TODAY’S MANNA
FRIDAY, MAY 18, 20I8
TOPIC: MISTAKEN LOVE
TEXT: 2 SAMUEL 13:1-19
I) THE KEY VERSE:
“Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone” (2 Samuel 13:15).
2) THE TEXT:
(2 SAMUEL I3: I – I9 KJV)
“13:1 And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her.
13:2 And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and Amnon thought it hard for him to do anything to her.
13:3 But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother: and Jonadab was a very subtil man.
13:4 And he said unto him, Why art thou, being the king’s son, lean from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.
13:5 And Jonadab said unto him, Lay thee down on thy bed, and make thyself sick: and when thy father cometh to see thee, say unto him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come, and give me meat, and dress the meat in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it at her hand.
13:6 So Amnon lay down, and made himself sick: and when the king was come to see him, Amnon said unto the king, I pray thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make me a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat at her hand.
13:7 Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy brother Amnon’s house, and dress him meat.
13:8 So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house; and he was laid down. And she took flour, and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and did bake the cakes.
13:9 And she took a pan, and poured them out before him; but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Have out all men from me. And they went out every man from him.
13:10 And Amnon said unto Tamar, Bring the meat into the chamber, that I may eat of thine hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother.
13:11 And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister.
13:12 And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly.
13:13 And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.
13:14 Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her.
13:15 Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone.
13:16 And she said unto him, There is no cause: this evil in sending me away is greater than the other that thou didst unto me. But he would not hearken unto her.
13:17 Then he called his servant that ministered unto him, and said, Put now this woman out from me, and bolt the door after her.
13:18 And she had a garment of divers colours upon her: for with such robes were the king’s daughters that were virgins apparelled. Then his servant brought her out, and bolted the door after her.
13:19 And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colours that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying.”
3) THE MESSAGE:
i) If we are careful enough to double-check our feelings, notions and the ideas we have about things and people before jumping into actions and conclusions about them, we will save ourselves and others from a lot of heartaches and pains.
ii) But people seldom do this. They are easily carried away with the first thought about things and end up sulking away in shameful and painful regret.
iii) Amnon thought he loved Tamar. The feelings he had for her seemed to convince him about this. But he did not take time to truly examine the feeling in light of what obtained in Israel and what the word of God says about such desires. His love was mistaken and the end was a disaster!
iv) Many people have gone ahead to build their marriages, careers and even ministries on mistaken convictions.
v) They are not patient enough to thoroughly examine what they thought was ‘love’. Some have jumped into marriages, hurried out to start a new ministry or join a new assembly, or get into a business out of what has come to be known as “love at first sight”.
vi) Regrettably, they become so unfortunate to get friends and counsellors who urge them on with their misguided and misjudged feelings.
vii) The results of these can be seen in the many broken homes, failed marriages, ruptured businesses, miscarried ministries and so on all around us today.
viii) Cases of murder, suicides and other crimes as a result of frustrations arising from these wrong decisions are quite rampant.
ix) Christians must learn to be patient and allow the Holy Spirit and the word of God to lead them in everything.
x) Our decisions and actions must not just be based on feelings and emotions. These surely do not last and so are unreliable.
xi) Our actions and decisions must be taken in the light of the word of God. Whatever is done outside of the sacred confines of God’s word will eventually end tragically.
4) THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
True love does not lead to wrong actions.
5) BIBLE READING IN ONE YEAR:
PSALM 26;
40;
58;
61-62;
64
Good morning
Leave a Reply