Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Grief That Points to the Gospel | Historical Books | 2 Samuel 18:19-33

Episode Date: July 7, 2025

How should we grieve? Do you try to escape your grief? What's your definition of victory? In today's episode, Keith shares how 2 Samuel 18:19-33 reminds us of the God who became a man of sorrows to save us from death. If you're listening on Spotify, tell us about yourself and where you're listening from! Read the Bible with us in 2025! This year, we’re exploring the Historical Books—Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings. Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: 2 Samuel 18:19-33

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Keith Simon. We'll have a good victory story. When the hero triumphs, when the underdog comes out on top, when the good guys finally win. And that's exactly what happens in 2nd Samuel 18. The rebellion is over. The threat to David's kingdom is crushed.

His army is victorious. This should be a high point for David, but it's not. Because David isn't just a king. He's a father. And this isn't just any victory. it's the death of his son. Let me catch you up on where we are in the story. Absalom, David's son, has led a coup against his own father. He's manipulated people, won hearts, built a following, and forced David out of Jerusalem. But now the final battle is over. Absalom is dead. He was caught in a

tree and run through with a sword by Joab, David's commander. And that's where we pick up the story in 2 Samuel 18, verse 19. There are two messengers racing to deliver the news to David. One of the messengers is Ahamas. He's the son of Zadok the priest, and he really wants to run to David to tell him what happened, but Joab knows that this isn't going to be received as good news. So instead, he sends another man, a Kushite. But Ahamaz insists that he go to David. So eventually, Joab lets him go to. Now, imagine you're David, you're waiting at the gate, you're scanning the horizon, and he sees one man running, then another, his heart is pounding, he wants to know what happened, Ahamas arrives first. He says, look, there's a great victory. But when David asks about Absalom,

Ahamhas dodges the question. He said, I saw a great confusion, but I don't know what it was. Then the Kushite arrives, and this time David gets a straight answer. He says, May the enemies of the Lord the king be like that young man. That's how David learns his son is dead. And here's how David responds in verse 33. The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. And as he went, he said, oh, my Absalom, my son, my son, Absalom. If only I had died instead of you, oh, Absalom, my son, my son. This isn't the reaction we necessarily expect. It's not triumph, it's not relief, it's not political calculation. It's just sorrow. Like deep, raw, unfiltered sorrow. And in David's tears, we see something about the heart of God. Isaiah 53 calls Jesus a man of sorrows,

acquainted with grief. And in David, we get a glimpse of that, a king who weeps, a father who longs for his son, a ruler who would rather die in his son's place. Let's draw out three things that we can learn from this story. First, grief is not a sign of weakness. David is a warrior, a king, a man after God's own heart, and when he learns of his son's death, he doesn't hide his emotions or put on a strong face for his troops. He weeps, he wails, he says, if only I had died instead of you. And that's not weakness, that's genuine love, that's what it means to be human. But most of us aren't comfortable with grief. Why? Well, because we're afraid of showing weakness. So instead of naming it, we numb it. We dive into distraction, scrolling endlessly, binge watching television shows, overloading our calendar,

or even turning to addictions that promise escape. We don't want to feel it, so we fill our lives with noise. But the Bible shows us a better way. God invites us to bring our sorrow to him, just like David does. Jesus himself wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus. He wept over Jerusalem. If grief was okay for David and for Jesus, it's okay for you too. Let's pray. Father, help me not to run from grief. Teach me how to bring my sorrow to you. Remind me that you are close to the brokenhearted. Amen. The second thing we learn from this story is that victory doesn't always feel like winning. I mean, David's army wins? The king's him is safe, the rebellion is over, but none of that matters to David in this moment.

Because David wasn't hoping for victory, he was hoping for reconciliation. He wasn't focused on the throne. He was focused on his son. David's heart was never about revenge. It was about restoration. And I wonder how many of us have chased wins in life. Career success, arguments won, personal goals achieved, only to realize that winning didn't bring the joy we expected.

Maybe what we needed wasn't victory, but healing. not power, but peace. Are there places in your life where you've won, but it doesn't feel like a win? Is there a relationship you've written off as lost, but deep down you still long for restoration? Jesus reshape my definition of victory. Help me long for restoration more than control. Make my heart like yours. Amen.

And then third, we can learn from this story what God's love looks like. David cried out, if only I had died instead of you. Well, it's more than just a line of poetry. It's a window into the gospel. Because where David wished he could trade places with the enemy, Jesus did trade places with us. On the cross, the true king gave up his life for rebellious sons and daughters, for you and for me. David's grief points us forward to the love of a father who runs to embrace prodigals, who gives his son to bring us home. So when you read David's tears, don't miss the bigger story, God's heart breaks for the lost

and he will go to any length to rescue them. God, thank you for loving me when I rebelled against you. Thank you for sending Jesus to take my place. Help me live in the joy of your grace. See, this chapter is drenched in sorrow, but it's not hopelessness. Because David's pain points us to a deeper hope, a king who didn't just weep over death but defeated it,

a father whose love is stronger than rebellion, and a savior who turns grief into glory. So if you're walking through heartache, if your life feels more like a funeral than a victory parade, take heart. God is near. Your king understands and he's making all things new. Let's close by praying. King Jesus, you are the man of sorrows. You entered into our pain.

You've taken our place. You've shown us what true love looks like. Help us not run from grief, but to meet you in it. Help us trust you in the tension, to believe you in the silence and to follow you through the valley. We need you, Jesus. Amen.