Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Do You Follow Jesus or Trends? | Historical Books | 2 Samuel 6:12-23

Episode Date: June 11, 2025

Do you follow trends? Should leaders show humility? Do you care more about the world's opinion or God's? In today's episode, Jensen shares how 2 Samuel 6:12-23 encourages us to choose the humble way of Jesus. 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 6:12-23

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. And the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jensen Holt McNair. When I was in college, I remember seeing the first signs of biker shorts coming on the scene. And I know that I talked to my friends about how ugly we all thought they were. Like, you would never see me adapt to the trend. Or when the classic low-rise jeans began to be replaced with mom jeans with extra high-rise, my high school self could have truly never imagined that my closet would only be stocked with high-rise

jeans and my college self would cringe at my dresser full of biker shorts. Right. Trends are crazy. But they show something inherent about humans. What we think is in is only in because enough people think it's in. Right? This goes for fashion. But it also goes for societal norms and expectations. What is normal and expected of people, how to act, what to say, what to wear, the kinds of things it's okay to admit to believing or doing is all predicated on enough people thinking it's okay or cool or good to do, say, believe, or wear those things. Some things constantly change, like fashion trends. Already low-rise genes of my childhood are making a comeback.

But other things do seem to be more ingrained, more steadfast throughout centuries. In today's passage, we'll read an account from thousands of years ago with beliefs about what a king a leader should look like. That's not far off from our own modern beliefs of leadership, power, and pride. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start by jumping back into the story. Now, if you listened yesterday, you'll know that David has been attempting to bring the Ark of the Covenant back into Jerusalem. But his first go was not successful. He disregarded laws about how to transport the Ark, which led to the death of fellow Israelites.

And so at the start of our story, the Ark has now been at the House of Obed Edom, left for safekeeping, and a little bit out of fear and trepidation. Our passage today opens with this. Now, King David was told, the Lord has blessed the house of Obed Edom, and everything he has because of the Ark of God. So David went to bring up the Ark of God from the House of Obed Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. When those who were carrying the Ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bowl and a fattened calf. Wearing a linen Ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sounds of trumpets. So David sees that God has been blessing the house where the ark was staying,

and he decides that this is a sign of God's favor is still with the ark, and that he should bring it fully into Jerusalem. This time, though, he does it right. Previously, he had used a cart to transport the ark like the Philistines had done when they moved it from place to place. But now, David follows God's way and has men carrying the ark from pull, certainly this would have made it heavier and more difficult, but it was safer for the ark and it was the way that God had commanded. Even more than this, David offers sacrifices

constantly as they walk. Now this isn't something that is prescribed in scripture, but David is making something very clear as he sacrifices and dances and worships God as he carries this ark. He is humbling himself before the Lord. He is so overwhelmed by the merciful God that he serves, the powerful God he serves. He's showing God the respect and honor that he deserves. He's worshiping God unhindered out of jubilant joy because he recognizes the mercy and goodness and glory of His God. And so he rejoices. But not everyone was happy. Verse 16. As the Ark of the Lord was entering the city of David, Mikal, daughter of Saul, watched from the window. When she saw David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart. So she's upset by David's

behavior, so much so that she despises him. And then the story goes back to David, who is now giving out food to all the people in the city, old and young, poor, and rich, man and woman, he shares with every person in the crowd in worship and offering to the Lord. Afterwards, he returns home and is confronted by Mikal. When David returned home to bless his household, Mikal, daughter of Saul, came out to meet him and said how the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked and full view of the slave girls, of his servants as any vulgar fellow would. David said to Mikal, it was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me,

ruler over the Lord's people. I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor. And Mikal, daughter of Saul, had no children to the day of her death. Now, you'll notice throughout this chapter, Mikal is always referred to as daughter of Saul. She's also a daughter of Saul. She's also David's wife, but here in this story, she is symbolically representing a kingship like the other nations. If you remember all the way back when the Israelites asked for a king over them, they want a king like the other nations. They want to be like them. They want to live like them. But God gives them a king who is told to be like God, not like the other nations.

Unfortunately, Saul, her father, fails and is rejected by God, because, because he becomes like all the other kings. He is proud, power hungry, he rejects the authority of God, and so God rejects him. So here, as his daughter is disgusted by her husband, disgusted by the king's actions, we learn explicitly why. She believes his actions and dancing, worshiping, interacting with, and giving food to people that she views as far beneath him is a debasement to the king. He is degrading, himself. He's not acting as a king like the other nation should. Humility is not something she believes David should be showing as king. But David defends his actions. God chose him and rejected her father because he was like all the other kings. God chose David. He has blessed him. He has given him the kingship.

David recognizes that nothing he has is possible without God's provision. And so he will worship the Lord. He will become undignified. He will be humbled. He will do whatever it takes to bring glory to God. And in the end, he knows that he will be honored by the people who matter. The final verses telling us of Mikal's baroness makes a theological point. The line of Saul will end here. Kings who rule for their own kingdom, who rule on power and might and force, who depend on themselves and forge their own way, will ultimately perish. and fall before the Lord. Their endeavors will not succeed. It is the line of David that will endure.

As David humbles himself as a different kind of king, as he brings the Ark of the Covenant into God's holy city, an ark that's filled with symbols of God's provision for his people, his commandments, and his promise to bring life from death, the text is pointing us to look forward. to think of another king who would be unlike what anyone expected, who would humble himself in ways that confused the people around him, the one who knew his place in God's story, who humbled himself to the point of death so that God could produce life for every person, young and old,

poor and rich, man and woman. I'm talking, of course, of King Jesus, the true and eternal king. What we don't read in this story is that while David fits the role of the humble king here, he does not always remain this way. Man fails to be a king unlike the nations again and again. Failure after failure until Jesus. The king who doesn't fail. The king who doesn't seek his own power.

The king who doesn't believe himself to be too dignified to eat with a sinner and care for the needy. The king who is willing to give up everything in submission and worship. to His Heavenly Father for the glory of the kingdom of God. Many people who lived in the time of Jesus missed him. They were like Mikal, expecting a warrior to come and powerfully rescue God's people from the oppression of the Romans. They expected a king like the nations to defend them and conquer enemies to rule on an earthly throne,

to bring peace and prosperity to their lives through political victory. Instead, Jesus died on a cross. He wasn't on trend. He wasn't the king they expected, the king they wanted, so they despised him and killed him. But in his death, he provided the rescue that they actually needed. In his humility and his willingness to become undignified on the cross, he brought life for all people. He was faithful to God's mission to be the king God called him to be humbly submitted to the will and way of God's kingdom. Will you miss out on Jesus too? The way of Jesus may not keep you in popular circles. It may not lead to a successful, comfortable, comfortable, prosperous life in the eyes of the world. You may not be like the nations. But do you

care more about what the world says is in? Or what God says is good and right and true? Would you rather fit in with the circles around you? Or live in the way that you were created to live, flourishing in the ways you were meant to flourish? Worshiping your God with wild abandoned, unbothered by the stairs or confusion of others as you give generously, sacrifice your life for others, offer humility and love when they would expect a harsh rebuke. Your life will not end up on trend. But that's a good thing when looking like the other nations can only lead to death. Do not follow the shuffle of what this world says is good, it will lead you to the grave. Instead, choose the way of Jesus.

Walk the humble, undignified path of your Savior and worship the true king with every unexpected choice you make.