“Avshalom’s servants did to Amnon as Avshalom had ordered. At this, all the king’s sons jumped up, mounted their mules and fled. While they were on their way, the news came to David that Avshalom had killed all the king’s sons, and not one of them was left alive.“-2 Samuel 13:30-31
When David’s other sons saw Absalom’s men slaughtering Amnon…
They feared they might be next…
So they jumped on their mules…
And hightailed it out of there.
By the way, the Hebrew word for “mules” here is PEH’RED or פֶּרֶד…
And it does indeed mean “mule”.
A mule is a hybrid animal.
It’s the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse.
They were valued in ancient times for their strength and endurance.
Royalty rode mules because they were associated with wealth or high status.
What’s also interesting is that the Torah forbids the cross-breeding of animals…
So Israel had to buy mules from their neighbors.
And just in case you’re wondering…
No, Yeshua did NOT ride a mule when he entered Jerusalem.
He rode on a young donkey, specifically the colt of a donkey, not a mule.
This would be HAMOR or חֲמוֹר in Hebrew.
Yeshua fulfilled Zechariah’s prophecy precisely by choosing a young donkey, a symbol of humility and peace.
This was as opposed to a mule or a warhorse, which symbolized conquest.
This underscored that Yeshua’s kingdom was not of this world.
Alright, enough of this “mule” talk.
Let’s move on.
So amidst all the confusion, word God out that all of David’s sons had been slaughtered, not just Amnon.
This false news reached David, and when he heard it, he almost had a heart attack.
Not only were all his sons dead…
But this would’ve meant the end of his dynasty.
We’re told David tore his clothes in grief and lay on the ground.
While in mourning, all of a sudden, David’s nephew Yonadav showed up.
To David’s relief, Yonadav informed him the rumor wasn’t true…
That only Amnon had been killed.
Now, do you recall who this Yonadav character was?
He’s the same devious dude who devised the plot to have Amnon pretend to be sick and then have Tamar come to him.
One could argue that Yonadav was just as responsible for Tamar’s rape as the rapist himself.
Now we see him sucking up to David to gain influence in the next administration regardless of who would take the throne next.
He sucked up to Amnon, until Amnon was killed.
So now he was playing it safe with David to see how things turned out.
Let’s stop here and switch over to the takeaway.
In the character of Yonadav, I see a type of Satan.
Why?
Isn’t the way he tempted Amnon to play sick so he could have Tamar come to him similar to how the devil tempted Eve in the Garden?
In both cases, the selfish desires of the flesh were being appealed to.
Amnon wanted to fulfill his unlawful sexual lust with Tamar.
So Yonadav presented an evil plan that would allow him to do that.
In Eve’s case, she saw the fruit of the forbidden tree, and “saw that the tree was good for food, that it had a pleasing appearance and that the tree was desirable for making one wise.”
So the serpent planted the suggestion in her mind that God couldn’t be trusted…
And that she should eat the fruit of the tree if that’s what she wanted.
Both Amnon and Eve lusted after what was forbidden to them..
And both were persuaded by evil third parties to commit devastating sins…
Sins that both resulted in death, I might add.
Remember, God told Eve, “On the day that you eat from it, it will become certain that you will die.”
Another thing we can learn from this is to be wary of the suggestions of others…
Are they for God?
Or are they appealing to your fleshly appetites to get you to sin?
Ya feel me?
I hope you’re grasping the wisdom I’m trying to lay down here.
See ya all next time.
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