2 Samuel 13: Avoiding from Bad to Worse

³⁸ After Absalom fled and went to Geshur, he stayed there three years. ³⁹ And King David longed to go to Absalom, for he was consoled concerning Amnon’s death. -2 Samuel 13:38-39

First, David committed adultery. Then he attempted a cover up, setting up Uriah to be killed. He later confessed his sins once confronted, but the consequences would continue for some time.

In this chapter, we discover his daughter Tamar was raped by her half-brother Amnon. Amnon was not punished, but Tamar’s brother Absalom prepared for revenge. When he was able, Absalom killed his brother in revenge for defiling his sister. Rather than face punished, Absalom fled from the country.

David did not cause these other sins, but they did follow on the heels of a bad example he had set. Each person is responsible for his or her own sins, but how we live certainly influences others for better or worse. David’s precedent paved the way for reckless actions by his sons, creating a series of actions that impacted the entire nation.

We may not think what we do matters to others, but it does. What you do today may impact your family, your community, or even your entire nation. Don’t live like what you do doesn’t matter. Make your life count–today and every day.

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Dillon Burroughs is the author and coauthor of numerous books and is handwriting a copy of all 31,173 verses of the Bible at HolyWritProject.com. Find out more about Dillon at Facebook.com/readdB or readdB.com.