We have written the last few weeks about how lust that is not kept under control causes much grief.  David's fling with Bathsheba haunted him the rest of his life, and so it will be with President Clinton.  All of the good things he has or will accomplish will be clouded by the fact that he did not control his lust but committed immorality with a young female employee.

This story is about another man who refused to control his lust.  His name was Amnon, a son of David.  By this time, David had many wives, and so there were many half-brothers and half-sisters.  The object of Amnon's lust was his half-sister Tamar.  The Bible says that she was beautiful, and Amnon refused to get her off his mind.  It was against Jewish law for Amnon to have her. (Leviticus 18:9)  But like so many, he refused to consider the teachings of the Bible and was concerned only with what he wanted.  Amnon was so overcome by his passions that he lost a significant amount of weight.

Jonadab was another son on David, and he was said to be "a very crafty man." (II Samuel 13:3)  Jonadab decided to take on the cause of Amnon to get him what he wanted.  Jonadab told Amnon to pretend to be sick and to call for Tamar to prepare food in front of him and to feed him.  This is what Amnon did.  After he cleared the room, he raped Tamar, in spite of her protests.  Tamar said, "No such thing should be done in Israel." (II Samuel 13:12)  Certainly such a horrible thing should not be done anywhere.  She called his action disgraceful and said that it would bring her shame.  Tamar outlined the terrible things the victim must face after rape.  No one should be put through such grief.

After the rape, Amnon despised Tamar as much as he had previously lusted after her.  He threw her out of his house in spite of her protests that he take away her shame.  Evidently with special permission from David, he could have had her as a wife, thus removing the shame, but Amnon wanted nothing to do with her.

One of the more famous sons of David was Absalom, a handsome and popular man who was the full brother of Tamar.  When he found out about the rape, he was infuriated.  Rather than try to take revenge at the time, he kept this thing within his heart for two years, plotting his revenge.  The New Testament teaches that we are not to take revenge, but that it is the work of God.  The Jews have a tradition that at shearing time, all the men go out together to shear sheep.  Absalom invited Amnon to go with him and instructed his men that they were to kill him.  This they did.