What hit my heart as I read 2nd Samuel 13 this morning was how grieving it is to see your own sin reproduced in your child. Been there and seen that. Truly there is no greater joy than to see your children walk in truth, but oh, what heartbreak for the parent when he sees his own sin mirrored back to him in his child. Worse, to be in David’s position, and have to bear the shame that comes when a parent must submit to the Lord by correcting the sin of his child that he is conscious of in himself. David failed as a father here with Amnon and again with Absalom. 2 Samuel 13 tells us David was angry, but the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Justice was not meted out by David and his anger served to only harden his sons further. Ecclesiastes speaks well to this:
Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.—Ecclesiastes 8:11
The consequences of sin are endless. Reading through this chapter felt like sinking in the mire. We live in a fallen world, and it is inevitable that sin and hurt and offenses come. Yet the person who leads a little one into sin initiates an instance or a pattern of sin that corrupts their innocence. (Or whatever innocence they may have had). They are guilty before God and without excuse. Praying that God gives each of us hearts and wills that desire to be ruthless with our sin.
Father....I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You. Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.
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