Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Take a breath, find your place, and read deeply. Discover the joy of reading God’s word with the Immerse New Living Translation (NLT) Bible.
This daily Bible podcast will take you through the Bible in a year following the Immerse Bible Reading Experience. So grab your family and small group and go through the Bible in a year together with Immerse. Each of the 6 volumes is available online or at your favorite Christian bookstore.
Ethan: Welcome to Immerse: the
daily bible reading experience.
Day 200 and 3
now, David's son, Absalom had
a beautiful sister named Tamar
and Nan, her half-brother, fell
desperately in love with her.
Nan became so obsessed with
Tamar that he became ill.
She was a virgin, and Amnon
thought he could never have her.
But Amnon had a very crafty
friend, his cousin Jonadab.
He was the son of David's brother Shimea.
One day Jonadab said to
Amnon, What's the trouble?
Why should the son of a king look
so dejected morning after morning?
So Amnon told him, I am in love with
Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.
Well, Jonadab said, I'll
tell you what to do.
Go back to bed and pretend you are ill.
When your father comes to see
you, ask him to let Tamar come
and prepare some food for you.
Tell him you'll feel better if
she prepares it as you watch and
feeds you with her own hands.
So Amnon lay down and
pretended to be sick.
And when the king came to see him, Amnon
asked him, Please let my sister Tamar
come and cook my favorite dish as I watch.
Then I can eat it from her own hands.
So David agreed and sent Tamar to Amnon's
house to prepare some food for him.
When Tamar arrived at Amnon's house, she
went to the place where he was lying down
so he could watch her mix some dough.
Then she baked his favorite dish for him.
But when she set the serving tray
before him, he refused to eat.
Everyone get out of here,
Amnon told his servants.
So they all left then he said to Tamar now
bring the food into my bedroom and feed
it to me here So Tamar took his favorite
dish to him But as she was feeding him
he grabbed her and demanded come to bed
with me my darling sister No, my brother.
She cried.
Don't be foolish.
Don't do this to me Such wicked
things aren't done in Israel.
Where could I go in my shame?
And you would be called one of
the greatest fools in Israel.
Please, just speak to the king about
it and he will let you marry me.
But Amnon wouldn't listen to her.
And since he was stronger
than she was, he raped her.
Then suddenly Amnon's love turned
to hate, and he hated her even
more than he had loved her.
Get out of here, he snarled at her.
No, no, Temar cried.
Sending me away now is worse than
what you've already done to me.
But Amnon wouldn't listen to her.
He shouted for his servant and
demanded, Throw this woman out
and lock the door behind her.
So the servant put her out and
locked the door behind her.
She was wearing a long, beautiful
robe, as was the custom in those
days for the king's virgin daughters.
But now Tamar tore her robe
and put ashes on her head.
And then, with her face in her
hands, she went away crying.
Her brother Absalom saw her and asked,
Is it true that Amnon has been with you?
Well, my sister, keep quiet for
now, since he's your brother.
Don't you worry about it.
So Tamar lived as a desolate woman
in her brother Absalom's house.
When King David heard what had
happened, he was very angry.
And though Absalom never spoke to Amnon
about this, He hated Amnon deeply because
of what he had done to his sister.
Two years later, when Absalom's sheep
were being sheared at Baal Hazor
near Ephraim, Absalom invited all
the king's sons to come to a feast.
He went to the king and said, My
sheep shearers are now at work.
Would the king and his servants please
come to celebrate the occasion with me?
The king replied, No, my son.
If we all came, we would be
too much of a burden on you.
Absalom pressed him, but the
king would not come, though
he gave Absalom his blessing.
Well then, Absalom said, if you
can't come, how about sending
my brother Amnon with us?
Why Amnon?
the king asked.
But Absalom kept on pressing the king
until he finally agreed to let all
his sons attend, including Amnon.
So Absalom prepared a
feast fit for a king.
Absalom told his men, Wait
until Amnon gets drunk.
Then at my signal, kill him.
Don't be afraid.
I'm the one who has given the command.
Take courage and do it.
So, at Absalom's signal,
they murdered Amnon.
Then the other sons of the king
jumped on their mules and fled.
As they were on the way back to
Jerusalem, this report reached David.
Absalom has killed all the king's
sons, not one is left alive.
The king got up, tore his robe,
and threw himself on the ground.
His advisors also tore their
clothes in horror and sorrow.
But just then, Jonadab, the son of
David's brother Shemiah, arrived
and said, No, don't believe that all
the king's sons have been killed.
It was only Amnon.
Absalom has been plotting this ever
since Amnon raped his sister Tamar.
No, my lord the king,
your sons aren't all dead.
It was only Amnon.
Meanwhile, Absalom escaped.
Then the watchmen on the Jerusalem
wall saw a great crowd coming down
the hill on the road from the west.
He ran to tell the king, I see a crowd
of people coming from the Horenayim
road along the side of the hill.
Look, Jonadab told the
king, there they are now.
The king's sons are
coming, just as I said.
They soon arrived, weeping and
sobbing, and the king and all his
servants wept bitterly with them.
And David mourned many
days for his son Amnon.
Absalom fled to his grandfather, Talmai,
son of Amihud, the king of Gesher.
He stayed there in Gesher for three years.
And King David, now reconciled
to Amnon's death, longed to be
reunited with his son Absalom.
Joab realized how much the
king longed to see Absalom.
So he sent for a woman from Tekoa who
had a reputation for great wisdom.
He said to her, Pretend
you are in mourning.
Wear mourning clothes
and don't put on lotions.
Act like a woman who has been
mourning for the dead for a long time.
Then go to the king and tell him
the story I am about to tell you.
Then Joab told her what to say.
When the woman from Tekoa approached
the king, she bowed with her face
to the ground in deep respect,
and cried out, O king, help me.
What's the trouble?
the king asked.
Alas, I am a widow, she replied.
My husband is dead.
My two sons had a fight out in the field.
And since no one was there to
stop it, one of them was killed.
Now the rest of the family is
demanding Let us have your son.
We will execute him for
murdering his brother.
He doesn't deserve to inherit
his family's property.
They want to extinguish
the only coal I have left.
And my husband's name and family will
disappear from the face of the earth.
Leave it to me, the king told her.
Go home, and I'll see to
it that no one touches him.
Oh, thank you, my lord the king,
the woman from Tekoa replied.
If you are criticized for helping
me, let the blame fall on me and
on my father's house, and let the
king and his throne be innocent.
If anyone objects, the
king said, bring him to me.
I can assure you he will
never harm you again.
Then she said, Please swear to me by
the Lord your God that you won't let
anyone take vengeance against my son.
I want no more bloodshed.
As surely as the Lord lives, he replied.
Not a hair on your son's
head will be disturbed.
Please allow me to ask one more
thing of my Lord the King, she said.
Go ahead and speak, he responded.
She replied.
Why don't you do as much for the people
of God as you have promised to do for me?
You have convicted yourself in making
this decision, because you have refused
to bring home your own banished son.
All of us must die eventually.
Our lives are like water
spilled out on the ground, which
cannot be gathered up again.
But God does not just sweep life away.
Instead, He devises ways to bring us back
when we have been separated from Him.
I have come to plead with my Lord the
King, because people have threatened me.
I said to myself, perhaps the King
will listen to me and rescue us
from those who would cut us off from
the inheritance God has given us.
Yes, my Lord the King will
give us peace of mind again.
I know that you are like an angel
of God in discerning good from evil.
May the Lord your God be with you.
I must know one thing, the King replied.
And tell me the truth.
Yes, my lord the king.
She responded, Did Joab
put you up to this?
And the woman replied, My lord
the king, how can I deny it?
Nobody can hide anything from you.
Yes, Joab sent me and told me what to say.
He did it to place the matter
before you in a different light.
But you are as wise as an angel
of God, and you understand
everything that happens among us.
So the king sent for Joab and
told him, All right, go and
bring back the young man Absalom.
Joab bowed with his face to the
ground in deep respect and said,
At last I know that I have gained
your approval, my Lord the King, for
you have granted me this request.
Then Joab went to Geshur and
brought Absalom back to Jerusalem.
But the king gave this order, Absalom
may go to his own house, but he
must never come into my presence.
So Absalom did not see the king.
This concludes today's
Immerse Reading Experience.
Thank you for joining us.