“So Amnon lay down and pretended he was sick. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, “Please let my sister Tamar come and make me a couple of cakes here where I can watch, and I’ll eat what she serves me.”-2 Samuel 13:6
So David sends word to Tamar that she is to visit her sick brother and prepare some food for him.
Like a good daughter, verse 8 says she did exactly as she was told.
Tamar lived in a different part of the City of David from her brother Amnon.
As a king, David would have possessed a big harem.
This meant he also had many virgin daughters of marriageable age.
Many folks believed these girls lived together in a separate building (like in a convent).
This protected them from unscrupulous dudes who might try to hit on them.
We’re gonna find out later that the virgin girls even wore a uniform modestly designed to testify to their sexually pure status.
We’re told Tamar arrived where Amnon was lying and began preparing dumpling-like morsels the Scripture simply calls “cakes.”
Interestingly, there is a double meaning contained in the original Hebrew used to describe the cakes Amnon wanted his sister Tamar to prepare for her.
Here’s the exegetical breakdown:
שְׁתֵּי לְבִיבוֹת (shtei levivot) – “two cakes”
Levivot (לְבִיבוֹת) is a rare word meaning “heart-shaped cakes” or “fried cakes.”
The root word is lev (לֵב), which means “heart.”
So what’s being conveyed here is that this is a food that “gladdens the heart.”
They were NOT heart-shaped cakes like some Valentine’s Day ornaments or something.
So are you catching the double entendre being expressed here?
Amnon’s “heartache” for Tamar is being met with “heart cakes.”
This is one of those verses where Hebrew speakers instantly have the upper hand.
Finally, another Scripture pattern emerges here that we would be remiss to overlook.
Notice it was King David who served as the messenger and delivered the message to his daughter Tamar to go to her brother Amnon.
It was this action that led to Tamar being raped.
Of course, David had no idea that would happen.
His only intention was to help his ill son.
But one can’t overlook the painful twist being expressed here.
Remember when David used a messenger to bring Bathsheba to him for sex?
Now the tables have turned.
David has become the messenger…
And unknowingly, facilitates the nightmare Tamar is about to experience.
Once again, we see God’s divine eye-for-an-eye judgment playing out here.
David’s family is being hit hard on all levels.
The takeaway is pretty clear.
Your sin just doesn’t affect you.
It affects everyone around you…
And like Tamar, it could even affect the innocent members of your family.
Let those who have ears to hear, SHEMA!
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