2 Samuel 1, 2, 11-12, 22 Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar, and Amnon the son of David loved her….he fell sick for his sister Tamar….he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister. And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me….but being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her….for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.
This story further illustrates how lust leads to adultery, in this case rape and incest, and how hatred leads to murder. Lust and anger are a natural habit of sinners’ thoughts, but the believer responds with repentance to stop the progression that leads to action. Without godly self-control, the world would end up in a terribly dysfunctional mess.
The dysfunction in David’s family was at least partly caused by David’s own sin. He faced sins in own family that were a consequence of those he had committed. And he could not control his family either. Amnon could not control his lust for his half-sister, who was Absalom’s full sister. Absalom could not control his anger toward Amnon for raping Tamar, so he had him murdered.
Unless repentance and faith allows the Spirit to exercise self-control, one sin leads to another leads to another and so on. Unless controlled, thoughts can turn into deeds. Disaster results. As good a man as David was, and he was, he still let sin in himself and his children snowball out of control. David did repent and was forgiven and restored, in Psalm 32 and 51. But it was too late to control the effects. For this reason, we indulge in daily repentance for sin and faith for forgiveness.