“In his own lifetime, Avshalom had taken and raised for himself the pillar which stands in the King’s Valley; because he said, ‘I don’t have a son to preserve the memory of my name.” So he named the pillar after himself, and it’s called Avshalom’s Monument to this day.”-2 Samuel 18:18
Verse 18 tells us something interesting.
Absalom built a monument for himself before he died, and David let it remain standing.
Why did he do this?
Part of it was pure ego, and part of it may have been superstition.
But here’s the twist.
Absalom says he did it because he had no sons.
That doesn’t seem right because 2nd Samuel 14:27 says he actually had three sons.
Some Rabbis think his kids had died before he was killed.
The historian, Josephus, disagrees.
He says Absalom’s sons were such disappointments that he basically acted like they didn’t exist.
None of them was fit to be king.
None could carry on the family name.
None was worthy in his eyes.
So when Absalom said, “I had no sons,” he was exaggerating.
It was his way of saying he had disowned them and, in a sense, saw himself as having no sons at all.
So what’s the takeaway here?
Absalom’s monument shows how pride can drive someone to chase immortality through symbols rather than real relationships.
His need to be remembered perfectly matched his narcissism.
He didn’t just want a legacy.
He wanted the world to see him, on his terms, even if it meant ignoring the very family he claimed to care about.
But God’s way of leaving a legacy is completely different.
True legacy isn’t built with monuments, statues, or self-promotion.
It’s built through believers who obey His commands, love others, and pass on faith and values to the next generation.
God’s legacy lives in hearts and lives transformed by Him.
Unlike Absalom, what truly matters is not how we are remembered for ourselves.
But how our obedience and love echo beyond our own time.
That’s a real legacy.
Ya feel me?
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