Unfavorable Light
There are many narratives in the Bible which prove by their very nature that it is a reliable account of ancient history. The story of Amnon and Tamar is one such tragic example. It invovled several persons taking matters into their own hands. And it ended badly for all parties involved.
The quick summary is; Amnon was hot for his half-sister Tamar. He tricked her, raped her, and then threw her out. Absalom, Tamar’s full-brother, learned about it and eventually murdered Amnon in revenge.
And David mourned many days for his son Amnon. Absalom fled to his grandfather, Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. – 2 Samuel 13:37
If you were writing history about yourself and your family, would you include such an account in your journal? Perhaps you would, and perhaps you wouldn’t. But then, when some of your descendants are compiling a history of all that has gone before them, would they include this particular tale? I suspect not.
It is part of our nature to downplay the bad and to focus on the good. As someone once said, the writers of the Bible had no issue including “warts and all”. This is incontrovertible evidence that the authors of the Bible were much more concerned with accuracy than they were with being politically correct. They were willing to cast even heroes of the faith in an unfavorable light.
Father, thank you for not leaving things out of your word. You gave us examples of good to follow, and bad to avoid. May we learn from the lessons that others went through so that we don’t have to. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
The Bible is fully trustworthy. Jan
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