One Year Bible Readings and Commentary for Saturday, May 28th

Click Here to Listen to the Readings

Click Here to Read 2 Samuel 13

The Rape of Tamar

The sexual sin that David committed with Bathsheba not only had consequences for him, but now his own daughter Tamar is the victim of sexual abuse at the hands of Ammon, her half brother. It is bad enough that Ammon raped his half sister, but the way in which he did it was most aggregious. His friend Jonadab gave him the idea to fake being sick, and then have Tamar come and feed him his favorite meal. He even brought David into it, as he told Tamar to go in and feed him. 

But this is was only so he could trap Tamar and have sex with her. After he raped Tamar, he got angry and sent her out of his room. Tamar pleaded with him to not dishonor in this way, but his mind was made up. When Absalom heard about what happened, he now hated his half brother. To make things worse for Tamar, because she now lost her virginity, she lived desolate in her brother's house. David found out to and he was very angry. 

Absalom’s Revenge on Amnon 

We know sin and evil begets sin and evil. Though Absalom's anger was justified against his half brother Ammon, his killing him was not. Absalom hatched his own plan, as he prepared a feast fit for the king's sons. Then, at the right time he had someone kill Ammon. All the rest of the sons fled thinking they were next. The first report to David was that all his sons were killed. But ironically Jonadab, David's nephew who had planted the idea in Absalom's mind, reported to David that Ammon was the only one killed.

David was still in deep mourning about Ammon's death. Absalom, assuming David might take his grief and anger out on him, fled to his grandfather's house for three years. After three years, David longed to be reunited with Absalom his son.

You can see the consequences of David's actions, and how his sons exhibited some of the same behaviors as he did. While God gave us family as a place to love be loved sometimes family members can cause each other lots of pain. That is sad. Many family members never reconcile due to misunderstandings, arguments, and bad behavior. Pray for families today that they can be what God intended. If you have a grievance with a family member, consider praying how you might be an instrument of healing in your family system. 

Click Here to Read John 17

The Prayer of Jesus

Here we get an inside look at Jesus' prayer life, and how he prays to His Father. This is an especially important prayer, because Jesus is getting ready to go to the cross. We see his reliance on the Father and also to see his deepest desire to see the Father glorified. This should be the heart of any prayer to glorify the Father in our lives. Jesus had brought the Father glory by completing the work he had done on earth, and now he was ready to go back to the Father where he had been for all of eternity as the pre-existent word. 

Jesus specifically prayed for those God had given him out of the world. Because they were staying in the world, he knew they would be facing trouble. Jesus prays for God to protect them by the power of God's name. Importantly Jesus had given them the word, which is truth. The truth about who Jesus is, and how his life revealed the truth about God. As they lived by God's Word in their lives, they would be sanctified by this same truth. 

Jesus Prays for All Believers

Finally, Jesus prays for those who will believe in him through the testimony of his disciples. And then he says something very important. His prayer for them is that, "They be one as you and I (the Father) are one." Throughout the history of the church, it has struggled with unity. There have times when movements like the Protestant Reformation needed to correct the church from its bad theology and teaching (in my opinion), but many other divisions were prompted by the pride of men, who just wanted to be right. The unity of the church is so important, because when it is divided it is a bad witness to the world. 

How is your prayer life? What can you learn from the way Jesus prays? I have found a very helpful model for my prayers. It is called the A.C.T.S. method of praying. 

A.doration (Praising God)

C.onfession (Admitting the things you know are wrong to God)

T.hanksgiving (Giving God thanks for forgiveness through Jesus and for all of the material and relational blessings in your life)

S.upplication (Asking God for the things you NEED!

I write out my prayers writing 2 or 3 paragraphs in each section. You may want to try it. 

Click Here to Read Psalm 119:81-96

Click Here to Read Proverbs 16:6-7

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