Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work.

I'm Tanya Wilmeth. As we continue working our way through 2nd Samuel, we come to a difficult and a sobering passage.

Last week, we read about David and Beth Sheba. David saw a woman who was not

his wife. He desired her, and he acted on that desire. He sent messengers to bring her to his chambers,

and he slept with her. That was chapter 11. Now only two chapters later, we see a tragically similar

story involving David's own son, Amnon. Amnon becomes obsessed with his half-sister

Tamar. He pretends to be ill, and he requests that she come care for him and make him food.

And when she arrives, he sends everyone else away, he traps her in his room and he rapes her.

The proximity of these two accounts is intentional.

Scripture places them near each other to show that these events are connected in some way.

One of the consequences of David's sin seems to be that he is now going to witness the same kind of destructive behavior carried out by his own son.

David experiences firsthand the ripple effect of his own sin, now breaking into the lives of his children. This raises a difficult question for us as believers. Does it seem unfair that

David's sin would echo into the next generation? Shouldn't God have stepped in to stop it to restore

this family?

What about us?

How should we think about the destructive patterns we see in ourselves and sometimes in our families?

Are those patterns unavoidable?

Are they unjust?

Or is it possible that God allows us to see these patterns because it's an act of mercy. It's a way to wake us up

to help us recognize the danger to give us a chance to be restored. Of course, we all hope our

children inherit our best qualities, our sense of humor, our compassion, our intelligence,

our work ethic. We pray that they become kind, thoughtful,

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