April 30th | 2 Samuel 13
Sin Never Satisfies
This week’s reading serves as a poignant reminder of the depravity of the human condition. David sinned greatly by lusting after Bathsheba and committing adultery. It led to the murder of Uriah and the death of David’s son born to him through Bathsheba. Sin destroys.
In chapter 13, we see more of David’s family falling into sin. David’s son Ammon lusted after his sister Tamar. In an act of great wickedness, Ammon tricks Tamar into coming into his house where he asks to lie with her. Her response is the response we should expect.
2 Samuel 13:11-13,
“11 But when she brought them near him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, 'Come, lie with me, my sister.” 12 She answered him, “No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this outrageous thing. 13 As for me, where could I carry my shame? And as for you, you would be as one of the outrageous fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.”
Tamar knows what we can all see. This sin is terrible, outrageous, and wicked. Yet, Ammon doesn’t listen and overpowers Tamar. After this egregious sin, Ammon has an interesting reaction.
2 Samuel 13:15, “15 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. And Amnon said to her, “Get up! Go!”
The thing Ammon wanted so much was now repulsive to him. This is how sin works. It will lure you in with great power. You will feel compelled to pursue that sin. And here is the kicker: the enemy convinces you that this sin will satisfy and fulfill you. However, Ammon wasn’t fulfilled. In fact, he was worse than he had been before.
Sin fills you for a moment. But once that moment passes, the sin becomes a cancerous rot inside of you. It leaves you emptier than before. Sin promises riches and leaves us rotting.
Just like David and his family, we are all sinners. We can read the Bible and be horrified by David and his family’s actions, but we are all in the same boat. We all continually choose our sin instead of God, and we find ourselves rotting away, unsatisfied, and experiencing the devastating consequences of sin. We need rescue from this cycle of sin.
Jesus came to rescue us. In John 4, Jesus speaks to a woman who is drawing water from a well in the heat of the day.
John 4:13-14, “13 Jesus said to her, 'Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Stop drinking from the well that will leave you thirsty for more. Sin never satisfies. Turn from your sin and turn to Jesus. In His grace, he offers an overflowing well of eternal life.
