The Barefoot King (2 Samuel 15-16)

What happens when a kingdom fractures from within? In 2 Samuel 15 and 16, we watch the consequences of one man's sin ripple outward into full-scale civil war, betrayal, and heartbreak. Absalom's calculated rise to power is a masterclass in manipulation -- he works the city gate, steals the hearts of the people through flattery and false promises, and then uses the language of worship and sacrifice to God as a cover for a naked grab at power. It is a sobering reminder of how easily the name of God can be attached to our own desires and ambitions. Meanwhile, David -- the giant slayer, the warrior king -- flees Jerusalem barefoot and weeping, and in that brokenness we find something unexpected: a man learning, however imperfectly, to entrust himself to God rather than fight his way out. Psalm 3, written in the middle of this flight, gives us a window into David's soul. Even surrounded by thousands of enemies, even cursed by a man throwing stones on a hillside, David declares that salvation belongs to the Lord. The tension between David's verbal trust in God and his simultaneous scheming is deeply human and deeply relatable. We know what it is to say we trust God and then immediately start working the angles ourselves. This passage invites us to sit with that tension honestly and ask what genuine trust actually looks like.

Service at Estrella Mtn Church on November 1, 2026.