Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the ornate robe she was wearing. She put her hands on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went   

2 Samuel 13:19

She was an innocent and caring young woman, full of life and intelligence too. She loved people and desired to serve them wherever she saw a great need.

Talk about beauty, the princess was simply exquisite. Eyes turned wherever she went. Her smile was warm and sincerely engaging. A rare combination of wit and grace exuded from her lips when she engaged anyone in a conversation and people could not have enough of it. What baffled everybody, however, was how such a beautiful princess of Israel could turn cooking into such a delightful art she loved so much. If only Israel could have her as their queen!   

Why then has Princess Tamar covered her head with ashes? Why is she walking around in her richly ornamented robe, “the kind of garment the virgin daughters of the King wore” (2 Sam. 13:18), all torn and revealing her lovely figure so inappropriately? Why is Israel’s beloved princess wailing, with her hands over her head, coming out of her half-brother, Amnon’s house (19)? What seems to be the problem?

“Has that Amnon, your brother, been with you”, Absalom said. “Be quiet now, my sister; he is your brother. Don’t take this thing to heart.” Her response was in her terrified eyes. So, from that day, “Tamar lived in her brother Absalom’s house, a desolate woman. Absalom never said a word to Amnon. Filled with hatred for Amnon, he bid his time for sweet revenge (20-22).

O, the brokenness of a royal family, afflicted by cruel anger and resentment, because of one person’s lack of self-control!

Down in Amnon’s house, dark clouds of rape hang over the young prince’s bed. Its deceptive voice screams unceasingly in Amnon’s ears. “Look at what you have done. How could you commit such a shameful sin against your sister?” Mr. Guilt, the tormentor, continues. “You said you loved her, but now you claim you hate her with intense hatred. Which one is it? What are you going to do, now that you have defiled her in such a shameful way?”

“Leave me alone!” Amnon screams and buries his head in his pillows, his body throbbing.

The deceptiveness of infatuation. How destructive when left unrestrained!

Bad news breaks very quickly, and the king’s palace receives the report.

“How could Amnon do that to me?” King David says. He starts to vent his anger. But his eyes fall into the face of a curious Bathsheba, staring at him across the room.  He gets the message and walks away, shaking his head.

When our past catches up with us in such a bad way, it is not interesting. It strips us of any moral right to be tough on the sin of others. It renders us impotent when we must be tough. 

(To be continued).