After Two Full Years…

Sometimes there are long periods of silence between sin and consequence.   #daybydaylw   Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!   ~~~   So then we come to our passage for study this morning, and it begins this way: “After two full years…” That is our setting of the scene for the next events about to transpire. It may not seem like much information, but let it sink in. There is something being communicated in that statement. The author doesn’t want us to think that the next events took place just a few days later. It was “two FULL years.” Two years after Amnon listened to Jonadab’s wicked, crafty scheme. Two years after David foolishly sent Tamar to Amnon’s house. Two years after Amnon lied in wait, feigning sickness. Two years after Tamar tended to Amnon. Two years after Amnon laid hold of Tamar’s arm and jerked her to his side. Two years after Tamar pleaded with him to stop. Two years after Tamar was kicked out of Amnon’s house like a piece of trash. Two years after Tamar ran away weeping and wailing Two years after Absalom took her in and told her to be quiet. But it wasn’t just two years after these events. It was two full years of Jonadab taking mental notes of the family dynamics. This is the setting as it is given to us. The Conflict, vss. 23-27 And then we are introduced to the conflict of this story. The time has come for a little sheep-shearing on Absalom’s farm and it is taking place near Ephraim, about 15 miles away from the capitol city of Jerusalem. So Absalom goes to his father, King David, wanting to make this a family affair. But we quickly discover that Absalom is really only interested in having Amnon there. After King David protests and says that it would be too costly for Absalom to host all the family, Absalom presses David to send Amnon. King David doesn’t really know why Amnon’s attendance is so important to this sheep-shearing party, but he finally concedes. But us readers, we have pick up on something, don’t we? We see the tension. Absalom has not been exactly friendly to Amnon, not overly harsh, but not exactly buddy-buddy either. We know something is cooking.