Sexual abuse in the Bible. God cares.

Read 2 Samuel 13:1-22. To read the Bible, please click the link below

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Samuel%2013:1-22&version=31

The following article was taken from the Bible, "NIV: Women of Faith Study Bible"

Innocence Betrayed

Tamar was beautiful and confident, a daughter of a great king (David). She was an innocent young woman, full of compassion. Any who want to put the blame on victims of rape will get no help from Tamar. There is absolutely no evidence in Scripture that she shared responsibility for the disaster that befell her.

When David, her father, asked her to help her eldest half brother, she agreed without a murmur. But in one horrific act by Amnon, Tamar's life passed from one of great promise to one of desolation. A man she knew as a brother made her a woman who, in that culture, could no longer marry, a woman striped of her dignity and made her a desolate woman.

Amnon was bot the only man to betray Tamar. His friend, Jonadab, a cousin of both Amnon and Tamar, had helped him plot the unspeakable act. Tamar's brother Absalom took her into his home, but he said, "Be quiet now, my sister; he is your brother. Don't take this thing to heart" (2 Samuel 13:20). He gave the appearance of dismissing this devastating crime against his sister. (Two years later he took revenge on Amnon by killing him.) But how could a woman not "take this thing to heart," especially when the assailant was a close relative?

And why didn't her father comfort her? "When the King heard of all this, he was furios" (2Sa. 13:21). He certainly was amgry that Amnon, his firstborn, had made him complicit. But no thought for Tamar? Did David's failure to intervene merely reflect the value of his time? Tamar is David's only daughter mentioned by name in Scripture. God wanted us to know her story. As shown in David's response, people prefer to ignore crimes of sexual exploitation, molestation and rape, expecting victims to "just get over it." Tamar was deeply damaged by her experience-the rest of her life was affected by it: "Tamar lived in her brother Absalom's house, a desolate woman" (2Sa 13:20).

Tamar reaped what she did not sow. People who loved her failed her. But God grieved. He saw; He cared. He recorded the details of the crime against her and vindicated her to all generations. We don't know to what degree she recovered over time. Tamar reminds us of all women who have suffered sexual abuse. Scripture does not minimize her suffering. If you have suffered such abuse, God doesn't minomize your suffering either. Turn to Jesus Christ for the help and healing you need.