, you will be a burden to me. 34 But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, `I will be your servant, O king; I was your fathers servant in the past, but now I will be your servant, then you can help me by frustrating Ahithophels advice. 35 Wont the priests Zadok and Abiathar be there with you? Tell them anything you hear in the kings palace. 36 Their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with anything you hear. 37 So Davids friend Hushai arrived at Jerusalem as Absalom was entering the city. 2 Samuel 16 16:1 When David had gone a short distance beyond the summit, there was Ziba, the steward of Mephibosheth, waiting to meet him. He had a string of donkeys saddled and loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs and a skin of wine. 2 The king asked Ziba, Why have you brought these? Ziba answered, The donkeys are for the kings household to ride on, the bread and fruit are for the men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the desert. 3 The king then asked, Where is your masters grandson? Ziba said to him, He is staying in Jerusalem, because he thinks, `Today the house of Israel will give me back my grandfathers kingdom. 4 Then the king said to Ziba, All that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours. I humbly bow, Ziba said. May I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king. 5 As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Sauls family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out. 6 He pelted David and all the kings officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on Davids right and left. 7 As he cursed, Shimei said, Get out, get out, you man of blood, you scoundrel! 8 The LORD has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The LORD has handed the kingdom over to your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a man of blood! 9 Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head. 10 But the king said, What do you and I have in common, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the LORD said to him, `Curse David, who can ask, `Why do you do this? 11 David then said to Abishai and all his officials, My son, who is of my own flesh, is trying to take my life. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the LORD has told him to. 12 It may be that the LORD will see my distress and repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today. 13 So David and his men continued along the road while Shimei was going along the hillside opposite him, cursing as he went and throwing stones at him and showering him with dirt. 14 The king and all the people with him arrived at their destination exhausted. And there he refreshed himself. 15 Meanwhile, Absalom and all the men of Israel came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel was with him. 16 Then Hushai the Arkite, Davids friend, went to Absalom and said to him, Long live the king! Long live the king! 17 Absalom asked Hushai, Is this the love you show your friend? Why didnt you go with your friend? 18 Hushai said to Absalom, No, the one chosen by the LORD, by these people, and by all the men of Israel-his I will be, and I will remain with him. 19 Furthermore, whom should I serve? Should I not serve the son? Just as I served your father, so I will serve you. 20 Absalom said to Ahithophel, Give us your advice. What should we do? 21 Ahithophel answered, Lie with your fathers concubines whom he left to take care of the palace. Then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself a stench in your fathers nostrils, and the hands of everyone with you will be strengthened. 22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he lay with his fathers concubines in the sight of all Israel. 23 Now in those days the advice Ahithophel gave was like that of one who inquires of God. That was how both David and Absalom regarded all of Ahithophels advice. NIV
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 09:00:42 +0000
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