February 18, 2019: Psalms 69-71; 1 Chronicles 20; 2 Samuel 13.

When I got up this morning, I found a note on my desk. David canceled Hulu. We didn’t even try it for 24 hours! He decided without talking to me.

I feel like we are roller skating while holding hands. When he makes a decision alone, he changes direction, whipping me around the corner. I’m getting whiplash!

I handled the finances for the first 30+ years of our marriage. I made a few decisions on my own and he was the one with whiplash! (He lost his head a few times.)

I want to leave him a note – “I gave up sex for Lent. Happy Easter!”

But I won’t because that’s not love – that’s revenge. I turned to Proverbs to read the cross-references and notes on a few verses. I got stuck on the first one.

Proverbs 24:29, “Do not say, ‘I’ll do to them as they have done to me; I’ll pay them back for what they did.’ ” The Message

Ouch.

* * * * * * *

“There’s no love without commitment; the level of commitment shows the level of love. …Love is never lust. Someone wanting you is not them loving you.”

Pastor Gary Van Nyhuis, “Love Like You Mean It,” February 17, 2019

* * * * * * *

Amnon shows us the difference between love and lust – and the consequences.

2 Samuel 13:1, “…Amnon, also David’s son, was in love with Tamar.” The Message

1. Amnon was obsessed…to the point of making himself sick over her, v. 2.
2. She was a virgin so he couldn’t see how he could get his hands on her, v. 2.
3. Jonadab was exceptionally streetwise, v. 3.
4. Jonadab made a way for Amnon to get his hands on Tamar without marrying her, v. 5.
5. Amnon cleared everyone out of the house. That left Tamar unprotected, v. 9.
6. He asked her to bring the food to his bedroom. Normally, she never would have entered his bedroom, v. 10.
7. She got too close and he grabbed her, v. 11.
8. She said no, v. 12, 13.
9. Amnon did not listen, v. 14.
10. Since she was alone, unprotected, in a room she never should have entered, he raped her, v. 14.
11. His lust turned into hate, v. 15.
12. He rejected her and threw her out, v. 18.
13. She had no place to go! She couldn’t return to the palace to live with her virgin sisters. She moved in with her brother Absalom and was desolate and bitter, v. 18-20.
14. Absalom said…let’s keep it quiet – a family matter, v. 20.

But it never stays quiet. It always comes out. That event destroyed Tamar and cost Amnon his life!

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