The King's Grief. The Son's Death.

By Danny Saavedra

“While David was sitting between the inner and outer gates, the watchman went up to the roof of the gateway by the wall. As he looked out, he saw a man running alone. The watchman called out to the king and reported it. The king said, ‘If he is alone, he must have good news.’ And the runner came closer and closer. Then the watchman saw another runner, and he called down to the gatekeeper, ‘Look, another man running alone!’ The king said, ‘He must be bringing good news, too.’ The watchman said, ‘It seems to me that the first one runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok.’ ‘He’s a good man,’ the king said. ‘He comes with good news.’ Then Ahimaaz called out to the king, ‘All is well!’ He bowed down before the king with his face to the ground and said, ‘Praise be to the Lord your God! He has delivered up those who lifted their hands against my lord the king.’ The king asked, ‘Is the young man Absalom safe?’ Ahimaaz answered, ‘I saw great confusion just as Joab was about to send the king’s servant and me, your servant, but I don’t know what it was.’ The king said, ‘Stand aside and wait here.’ So he stepped aside and stood there. Then the Cushite arrived and said, ‘My lord the king, hear the good news! The Lord has vindicated you today by delivering you from the hand of all who rose up against you.’ The king asked the Cushite, ‘Is the young man Absalom safe?’ The Cushite replied, ‘May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up to harm you be like that young man.’ The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: ‘O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!’ Joab was told, ‘The king is weeping and mourning for Absalom.’ And for the whole army the victory that day was turned into mourning, because on that day the troops heard it said, ‘The king is grieving for his son.’ The men stole into the city that day as men steal in who are ashamed when they flee from battle. The king covered his face and cried aloud, ‘O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!’” —2 Samuel 18:24-19:4 (NIV)

There’s a moment in The Lion King that hits like a gut punch every time. Simba stands over his father’s lifeless body after the stampede, nudging him, whispering, “Dad? Dad? Wake up.” That scene doesn’t just pull at your emotions—it tears them apart. You can hear the desperation, the guilt, and the ache all at once.

That’s what we hear in David’s cry in this passage. The scene unfolds slowly, as the tension builds with every word. David sat between the inner and outer gates with the weight of years pressing down on his shoulders. The walls of the city had once been a place of victory and triumph for him, but now they felt like a prison. His eyes strained toward the horizon as he waited for news, as his heart pounded with a mixture of hope and dread.

The watchman spotted a runner. Then another. Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, arrived first and bowed before David. “Praise be to the Lord your God! He has delivered up those who lifted their hands against my lord the king.” On the surface, it sounded like good news—victory in battle; enemies defeated. But David’s voice trembled with a different question: “Is the young man Absalom safe?”

The Hebrew word translated as “safe” here is shalom. It carries more weight than our English sense of physical safety. It means, “wholeness; completeness; peace.” David wasn’t just asking if Absalom had survived—he was longing for restoration and for the possibility that somehow this broken relationship could still be healed. Ahimaaz didn’t have the answer, though: “I saw great confusion just as Joab was about to send the king’s servant and me, your servant, but I don’t know what it was.”

Then the Cushite arrived, believing he was bringing news of vindication and victory, not knowing that for David, this “good news” would be devastating. Once again, someone brought David news they thought was good, only for the truth to pierce him like a sword. First, the Amalekite brought him Saul’s crown, thinking it was a reward. Then the men who murdered Ish-Bosheth thought they’d done David a favor. The Cushite’s words land hard: “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up to harm you be like that young man.” And David crumbles.

“O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!” Honestly, sitting here writing this, I feel deep anguish for David, for something that happened about 3,000 years ago! The words pierce me, because I know they’d be my words if something were to happen to my son.

But David’s cry goes deeper than grief. It’s layered with regret, guilt, and the crushing realization that his own sins helped lead to this moment. His moral failures, his compromise, his silence when his family fractured—all of it cascaded into this terrible end.

And yet, hidden in David’s cry is a faint shadow of hope: “If only I had died instead of you.” The father in this moment longed to trade places with his son Absalom, but he couldn’t. His sin and guilt left him powerless to redeem his son.

But there’s a Son who didn’t just wish He could take our place—He actually did. Jesus, the perfect Son of David, hung on a tree of His own—not in rebellion like Absalom, but with joy set before Him and in perfect obedience to the Father who sent Him to die in our place so we could become sons and daughters of God!

The law said, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree” (Galatians 3:13 ESV). Like Absalom, Jesus bore that curse, but He did so for our sin, not His own. He became sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). He didn’t just speak of love—He demonstrated it fully: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NIV). And because of Him, we can say with Paul: “When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy...so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:4-7 NIV).

David couldn’t save Absalom, but Jesus saves us. He bore our grief and carried our sorrows so we could be reconciled to God.

Friend, are there places in your life where sin and brokenness have left a trail of regret? Are there relationships you’ve left untended or conversations you’ve avoided? Don’t wait. Start now. Jesus can step into those places and bring the healing only He can bring.

Pause: Where in your life are you longing for shalom—wholeness and peace—but finding only brokenness and regret? Are you still trying to fix things in your own strength instead of bringing them to Jesus?

Practice: Spend a few quiet minutes reflecting on the cross. Read John 3:16, 2 Corinthians 5:21, and Titus 3:4-7 slowly. As you do, thank Jesus for taking your place and bearing your curse. Ask Him if there’s someone you need to forgive, seek forgiveness from, or reconcile with—and take one step toward that today.

Pray: Jesus, thank You for taking my place on the cross. Thank You for bearing my sin, my curse, and my grief so I could be made whole. Help me release the regrets I’ve carried and trust You to bring healing where I cannot. Give me the courage to take the first step toward reconciliation in the relationships You’ve put on my heart. Teach me to rest in Your perfect work. Amen.