Episode
Have You Bent the Knee?
- Published
- Dec 29, 2025
- Duration seconds
- 127
- Processing state
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- https://remsenbible.substack.com/p/have-you-bent-the-knee
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Summary
Have You Bent the Knee? 2 Samuel 20, 11/06/2022, Remsen Bible Fellowship Introduction Death, power plays, political intrigue, and kingdom and covenant in crisis. Folks often think of the Old Testament as a boring collection of books with meaningless history and lots of lists of people and names. And while there are plenty of lists, even those lists are set in place to help us understand the background of the intense drama which unfolds before us in the pages of the text. When you read the Bible, it is helpful to do so imaginatively. Remember that the stories are real stories that take place in the lives of real people. Try to set yourself there and start asking questions. What would it be like to be part of a kingdom in political turmoil? How would you feel if your son had rebelled against you, and was now dead? These kinds of questions help us get into the skin of a story, and then spark our interest as we ask more objective questions, like: what is the message the author is trying to communicate? What lessons should a reader 30 centuries removed take away from this narrative? This morning we need to remember where we are in David’s story. He is a man approaching 70 years old, very near the end of his life. His son Solomon is the intended next king, but nothing has been formalized yet. In the presence of David’s weakness, and with a plausible claim to the throne himself, his son Absalom stages a coup, in which many high ranking officials, including David’s closest counselor, Ahithophel, take part. By the end of chapter 19 that rebellion has been put down. After Joab led the military victory, and then disregarded David’s orders by slaying Absalom, there needed to again be a king. David sends messengers to the people of Judah, and they bring him back to Jerusalem. Thing…