Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - What Legacy Will You Leave? | Historical Books | 2 Kings 13:1-13

Episode Date: October 22, 2025

What are you the king of? What is your legacy? What do you love? In today's episode, Jensen shares how 2 Kings 13:1-13 encourages us to leave a legacy of love and faithfulness to 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 Kings 13:1-13

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 people think of Elvis, they think of him as the king of rock and roll. When you think of Michael Jackson, you think King of Pop. Alexander III is really only ever referred to as Alexander the Great. Or there's Ivan the Terrible. Only those who reach a certain level of fame will be remembered for generations in this way.

For the rest of us, our legacy may not be found by a quick Google search, but it will be found in the people who knew us, walked with us, lived with us, saw us at our best and our worst. Now, you may not have a quippy nickname like the famous, but if you did, what would it be? The king of finance, king of the grill, king of TikTok? See, a while back I told Jude, my son, that he'd have to ask his dad a question that he had about Peaches because Dad is the king of Peaches. That's what I said at least. And he looked at me and said, What are you the king of? And I told him, I didn't really know what my thing was. And he looked me dead in the eye and said, Mama, you're the king of watching movies. Roasted. Now, for context, so you don't think I'm just...

like a terrible parent that sits my children in front of a television all day long. I was in my first trimester of pregnancy, so we had mostly been surviving by watching movies in bed while I was sick. But in that season, that was my legacy. What was mom good at? How did she spend her time? What did she give to our lives? Movies. The king of watching movies.

Jensen Lazy. Jensen the entertained. Jensen the digital addict. Of course, it's a small snapshot of time in my life and a small comment made my toddler, but it made me think, what is my legacy? When Jude looks back at the whole of his childhood, what will he remember about me? What will he say that I loved? As we've been reading Second Kings, I can't help but notice the repetition of a certain phrase. As power changed, changes from king to king as the next king rises up almost every time we hear the same refrain. He did evil in the sight of the Lord. But what comes after these words is what I was struck by today in Second Kings 13.

Jehoahaz takes the throne first, and we read, In the 23rd year of Joash, son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned 17 years. Here it is. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord by following the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nabat, which he had caused Israel to commit, and he did not turn away from them. And then after him comes Jehoash. In the 37th year of Joach, king of Judah, Jehoash, son of Jehoahaz, became king of Israel and Samaria, and he reigned 16 years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam.

son of Nabat, which he had caused Israel to commit. He continued in them. So with each new king, we learn their legacy for evil. But did you notice how the author describes their evil? They followed in the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nabat, which he had caused Israel to commit. See, Jeroboam's legacy is clear, and it isn't good. Now you may not remember exactly what Jeroboam did that garnered him this legacy. But all the way back in 1st Kings 12 and 13, we see Jeroboam set up two altars, one in Bethel and one in Dan. He built temples, set up priests, and fashioned golden calves for the people of Israel to worship. Why does he do it? Well, he's afraid. He's afraid that if the people return to Jerusalem to worship at the true temple, they'll return back to the throne of David

and not follow his rule. So he creates these new high places of worship for his. He's afraid. his nation. He idolizes his power, his throne, his control. And in doing so, he sets up altars of worship and drags an entire nation into idolatry. The people alive in Israel during his time, as well as the kings and their people that rise up again and again after him. And they followed in the ways of Jeroboam, son of Nabat, which he had caused Israel to commit. They did not turn away from them. Now, you and I may not be famous. Our legacies may not land us in the front page of Google. We may not make headlines, but our choices, our legacy, the things that we choose to worship, the lives we live, that impacts the people around us for good or for bad. And the effect can last for generations.

In Exodus 25 through 6, we read, You shall not worship them or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, I'm a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing loving kindness to thousands to those who love me and keep my commandments. So the phrase to the third and fourth is a Hebrew idiom. It means however many. So rather than this being a statement that my kids will be punished for my sin, it's a statement saying, however many generations after those who sin, that continue to hate me, will have my punishment. This passage reminds us of the generational effect we can have. Our attitude towards the Lord can remain alive in our families, in those we have influence on

for generations, whether that's to hate God or to love God and keep His commandments. I think of the woman at the well, the Samaritan woman that Jesus spoke to, revealed his identity to. He met her where she was and he loved her. Her life was changed that day. She saw Jesus for who he was and scripture tells us that she ran back to her town to tell them all that he had said. In John 439, we read, many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony.

He told me everything I ever did. So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them. and he stayed two days and because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman, we no longer believe just because of what you said. Now we have heard for ourselves and we know that this man really is the savior of the world. One woman, an outcast, a woman of sin, radically changed the spiritual course of her town. Many even cite her as one of the first evangelists. Now before the woman at the well met Jesus, she would have been remembered as an outcast,

the woman with many husbands, sinful, marked, unworthy. But everything changed when she saw Jesus for who he was. Jeroboam and the kings that followed after him never saw God for who he was. They hated him. They loved their idols of power and control more than God. They didn't understand his goodness and so they rejected him, and in turn their legacy was evil. The woman at the well could have had the same story, but she doesn't. Her understanding of Jesus caused her to cast aside her idols and share the good news of who Jesus is to everyone she could find, and it impacted everyone she met. She's remembered for her faith, for her courage, for her strength. What will you be remembered by?

The idols you throw yourself after? The job you sacrifice your family time for? The wealth you built at the expense of a quiet time? The house, car, shoes, clothes, vacation homes you spent your life curating, thinking about, loving, seeking. She was so devoted to her career. He was so devoted to his style. Her TikTok following. His golf game.

Is that your legacy? Some days it's mine. Remember, I'm the king of watching movies. But I don't want it to be that for me. I want more. I want my kids, my husband, my friends, and family to remember me as a faithful follower of Jesus, someone who knew him, who met with him regularly, and who was utterly changed by the goodness she found there.

See, our lives have lasting impact on those around us. So let's be people who use our days, our lives, to proclaim the name of Jesus, to show his love, his kindness, his goodness to those in our care. May we be people who leave everyone we meet with an undeniable recognition of our love, devotion, and zeal for the Lord. God today, would you help us to live lives devoted to you alone, that our legacy would honor your name and bring generations to come into your loving kindness. Amen.