2 Kings 14:20 Meaning and Explanation

They bring him back on horses, his body carried across the road from Lachish to Jerusalem. Though he died in exile, though he fell to the swords of conspirators, he is granted the honor of being buried with his fathers in the city of David. Even in judgment, there is mercy. Even in the shame of assassination, there is the restoration of his body to the holy place, to rest among the tombs of those who came before him.

This act of burial speaks to something deep in the human heart. The conspirators have taken his life, but they return him to his rightful place among his ancestors. It is as if the kingdom, for all its rebellion against him, still acknowledges him as king, still honors the office even as it rejects the man. In this we see the stubborn mercy of God, who does not abandon even his fallen servants entirely. The grave holds him, but it is a grave in Zion, the city of God.