Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - We're All Insane | Historical Books | 2 Samuel 13:23-39

Episode Date: June 25, 2025

Do you suffer from sinful insanity? Do you keep returning to your sin and expecting a different result? Can I ever be obedient enough to earn God's favor? In today's episode, Jensen shares how 2 Samuel 13:23-39 reminds us that on our own, we are cursed, but in Christ, we are set free from sinful insanity. If you're listening on Spotify, tell us about yourself and where you're listening from! Read the Bible with us in 2025! This year, we’re exploring the Historical Books—Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings. Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: 2 Samuel 13:23-39

Welcome to 10-minute Bible talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. And the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jensen Holt McNair. They say that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results. Now, if that were the true definition of insanity, then we'd all have to admit that we're all at least a little bit insane. Right? Like, if I look at my relationships, the way that I treat my friends, my kids, my spouse, there's a lot of repetition there, a lot of ill-formed habits that don't serve me well,

that hurt the people I love, anger, blame-shifting, defensiveness, things that have caused my relationships real pain that have made my life significantly harder. Sin patterns that I know are not good for me. And yet, again and again, I returned to them over and over, somehow thinking that in this situation, it's the right move. But it never is, right? Like, the outcome is always the same. And somehow I don't learn my lesson. Instead, I'm stuck wondering, how do I always end up here?

Why can't I be better? Learn my lesson. Well, in 2 Samuel 13, we've seen the beginning of the fallout from David's sin, sexually assaults. Batsheba, murdering her husband, inflicting pain and ruin both on his own life and the lives of those around him. The man after God's own heart, the king who seemed so faithful, the king who seemed like he could be the one to get it right, well, he's failed. And the storyline that unfolds should remind us of another man that came before him. There was another man, a man who walked with God, who lived in promise, that man was Adam. And Adam failed under the weight of temptation.

He took the forbidden fruit that was not meant for him, ate it, tried to cover up his wrongdoing, and in doing so, cursed not only himself, but all of humanity. Now, what followed for Adam was devastating, cast out of his home, forced to live a life separated from God. And just one chapter later we see the devastation of sin, his own son murdered by his brother. We've seen how David's own story mirrors that of Adams in the taking of what wasn't his, Bathsheba, the lying and attempting to cover up his own sin, murdering her husband, and the eventual curse that came from one man's choices that would affect not only himself, but his entire family. And in the second half of 2 Samuel 13, we will see the effects of David's sin continue to grow. Now, if you missed

yesterday's passage, then you'll need some context. David has many wives and therefore has lots of children who are all his, but not all have the same mother. And in the first part of this chapter, Amnon, one of David's son, rapes Tamar, his half-sister. Now, Absalom, who is Tamar's brother, and Amnon's half-brother is greatly angered by this. And when David fails to produce justice for his sister, another failure on David's part, Absalom begins to plot his own vengeance against Amnon. So Absalom decides to invite all of his brothers out to celebrate the sheep shearing,

which was a normal thing to do. What comes next, though, is not expected by anyone. Absalom ordered his men. Listen, when Amnom is high in spirits from drinking wine, and I say to you, strike Amnon down, then kill him. Don't be afraid. Haven't I given you this order? Be strong and brave. So Absalom's men did to Amnon what Absalom had ordered. Then all the king's sons got up, mounted their mules, and fled. Fratricide. Again, brother, killing, brother. It began with Kane and Abel, and now Here in 2 Samuel, we have Absalom killing Amnon. The rest of David and Absalom's story is full of

mirrored images to Adam. David will find himself in exile once again from his kingdom, cast out from his own by his own son. But I won't get too far ahead of ourselves. I just want us to notice the long line of cyclical sin patterns and the effects they have on God's people. If you followed through judges with us, then you know the frustration that can come when reading passages like this. You want to just yell at the people in the story. Stop, it's not going to work out. Don't you remember what happened last time? God's people never seem to really learn their lesson. They never seem to be able to live up to the standards and uphold the covenant that God has made with them. Throughout scripture, again and again, we see these archetypes of Adam. Men who

who rise up, who seem like maybe they could be the seat of Adam, the one who would break the curse, who would live the faithful life, be the king who crushes the snake. And instead, we get yet another Adam who fails, who falls into the same sin patterns as the one who came before. As we read these stories, it should make us long in the way the people living in this time would have been longing for the one who would come and be what Adam and the other leaders of Israel could never be. Romans 5 tells us that that man does come and his name is Jesus. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come. Okay, quick aside,

the reason why we are all a little bit insane, sitting, falling into the same broken patterns again and again and not recognizing in time the folly of our ways is because of the sin of Adam. One man's choice brought all men under the curse of sin. Death came to all men. We all became ensnared by the pattern of Adam, just like David, just like his sons, or powerless to the effects of sin. Powerless apart from Jesus. In the same passage, we continue to learn this. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, Adam. How much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ overflow to the many? For just as through the disobedience of one man, the many were made sinners. So also through the obedience of the one man, the many will be

made righteous. So Adam brought sin and death to all. But in the same way, Jesus' Christ, one man who lived a sinless and righteous life through the gift of his death brought grace, righteousness, and eternal life to all men. The obedience that brings eternal life, the obedience that brings you into right relationship with God. The obedience that brings freedom from the curse of sin was never your own. It never could be. You are under the curse of Adam, trapped in a pattern of sin, no matter how hard you try, in your own power, you will fail to produce anything but death. The obedience you and I need is the obedience of Jesus Christ, as he faithfully followed the commands of his father, even to death on a cross. His death paid the penalty for Adam's sin and all the

sin that followed. His death broke the chokehold of sin on all mankind, and his resurrection made a way for us to live with him in his good kingdom forever. On our own, we will always fall prey to the effects of sin. But because Jesus was the true and better Adam, the one who came to right every wrong to redeem all of creation, who did what no other human being before him had ever been capable of doing, he has made a way for you and I to come back and to right relationship with God. He was the faithful king, the faithful servant,

He was the faithful Israelite that Adam and David failed to be. When you find yourself overwhelmed by sin, when you feel trapped in the patterns you are struggling to willpower your way out of, remember that it is only by the power of Jesus Christ that you can be free from the power of sin. Seek His ways. Ask His wisdom. Ask for His Holy Spirit to guide you, to strengthen you, to lead you in the way. way of his words. Study scripture and seek out the wisdom of the one true king. And when you fail,

because until full redemption comes, you and I will continue to fail. Look back to Jesus. Cast yourself on His grace and trust that the gift of his death and his resurrected life is enough to cover your sin. It is by His obedience that you have eternal life. And that, is the best news that we could ever have.