Jews, Christians and Muslims. Please answer.?

Question

Amnon was the progeny of David and Ahinoam. Tamar and Absalom were the progeny of David and Maachah. Thus Amnon and Absalom were half-brothers, like Abraham's sons Ishmael and Isaac.

Jewish law forbade Amnon to marry a half-sister, Amnon pretended to be sick. He lured Tamar into his quarters with the pretense that he wanted her to cook a special meal for him, ignored her protests, and raped her. Two years later, Absalom engineered Amnon's death. (2 Samuel 13:1-22)

Instead of giving Justice to his daughter, David failed as a king and judge by not giving death penalty to Amnon.

And Absalom corrected that and gave his sister justice by engineering Amnon's death.

Focusing on this story ONLY, isn't Absalom's justice praiseworthy and David's injustice a shame of a King ?!

Answer 1

You are correct. Even though God loved David and chose him to be King of Israel, David was not a perfect man! Just look at the adultery that David committed with Bathsheeba when he also killed her husband to cover it up! David was just a flawwed and sinful man who loved God and who God used.

Even though David loved God, he was a lustful man, an awful father, and sometimes very lazy. He was very wrong not to punish Amnon but it was far from the only wrong thing he had done in his life!

David's life just goes to show us that God can work with anyone, even someone as sinful as David. Nobody is perfect and nobody in the bible except for Jesus is perfect and sinless - but God loves them anyway just like he loves us!

Answer 2

Well David, ask king, at to follow the law thouroughly. Back in those days women were not held in as high regards as they are these days, so when Amon raped his sister it wasnt as big a deal as it was today, however a Prince killing another Prince was a VERY big deal. If you note David was upset about having to send Absalom away, but he had to do it, or it would look bad for him and his family. Also David did make a habit of going to easy on his kid, if you notice a few chapters after Absalom seeks to kill David, yet David mourns greatly when his soldiers save Davids life and Kingdom by killing Absalom. So I suppose in a way both view could be taken, David couldve been a weak king in this case, but he was filled with mercy.
Absalom on the other end doesnt deserve much praise, 2 wrongs dont make a right.

Answer 3

In James 1:14 it warns against being drawn out to epithumia (turning about sudden periods of rage or passion that are maddening like wine). Although this may not have been easy for Absalom to understand, Proverbs says (written by David's son, Solomon) that nobody else can understand the bitterness and joy of the heart. Absalom took on his sister's pain but this denied her the opportunity to be more than a figurehead for injustice. There is not only one correct response to a rape. It was in Tamar's court to decide how she wanted to handle it. This still leaves room for Absalom and David to have different reactions to the events, neither of which was necessarily right or wrong. (This is without reading the account. I'm just writing off the top of my head on general justice issues and my knowledge of King David's character through Bible study.) No political leader has an easy time of it. David had his own emotions as well, as we can see in Psalms. People seem to think that emotions are what cause you to use your right arm against others. David showed a fighting spirit according to God's requirements. He even fought his own mistakes and he did this without recourse to trying to make himself look "better than" another sinner just to prove himself with reference to others. He took on responsibility for his sin with Bathsheba and he didn't call a friend first either.

David's exceeding righteousness shows through in Psalms. He had great love for his children and great love for his friend, Jonathan, and he listened to women, as evidenced by the account with Abigail. Anybody needs to be constantly prayerful. If hate comes from using archetypes to view people with, and the most expendable archetype is the mark of the beast (Revelation 13:18) then Amnon apparently thought that Tamar was only unmarried and hard working after he had raped her. It's one thing to want the best for your children. It's another thing to be able to protect them 24-7. Nobody's ever been able to achieve it, and that's why education when you do see them is essential. It's no different for royal families. Those who don't like family and agree with murder (like Absalom) are unpredictable. Nobody saw this one coming, although it looks obvious in hindsight considering Absalom's later attempted coup. People like that are like streetfighters. They're formidable because they up the ante first.

Although your question states that Jewish law forbade any possibility of marriage between Amnon and Tamar, Tamar said that David wouldn't say no to it. Besides that, if the stigma of being unmarried and hardworking is correct, then Amnon wasn't interested anyway. It's one thing to have a law, but David was under threat for his very life at least some of the time that he was king, according to Psalms. The balance of power has gone towards unscrupulous ones since always. That's why righteous people "stand still" and see the salvation of Jehovah. People don't rape unless they have support. Amnon would have known that he was supported politically against his father or the law itself. The account says that David was furious, but God's justice is not about killing people. It's about warning how serious and life-altering the consequences of their actions are.

Answer 4

I think that Absalom should have left it alone. Plotting someones death wasn't a positive. It was a negative. Two wrongs don't make a right.

Answer 5

David's lack of action was wrong and shows how weak he was in disciplining his own children. However, Absolom's taking the law into his own hands was also wrong no matter how you try to justify it. Vigalante justice is not a correct path to follow.

Answer 6

Yes, it is just as you say. That's the beauty of the bible. It gives you an honest picture of its heroes. It doesn't just show you their good side. David had a lot of good qualities but he also had a lot of bad ones. David loved God and had an extreme desire to serve God with all of his heart. David was also an imperfect person.

Answer 7

As a Jew:
The Oral Torah was given with the Written Torah. One can't be interpreted without the other.
If you want to focus only on the written portion without the oral portion, no can do.
They come together as a package.

Answer 8

That would depend if you think rape merits the death penalty or not. Most places it doesn't. This doesn't mean that an angered father, brother ect. wouldn't want to kill you.

Answer 9

I got to give my thumbs up to Morganie on this one.




http://gospel-wings-of-an-eagle4.com/McKameys_Gods_Point_Of_View.mp3

Answer 10

Is this a bible story?...Saucy!