The Wages of Sin Is Death

Amnon, the son of David, covets his half-sister Tamar out of lust rather than love. Through Jonadab’s cunning scheme he gets her alone and forces himself on her, and once he has had what he wanted, he calls her “this woman” and throws her out. While their father does nothing, Absalom kills his brother Amnon, and David’s household is torn apart by adultery, rape and murder.

David sinned with Bathsheba only once, yet God did not reckon that sin by number. Lust led David to push God off the throne, and the sin passed down to his children, just as God’s word had declared that the sword which struck down Uriah would never depart from his house. When parents grow spiritually dull, they lose the wisdom to protect their children, and Satan knows exactly where that gap lies and strikes there.

Even the appearance of sin must be put away. When the relationship with God falls into disarray, decisions are made in the dark, and the sin of a single day brings ruin not only on oneself but on the lives of one’s children. When a family lives in constant prayer with the Word at its heart, Satan can never deceive that home.