2 Samuel 13:3-6; 23-35 – Jonadab: Wisdom Without Principle
Amnon has committed a crime for which he will be murdered before too long. Tamar’s hopes and dreams for the future are ruined. And who’s behind it all, humanly speaking? Who facilitated it all? Jonadab. He’s one of those snake-like characters who always come out of things unscathed. He does the whispering. He pulls the strings. But he doesn’t get his hands dirty. And at the end of the story, he’s there in v35 reassuring David. Amnon’s dead. Tamar’s a desolate woman. But ever the consummate politician, Jonadab has emerged unscathed.
I’ve called him snake-like. He’s described in v3 as a very crafty man. Just as the snake in Genesis 3 is described as more crafty than any other beast of the field. And someone has said that ‘Jonadab is perhaps the most dangerous man in the whole fiasco’. Why? Because he has ‘skill without scruple, wisdom without ethics and insight without integrity’. He’ll be loyal to who he needs to be loyal to, for as long as it suits his own purposes.
There’s a warning for us in him. The more gifts God has given us, the greater the damage we can do if we don’t use them rightly and humbly. John Calvin says: ‘it all warns us to pray that if God has given us some prudence, he would also add integrity and sincerity so that we may keep ourselves from craftiness’. Dale Ralph Davis comments: ‘in the church those with the greatest gifts pose the gravest threat, for unless their gifts are wrapped in godliness they multiply disaster among Christ’s flock.’
Questions
- Who is behind all of this?
- How are we to use the gifts we have been given?
Prayer Points
- Pray that we would use what God has given us to His glory.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.