The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 131: Hope for the Future (2023)

Episode Date: May 11, 2023

Fr. Mike preaches hope for the future of those with wounded hearts as we read the stories of Tamar, Amnon, and David. No matter what's in your past - things you've done or things that have been done to you - there is abundant hope for your future because God desires to make you whole. Today's readings are 2 Samuel 13, 1 Chronicles 17, and Psalm 35. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of Scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using the Great Adventure Bible timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. Today is day 131, day 131, which is also one of my favorite Psalms. And we are reading not from that Psalm, but from 2 Samuel chapter 13, also 1 Chronicles chapter 17.

And the Psalm today that we're praying is Psalm 35. As always, the translation that I am reading is from, is the Revised Standard Version, the Second Catholic Edition. I am specifically reading from the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to download your own Bible in a Year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a Year. You can also subscribe to this podcast by clicking on subscribe, and that would be wonderful. As I said, it is day 131. We are reading from 2 Samuel chapter 13, 1 Chronicles chapter 17, and praying Psalm 35. 2 Samuel chapter 13. Amnon defiles Tamar. Now Absalom, David's son, had a beautiful

sister whose name was Tamar. And after a time, Amnon, David's son, loved her. And Amnon was so tormented that he made himself ill because of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin and it seemed impossible to Amnon to do anything to her. But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother. And Jonadab was a very crafty man. And he said to him, Oh, son of the king, why are you so haggard morning after morning? Will you not tell me? Amnon said to him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister. Jonadab said to him, Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill.

And when your father comes to see you, say to him, Let my sister Tamar come and give me bread to eat and prepare the food in my sight that I may see it and eat it from her hand. So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. And when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, Please let my sister Tamar come

and make me a couple of cakes in my sight that I may eat from her hand. Then David sent said to the king, Please let my sister Tamar come and make me a couple of cakes in my sight that I may eat from her hand. Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go to your brother Amnon's house and prepare food for him. So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house, where he was lying down, and she took dough and kneaded it and made cakes in his sight and baked the cakes. And she took the pan and emptied it out before him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Send out everyone from me. So everyone went out from him. Then Amnon said to Tamar, Bring the food into the chamber, that I may eat from your hand. And Tamar took the cakes she had made and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother. But when she brought them

near him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, come lie with me, my sister. She answered him, no, my brother, do not force me for such a thing is not done in Israel. Do not do this wanton folly. As for me, where could I carry my shame? And as for you, you would be as one of the wanton fools in Israel. Now, therefore I beg you speak to the king for he will not withhold me from you. But he would not listen to her and being stronger than her, he forced her and lay with her. Then Amnon hated her with very great hatred so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, arise, be gone. But she said to him, no, my brother, for this wrong and sending me away is greater than the other which you did to gone. But she said to him, No, my brother, for this wrong in sending me away

is greater than the other which you did to me. But he would not listen to her. He called the young man who served him and said, Put this woman out of my presence and bolt the door after her. Now she was wearing a long robe with sleeves, for thus were the virgin daughters of the king clad of old. So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. And Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the long robe which she wore. And she laid her hand on her head and went away,

crying aloud as she went. And her brother Absalom said to her, Has Amnon your brother been with you? Now hold your peace, my sister. He is your brother. Do not take this to heart. So Tamar dwelt, a desolate woman, in her brother Absalom's house. When King David heard of all these things, he was very angry. But Absalom spoke to Amnon neither good nor bad, for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar. Absalom avenges his sister. After two full years, Absalom had sheep-sharers at Baal Hazor, which is near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king's sons. And Absalom came to the king and said, Behold, your servant has sheep-sharers. Please let the king and his servants go with your servant. But the king said to Absalom,

No, my son, let us not all go, lest we be burdensome to you. He pressed him, but he would not go, but gave him his blessing. Then Absalom said, If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said to him, Why should he go with you? But Absalom pressed him until he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him. Then Absalom commanded his servants, Mark when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, Strike Amnon, then kill him. Fear not. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and be valiant. So the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose and each mounted his mule and fled. While they were on the way, tidings came to David. Absalom has slain all the king's sons and not one of them is left.

Then the king arose and tore his garments and lay on the earth, and all his servants who were standing by tore their garments. But Jonadab, the son of Shimea, David's brother, said, Let not my lord suppose that they have killed all the young men the king's sons, for Amnon alone is dead. For by the command of Absalom this has been determined from the day he forced his sister Tamar. Now therefore let not my lord the king so take it to heart as to suppose that all the king's sons are dead, for Amnon alone is dead.

But Absalom fled, and the young man who kept the watch lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, many people were coming from the Horonaim road by the side of the mountain. And Jonadab said to the king, Behold, the king's sons have come, as your servant said, so it has come about. And as soon as he had finished speaking, behold, the king's sons came and lifted up their voice and wept. And the king also and all his servants wept very bitterly. Absalom flees. But Absalom fled, and went to Telmai, the son of Amichud king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son day after day. So Absalom fled, and went to Geshur, and was there three years.

And the spirit of the king longed to go forth to Absalom, for he was comforted about Amnon, seeing he was dead. First Book of Chronicles, Chapter 17, God's Covenant with David. Now when David dwelt in his house, David said to Nathan the prophet, Behold, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent. And Nathan said to David, Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you. But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, Go and tell my servant David, Thus says the Lord,

You shall not build me a house to dwell in. For I have not dwelt in a house since the day I led up Israel to this day. But I have gone from tent to tent and from dwelling to dwelling. In all places where I have moved with all Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel whom I commanded to shepherd my people, saying, Why have you not built me a house of cedar? Now therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a name like the name of the great ones of

the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and I will plant them that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall waste them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel, and I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover, I declare to you that the Lord will build you a house. When your days are fulfilled to be with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. I will not take my merciful love from him as I took it from him who was before you, but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever,

and his throne shall be established forever. In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David. David's Prayer Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And this was a small thing in your eyes, O God. You have also spoken of your servant's house for a great while to come, and have shown me future generations, O Lord God. And what more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant. For your servant's sake, O Lord, and according to your own heart, you have wrought all this greatness and

making known all these great things. There is none like you, O Lord, and there is no God besides you. According to all that we heard with our ears, what other nation on earth is like your people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be his people, making for yourself a name for great and terrible things and driving out nations before your people whom you redeemed from Egypt. And you made your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O Lord, became their God. And now, O Lord, let the word which you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house be established forever. And do as you have spoken.

And your name will be established and magnified forever, saying, The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, is Israel's God. And the house of your servant David will be established before you. For you, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. Therefore, your servant has found courage to pray before you. And now, O Lord, you are God, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. Now, therefore, may it please you to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever before you, for what you, O Lord, have blessed

is blessed forever. Psalm 35, Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies, a Psalm of David. Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me. Fight against those who fight against me. Take hold of shield and buckler and rise for my help. Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers. Say to my soul, I am your deliverance. Let them be put to shame and dishonor who seek after my life. Let them be turned back and confounded who devise evil against me. Let them be like chaff before the wind with the angel of the Lord driving them on. Let their way be dark and slippery with the angel of the Lord driving them on. Let their way be dark and slippery with the angel of the Lord pursuing them. For without cause they hid their net for me. Without cause

they dug a pit for my life. Let ruin come upon them unawares and let the net which they hid ensnare them. Let them fall therein to ruin. Then my soul shall rejoice in the Lord, exulting in his deliverance. All my bones shall say, O Lord, who is like you, who deliver the weak from him who is too strong for him, the weak and needy from him who despoils him? Malicious witnesses rise up. They ask of me things that I do not know. They repay me evil for good. My soul is forlorn.

But I, when they were sick, I wore sackcloth. I afflicted myself with fasting. I prayed with my head bowed on my bosom as though I grieved for my friend or my brother. I went about as one who laments his mother, bowed down and in mourning. But at my stumbling, they gather in glee. They gathered together against me. Cripples whom I did not know slandered me without ceasing. They impiously mocked more and more, gnashing at me with their teeth. How long, O Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from the ravages, my life from the lions. Then I will thank you in the great congregation. In the mighty throng I will praise you. Let not those rejoice over me who are wrongfully my foe, and let not those wink the eye who hate me without cause. For they do not speak peace, but against those who are quiet

in the land, they conceive words of deceit. They open wide their mouths against me. They say, Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it. You have seen, O Lord. Be not silent. O Lord, be not far from me. Be stir yourself and awake for my right, for my cause, my God and my Lord. Vindicate me, O Lord, my God, according to your righteousness and let them not rejoice over me. Let them not say to themselves, aha, we have our heart's desire. Let them not say we have swallowed him up. Let them be put to shame and confusion altogether who rejoice at my calamity. Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me. Let those who desire my vindication shout for joy and be glad and say

evermore, great is the Lord who delights in the welfare of his servant. Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long. Father in heaven, we give you praise and we thank you because we do find ourselves in battles. We find ourselves called upon to act, called upon to speak, called upon to refrain from acting, and called upon to be silent. All these different times, Lord, it's so confusing sometimes how we should act and how we should not act, when we should move, when we should not move. Lord, especially when you've entrusted your children to our care. It's hard to know when discipline is called for and when mercy is called for. It's hard to know when justice is called for and when forgiveness and clemency is called for. And's hard to know when justice is called for and when forgiveness

and clemency is called for. And so God, we just ask for your wisdom in making decisions, your wisdom in assisting others, your wisdom in serving others, and your wisdom in leading others. Because God is often complex. Life is often complex. And the next step is not always absolutely clear. And so we pray for wisdom, to know what to do, to know how to move forward, to know how to be yours and to know how to actually help the people around us. Help us to be the kind of people who can help the people around us.

We make this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Gosh, man, oh man. We, so let's start with the first Chronicles because it and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Gosh, man, oh man. Let's start with the first Chronicles because it's a little bit easier. It's not a redo, right? You know, redux of 2 Samuel

where David says, hey, I hear I'm living in a house of cedar and God's living in a tent. And Nathan says, go ahead and do whatever you want. But then, you know, comes to him and says, no, you don't have to make me a name. You don't have to make me a house. I'm going to make you a house. I'm going to build of you a great name. And then David's prayer is so good because he realizes God says, I took you from the fields. I took you from leading sheep and I made you the king over all Israel. And there's something so powerful about that. David realizes that he has been blessed. He's been called to greatness. He truly has been called to greatness. He's been given a mission.

Remember this. Remember when David first met Samuel and Samuel comes before all of Jesse's sons and God points out and says, no, David's the one. David is the one that I want to be anointed to be king of my people, Israel. He's a man after my own heart. Remember what God had said about David when he said, the man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks into the heart and he saw something in David's heart that was chosen, right? That he anointed him. We have to note this. We have to note that first Chronicles chapter 17, where God reaffirms the fact that David's

dynasty will endure forever, that his son will be on the throne and there'll be a kingdom through which this family blesses the entire world. I bring all those good things up about David that, again, the Lord reminding, I have anointed David in 1 Chronicles, that of him I will make a great nation. I remind us of this because we know in 2 Samuel chapter 11 that David commits adultery with Bathsheba and sexually exploits her. We know that he arranges for the murder of her husband, Uriah. We know that in chapter 12, David is busted by Nathan the prophet and that David repents of this sin. And yet there's still consequences to his sin. And one of the consequences is here in chapter 13. And here in chapter 13, we have one of David's sons, Absalom, another who has a sister, Tamar, one of David's son's Absalom, another who has a sister, Tamar, one of David's daughters, Tamar, and he

has a half-brother, Amnon. So another son of David is Amnon. And we've got the story, right, where here is Amnon who is lusting after his half-sister, Tamar. So they have the same dad, different moms. And it's just, it's horrible. The half of chapter 13 is the story of how Amnon essentially rapes his sister Tamar. And you can see in this played out the mystery of sin. This is just the mystery of sin that it says that Amnon made himself sick over this. How much he loved her. And no, there's not another word that we can translate in 2 Samuel. The word is lust, really.

He doesn't love his sister Tamar. He simply wanted to use her. He was lusting over her. Although scripture, again, there's limited words. So it just says he loved his sister Tamar. And then we have Amnon's buddy who says, here's the trick. Here's how to get this woman into your presence in private. So you can just do whatever you want with her. And here is Tamar who is just simply serving her brother. And this is just, gosh, I know this is a painful chapter for so many people who have been in this situation,

even chapter 11 being a painful situation when we talk about the story of David and Bathsheba. And this is one of the words I just want to speak to all of our sisters here who have experienced that exploitation of someone like Amnon or someone like David and that sense of being able to say, I've been in that situation,

but here is the story of sin. Amnon basically takes his sister. And this is just the mystery of sin, not just sexual sin, but the mystery of almost any sin where here's Tamar who says, don't do this. Basically, she's arguing for her dignity and she's arguing so powerfully for her dignity. She's basically saying, if you talk to our father, David, we can be married. I don't know all the situations and outs of how that would work with half brother, half sister kind of situation. But here's Tamar who at least offers something of dignity, right? Something of like, treat me like a human being. Treat me like someone who's worthy of respect, worthy of dignity by marrying me, not by simply taking advantage and raping me. But he would not

listen. And he was stronger than her. And he forced her and he lay with her. And then the verse 15 says that Amnon hated her with a very great hatred so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And again, this is part of the mystery of sin, not just every, not just sexual sin, but almost every sin where we finally get what we've been pining after, coveting, lusting after, and we finally get it. And then we hate. There is this sense of shame. There's a sense of disgust. Now Amnon treated Tamar horribly. And now he feels horribly. And he despised her presence because she's a sign of his shame.

And she says, don't, please don't put me away because you've just done this. You've done, you've defiled me. Essentially right here is Tamar who, yeah, she wasn't, I don't see merely, wasn't merely raped, but here at Amnon in that culture, he had destroyed not only Tamar's present, he had destroyed her future because now how can she be someone's wife? Because again, in that culture, you marry a virgin. That's, that's the situation. And here is Tamar, who's now been defiled by her brother, basically used up and discarded. And again, let's go back to this place of just place of grace. We're called upon Jesus now because there's so many people who are listening that this,

you've experienced this. You have experienced this firsthand where someone violated you. And just in Jesus name, I just want you to know that Tamar's story is horrible. And because you can see her cry of her heart where she says, not only have you used me up, now you're throwing me away. And I know that so many people who have been used like this, they feel they're used up. They feel they're disqualified. They feel they can't ever be loved again. And that's not true. We, in Jesus name, I just want to pray in Jesus' name over you, listening to this, hear my words in your ears and let the words of God penetrate your hearts,

is that you are not unlovable. Even if someone has used you and abused you, you are not unlovable. You're not disqualified from being loved truly and forever. You're not disqualified. That your present, your past has been marked by true wounds and true ugliness and true evil, but your future is restorable. Your future is redeemable. Your future is a future full of hope because our God is a God who takes things that are broken and makes them whole again. He takes things that are lost and he finds them. He takes things that are dead and he gives them life again. And if you feel yourself, you know, this is for everybody, whatever your experience has been, if you feel broken, Jesus desires to make you whole. If you feel lost, he desires to find you.

And if you feel dead, he wants to raise you up and give you a future full of hope. Just hear these words. This is true about how God's love for you and your future, your life is not over, not by a long shot. As we return to our story, it says in verse 21, when King David heard all these things, he was very angry. And then it goes on to say, Absalom also hated Amnon. And then as we see, Absalom waits two years and then he kills, he avenges his sister by killing his half-brother Amnon. There's a couple of things to pay attention to here.

One is here's Absalom. This is going to be the beginning of Absalom becoming a rebel against King David and beginning to try to get the people of Israel on his side against his father. That's one critical thing. But the thing that's maybe even more critical is this is the first time we see David actually in chapter 11, right? Remember he was on mission and he wasn't living on mission. He was called to go out and fight, but he wasn't fighting. He was staying back in Jerusalem, sitting in the palace, and then he falls into adultery, falls into murder. Here's David again

in verse 21. When King David heard of all these things, he was very angry. But if you notice something, it doesn't say that he did anything. He didn't do anything. David was angry with his son Amnon, who had raped his daughter Tamar. He was angry, but he didn't do anything. And this is one of those things particularly important for all of us. Remember David, who would pray, he would say, God, is this the fight you want me to enter into? Or is this fight you want me to stay away from? He would say, God, is this the fight you want me to enter into? Or is this the fight you want me to stay away from? He would ask God and God would say, yeah, go up or no, stay back. But here's David who is angry. And then he just goes about his business. He's angry, but he's not a dad.

He's not engaging with his sons who have done this horrible, his son has done this horrible thing, not defending his daughter who had to live through this horrible thing. David is angry, but he does nothing. He doesn't even ask God, should I engage in this battle or avoid this battle? And that's for all of us. Gosh, we're going to see the consequences of this in the next couple of chapters, the next few days. But this will be, this will be one of the marks of David's life is when it came to his own family,

he started living off mission in chapter 11. And it seems like right now he stays off mission. His heart is still the heart of man after God's own heart, but his actions, his actions do not live up to his high call. And so I just ask God for myself and for you, for all of us, that we all have a high call. We've been made into the children of the father. You have a high call. And we are made people who have hearts after God's own heart.

And yet we don't always live up to that call. And so we just need to pray for each other and pray for the wounded among us and pray for the broken among us and pray for the lost among us and pray for those who are dead among us that God can heal us, make us whole, find us and bring us back to life. I'm praying for you. Please pray for each other and pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.