Eyes Bigger Than the Stomach Can Handle

2Samuel 13:20
20Her brother Absalom said to her, "Has that Amnon, your brother, been with you? Be quiet now, my sister; he is your brother. Don't take this thing to heart."

As much as I have read the story about Tamar being raped by her brother, never did I recall the above verse. I REALLY now understand what King Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 1 that there is nothing new under the sun. For this statement is true, even in the conversation of assault and sexual abuse. Tamar was told by her other brother to keep quiet because publicly speaking against her brother about the wrong he did to her would be shameful on him. But what about the shame that was brought on her? During that time, if a woman was not a virgin, she couldn't get married. She was considered damaged goods. As a matter of fact whoever violated her or whoever she willingly had sex with  in most cases had to marry her if she was found to be a virgin before the incident. But Tamar could not marry her brother, God thinks  that to be detestable in Leviticus 18. So Tamar was not only violated and her future ransacked by her brother but then she was told she couldn't speak against him. For any survivor of assault and/or sexual abuse, does this not sound familiar? Absalom was beyond angry at what was done to his sister. King David was furious but the word says in verse 21 that Absalom said nothing good or bad. He hated Amnon and plotted to kill him. His anger was past the point of no return. If King David had done more to discipline his son for the wrong against Tamar, Amnon and Absalom might have lived. God did say to King David that the sword would never leave his house because of his mistake with Bathsheba and having her husband killed. One never knows how their actions will impact future generations. Living beyond the moment is prudent. Amnon didn't and it led to Tamar's shame and his own death. Absalom didn't and it led to his death as well. Learning to live beyond the moment is a good lesson to learn early. Ask yourself a question before you do something, "If I do this, how might it affect me and the ones behind me in the future? Is it worth it? If you don't ask yourself these questions, you may bite off more than you can chew and it surely will be a case of your eyes being bigger than what your stomach can handle.