2 Samuel 13: Sexual Violence
IN PREPARATION FOR writing Stolen Childhood, Alice Huskey did a survey of female students at a Christian college. Nineteen percent of the students reported sexual abuse before the age of eighteen. Five percent reported incest. Of those abused, eighty-nine percent knew the abuser. Less than half of the victims had told another person. Often those who did tell were ignored or even punished ([Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1989], p. 35). As these statistics show, sexual violence, among both Christians and non-Christians, is all too common. In this study we will see some of the far-reaching implications of this tragic fact.
Warming Up to God
How has sexual violence affected you or someone you know? Ask God to prepare you to study this difficult topic.
Read 2 Samuel 13. »
Discovering the Word
- Summarize Amnon's situation as it is described in verses 1-2.
- Why do you think Amnon chooses to confide in Jonadab (vv. 3-4)?
- How does Tamar respond to Amnon's advances (vv. 11-13)?
- Why do you think Amnon's reaction after the encounter was hatred (vv. 15-17)?
- What is the effect of Amnon's actions on family relations (vv. 21-22, 32)?
Applying the Word
- What are some of the effects of sexual violence on our culture?
- What can we do with our friends or in our churches to address the issue of sexual violence? Consider both victims and perpetrators.
Responding in Prayer
Absalom tells Tamar not to take it to heart, yet she is described as a "desolate woman." Pray for those who have felt the pain of sexual violence. What results of sexual violence have you seen in victims in our culture (yourself, someone you know, someone you've heard or read about)?
For Further Study
Refuge from Abuse by Nancy Nason-Clark & Catherine Clark Kroeger