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Sibling Drama · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: And it came to pass, while they were in the way,
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  Speaker 1: that tidings came to David, saying, Absalom hath slain all
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  Speaker 1: the king's sons, and there is not one of them left.
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  Speaker 1: 2 Samuel 13.30 Dear Lord, as the tragedy in 2
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  Speaker 1: Samuel 13 comes to light, I thank you that you
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  Speaker 1: are setting a hedge of protection around me, so that
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  Speaker 1: I am protected from others taking advantage of me and
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  Speaker 1: my kindness. When the grip of manipulation seems to overpower me,
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  Speaker 1: I lean on the fact that you will provide a
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  Speaker 1: way of escape. Even when the amnons of this world
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  Speaker 1: seem to have the upper hand, I choose to praise you,
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  Speaker 1: because in the end you will always vindicate and validate me,
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  Speaker 1: because I am your child. With this truth, I know
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  Speaker 1: that whatever is done to or against me will not
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  Speaker 1: stop the plans you have for my life because you
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  Speaker 1: are careful to bring every word you speak to fruition.
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  Speaker 1: It's through your power and through your might that I
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  Speaker 1: can boldly speak this over my life. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for praying with me today. Continue listening for
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  Speaker 1: an incredible Bible story brought to you Sibling.
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  Speaker 2: Drama In our last story, we saw the restoration of
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  Speaker 2: David after a heinous sin. He had an affair with
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  Speaker 2: one of his most trusted soldier's wife. When she became pregnant,
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  Speaker 2: he covered it up by murdering him. As a result,
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  Speaker 2: David's heart grew hardened and distant from God. Nathan showed
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  Speaker 2: David the error of his ways, which began the process
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  Speaker 2: of bringing David back to God. Sadly, the child he
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  Speaker 2: had had with Bathsheba passed away from sickness, but a
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  Speaker 2: new son was born, who God would use to do
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  Speaker 2: great things. In this story, we learned about the descent
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  Speaker 2: of David's family. As predicted by Nathan, conflict and sin
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  Speaker 2: breaks out among David's children, and the neglect of David
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  Speaker 2: creates brokenness among his family, as inspired by the book
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  Speaker 2: of 2 Samuel.
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  Speaker 3: I'm so glad you joined us on the Bible in
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  Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. But before we get to today's episode,
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  Speaker 3: I want you to know that I would absolutely love
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  Speaker 3: to send you my daily devotional, that will give you
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  Speaker 3: fresh encouragement every single morning and day. From the moment
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  Speaker 3: we wake up to the moment our head finally hits
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  Speaker 3: the pillow, there are thousands of things demanding our attention.
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  Speaker 3: But it's in the midst of all this crush and
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  Speaker 3: hustle and bustle that you and I need peace and
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  Speaker 3: truth in God's Word. That's why I want to help
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  Speaker 3: you spend time each day growing in God's life-giving, life-changing
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  Speaker 3: Word by sending you my free daily email devotional, PowerPoint Today.
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  Speaker 3: So visit JackGraham.org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.
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  Speaker 3: That's JackGraham.org. JackGraham.org. In our last episode, we heard how
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  Speaker 3: Nathan confronted David for his sin of adultery and then murder,
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  Speaker 3: and then the cover-up. God would spare David's life because
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  Speaker 3: of his repentance, but He took the son conceived in
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  Speaker 3: sin and promised that there would be acrimony and war
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  Speaker 3: and chaos in his household. David repented and turned back
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  Speaker 3: to God, worshiping him and drawing near and found comfort
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  Speaker 3: and strength and assurance in his grief. But while God
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  Speaker 3: had forgiven the sin, there would be consequences for David's choices.
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  Speaker 3: And today we'll see how David's failure creates conflict and
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  Speaker 3: drama among his children. It is a lesson learned. on
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  Speaker 3: the brokenness that is caused by sin. Not only David's
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  Speaker 3: sin with Bathsheba, but his choice to marry many wives
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  Speaker 3: and disregard God's design for marriage between one man and
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  Speaker 3: one woman. So let's listen now to today's reading.
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  Speaker 2: David was blessed with many children. Yet because he had
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  Speaker 2: taken several wives, the family lines were blurred and skewed.
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  Speaker 2: Just as his ancestors, Abraham and Jacob, David found himself
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  Speaker 2: in the middle of a civil war between his wives
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  Speaker 2: and children. Tamar, David's daughter, was incredibly beautiful and sought
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  Speaker 2: after by many men throughout Israel. Amnon, David's son, and
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  Speaker 2: Tamar's half-brother lusted after her with great passion. He would
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  Speaker 2: watch her from a distance, pining after her relentlessly. He
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  Speaker 2: was tormented by his desires and greatly disturbed. Amnon vented
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  Speaker 2: to his friend Jonadab. Jonadab was a crafty man and
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  Speaker 2: had an unashamed darkness in his heart. My silly prince,
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  Speaker 2: Jonadab scoffed, here is what you shall do. Pretend to
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  Speaker 2: be ill, near death in bed. Ask for her to
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  Speaker 2: come and bring you food. And when she does, you
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  Speaker 2: can make your move. Amnon did as Jonadab suggested. He
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  Speaker 2: lay in his bed coughing and feverish. Tamar dabbed his
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  Speaker 2: head with a wet cloth and fed him stew from
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  Speaker 2: a spoon. Amnon could barely hold himself together around her.
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  Speaker 2: The smell of her hair, the delicate touch of her skin.
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  Speaker 2: Amnon leaned over to Tamar and touched her leg. Lie
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  Speaker 2: with me, he whispered. Tamar swatted his hand away and said,
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  Speaker 2: How could you ask such a thing? You shall not
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  Speaker 2: violate me in that way. Where would I be able
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  Speaker 2: to go with that type of shame? You would be
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  Speaker 2: the greatest fool in all of Israel. Amnon's blood boiled
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  Speaker 2: within him at her words. He grabbed her leg harshly
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  Speaker 2: and threw her beneath him on the bed. Amnon was
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  Speaker 2: far stronger than Tamar, so he had his way with her.
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  Speaker 2: Nobody could hear her whimpering through the chamber doors. After
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  Speaker 2: Amnon was through, he threw Tamar off of the bed
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  Speaker 2: and said, Get out of here! Because she rejected him,
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  Speaker 2: he hated her with a greater intensity than he ever
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  Speaker 2: loved her. Tears filled her eyes as Amnon's servant was
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  Speaker 2: called in to throw her out of his home. She
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  Speaker 2: went to a secret place and wept before God, ashamed
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  Speaker 2: of what had happened. She ran to her brother, Absalom,
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  Speaker 2: and told him all that had happened. So she stayed
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  Speaker 2: with her brother, and Absalom plotted his revenge against Amnon.
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  Speaker 2: Two full years had passed, and Amnon had nearly forgotten
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  Speaker 2: his terrible crimes against Tamar, yet Absalom did not. He
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  Speaker 2: could never forgive him. He invited all of his brothers
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  Speaker 2: to feast in celebration of the sheep-shearing festival. Together they ate, drank,
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  Speaker 2: and celebrated with music. But Absalom drank nothing. He ate nothing. Instead,
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  Speaker 2: he observed Amnon closely. Amnon drank until his heart was
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  Speaker 2: merry without a care in the world. He danced and
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  Speaker 2: stumbled about, enjoying the company of his brothers. Soon, he
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  Speaker 2: passed out among the sheep. After this, the other brothers
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  Speaker 2: departed to leave Absalom alone with Amnon. He nudged Amnon awake.
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  Speaker 2: Amnon opened his eyes to see Absalom standing above him
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  Speaker 2: with his sword in his hand. Before he could say
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  Speaker 2: a word, a blade was driven straight through his heart.
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  Speaker 2: David was given word that Absalom had killed Amnon and
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  Speaker 2: was greatly disturbed. At first, he had thought that Absalom
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  Speaker 2: killed all of his sons, but was quickly comforted to
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  Speaker 2: know that Absalom had only killed Amnon. He was not
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  Speaker 2: surprised by Absalom's actions, for he knew that his son
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  Speaker 2: was capable of great violence. Nevertheless, He mourned his son's
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  Speaker 2: death and awaited the return of his other sons. Absalom, however,
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  Speaker 2: did not return. He remained in Geshur. A darkness had
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  Speaker 2: been unleashed that night in Absalom's heart. A bitterness towards
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  Speaker 2: his father arised. It was David that should have killed Amnon. Instead,
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  Speaker 2: he did nothing. So Absalom remained there for a while,
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  Speaker 2: plotting to seek revenge on his father David.
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  Speaker 3: Today's scripture opens with the echoes of Abraham and Jacob,
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  Speaker 3: but for all the wrong reasons. Like the patriarchs before him,
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  Speaker 3: David had not denied himself the pleasure of taking many wives.
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  Speaker 3: He was not ignorant of the sacredness of marriage, that
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  Speaker 3: God's design was for man to cleave to his wife,
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  Speaker 3: to be one flesh with her. But he was simply
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  Speaker 3: unwilling to deny himself the beautiful women that were available
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  Speaker 3: to him as a decorated warrior and a powerful king.
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  Speaker 3: And just as had happened with the men before him,
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  Speaker 3: David's choices produced a fertile ground for divided loyalties, family dysfunction,
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  Speaker 3: and animosity among siblings. God's design for marriage is not
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  Speaker 3: a trivial rule meant to deprive us of enjoyment. It
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  Speaker 3: is a wise guardrail to protect his own children, to
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  Speaker 3: produce flourishing in the family and peace in the community
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  Speaker 3: and world. And when it is violated, there will always
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  Speaker 3: be problems and terrible consequences. There's no greater reminder of
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  Speaker 3: this than the history of Amnon, Tamar, and Absalom. Amnon
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  Speaker 3: burned with desire for his own sister, and he listened
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  Speaker 3: to a wicked friend who told him to just take
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  Speaker 3: what he wanted, even giving him a plan for how
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  Speaker 3: to go about it. It's no mistake that the book
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  Speaker 3: of Proverbs opens with the truth that blessed are those
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  Speaker 3: who do not walk in the counsel of the wicked.
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  Speaker 3: But Amnon listened to the counsel of the ungodly, and
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  Speaker 3: lured his sister into his room. When she properly rejected
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  Speaker 3: his advances, Amnon raped her, then cast her away, hating
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  Speaker 3: her for the rejection. So Tamar fled to another brother's home,
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  Speaker 3: the home of Absalom, and told him what had happened.
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  Speaker 3: And what about David? Was he even aware of what
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  Speaker 3: was happening? 2 Samuel 13 21 gives us the answer.
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  Speaker 3: When King David heard of all these things, he was
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  Speaker 3: very angry. So he did know what happened, but apparently
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  Speaker 3: he does nothing. Again, like others before him, men like
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  Speaker 3: Isaac and Jacob, David saw the strife and the sin
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  Speaker 3: of his own children, but did nothing to intervene. But
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  Speaker 3: Absalom was not going to sit idly by. Absalom is
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  Speaker 3: in a rage because what has happened to his sister,
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  Speaker 3: and he is about to take revenge on his brother.
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  Speaker 3: One day he called his siblings to a feast. He
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  Speaker 3: waited until Amnon was good and drunk, and then he
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  Speaker 3: sent his servants to kill Amnon. His other brothers fled
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  Speaker 3: in fear of their brother. David received word of what
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  Speaker 3: had happened and tore his clothing in mourning, thinking that
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  Speaker 3: all of his sons were dead. But Jonadab let him
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  Speaker 3: know that only Amnon had died as punishment for violating Tamar.
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  Speaker 3: Absalom knew now that he would be persona non grata
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  Speaker 3: in the kingdom and with the king, so he fled
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  Speaker 3: where he hid, letting his hatred and bitterness toward his
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  Speaker 3: father grow. He would one day return to Jerusalem, but
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  Speaker 3: would not find his father waiting in open arms, and
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  Speaker 3: this rejection would fill his heart with murderous intent. We'll
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  Speaker 3: hear about Absalom's return the next time. Dear Lord, we
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  Speaker 3: are reminded in this passage of Scripture that there are
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  Speaker 3: always consequences for sin. And we pray that therefore we
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  Speaker 3: would turn from sin and never allow sinful choices to
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  Speaker 3: destroy our lives and our families. We do pray for
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  Speaker 3: grace and mercy for those who have failed. That each
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  Speaker 3: one of us would find in you and your grace
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  Speaker 3: and love displayed at the cross eternal life and salvation.
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  Speaker 3: We thank you that there is no sin that you
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  Speaker 3: cannot forgive. and that your blood, the blood of Jesus Christ,
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  Speaker 3: cleanses us from every sin. So, Lord, we turn to you,
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  Speaker 3: and we trust in you, and we find mercy and
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  Speaker 3: grace in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you for listening to
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  Speaker 3: today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas,
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  Speaker 3: and before we go, I want you to know that
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  Speaker 3: I would love to send you my daily devotional to
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: give you fresh encouragement every single day. So visit JackGraham.org
• 12:43
  Speaker 3: to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional. That's JackGraham.org.