rizen1
Active
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2007
- Messages
- 5,209
Brotherly Betrayal
Family and Parental. NLT.
Then suddenly Amnon’s love turned to hate, and he hated her even more than he had loved her. “Get out of here!” he snarled at her.
2 Samuel 13:15
Our age of broken marriages and blended families has created situations that often parallel conditions described in the Old Testament. The modern turns out to be ancient. The shocking problems of other times have become the heartbreaking problems of today. The safe and healthy atmosphere in the home has to be parents’ paramount concern in these days when the family is under intense assault on every front.
Amnon was King David’s first-born son. He set in motion one of the most shameful and destructive series of actions in the royal family. He allowed himself to become obsessed with sexual desire for his half-sister Tamar. When his attempt to seduce Tamar failed, he raped her. Then, his “desire” for her became loathing, and he humiliated her. He even tried to make it look like the incest was his sister’s fault. Tamar’s brother Absalom later avenged her shame by killing Amnon.
David was an ineffective father. He failed to train or discipline his children. Although he found out and was furious about Amnon’s actions, he did nothing. Amnon, like the rest of his siblings, was a child out of control. He was frustrated when he couldn’t have his way and disgusted when he got his way. Without direction, his actions led to self-destruction. The Bible records not even a hint of remorse for what he had done to his own sister.
Family relationships can be sources of strength or systems of dysfunction. We can think about childhood by counting scars and nightmares or by remembering security and dreams. We may be creating in our own children one or the other of these histories. In what specific ways have you been settling the painful issues of the past in your own life? In what ways are you contributing to a better past for your children? Family relationships are part of the solid ground or quicksand under our lives. As parents, we need to be wise and watchful. We need to be dependent on God with every fiber of our parental being!
Family and Parental. NLT.
Then suddenly Amnon’s love turned to hate, and he hated her even more than he had loved her. “Get out of here!” he snarled at her.
2 Samuel 13:15
Our age of broken marriages and blended families has created situations that often parallel conditions described in the Old Testament. The modern turns out to be ancient. The shocking problems of other times have become the heartbreaking problems of today. The safe and healthy atmosphere in the home has to be parents’ paramount concern in these days when the family is under intense assault on every front.
Amnon was King David’s first-born son. He set in motion one of the most shameful and destructive series of actions in the royal family. He allowed himself to become obsessed with sexual desire for his half-sister Tamar. When his attempt to seduce Tamar failed, he raped her. Then, his “desire” for her became loathing, and he humiliated her. He even tried to make it look like the incest was his sister’s fault. Tamar’s brother Absalom later avenged her shame by killing Amnon.
David was an ineffective father. He failed to train or discipline his children. Although he found out and was furious about Amnon’s actions, he did nothing. Amnon, like the rest of his siblings, was a child out of control. He was frustrated when he couldn’t have his way and disgusted when he got his way. Without direction, his actions led to self-destruction. The Bible records not even a hint of remorse for what he had done to his own sister.
Family relationships can be sources of strength or systems of dysfunction. We can think about childhood by counting scars and nightmares or by remembering security and dreams. We may be creating in our own children one or the other of these histories. In what specific ways have you been settling the painful issues of the past in your own life? In what ways are you contributing to a better past for your children? Family relationships are part of the solid ground or quicksand under our lives. As parents, we need to be wise and watchful. We need to be dependent on God with every fiber of our parental being!
Last edited:
