Something Worth Dancing About!
12. And it was told to King David that “The Lord has blessed the house of Obededom, and all that belongs to him, because of the Ark of God.” So David went and brought up the Ark of God from the house of Obedom into the City of David with gladness.
13. And it was so, that when they that carried the Ark of the Lord, had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatted calves.
14. And David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen garment.
2 Samuel 6:12-14
Picking the Right Song
Dancing in Church, or in this case, before the Lord, has always been one of those controversial topics. There are those who consider it taboo and even sacrilegious to dance in the Church; While others see it as something that should be done all the time by those that love the Lord. Let me just say, this passage was not given to establish a doctrine one way or the other. While it does talk about David and how he danced before the Lord, there is no mandate or commandment that requires you to do the same. Nor does the passage make it sinful or unbecoming to dance in Church or before the Lord. Really, that was never the intent of the passage. What the passage does demonstrate very strongly are four basic truths. First, we must express our appreciation for the presence of God in our lives. Second, we should love God enough to celebrate His mercy and goodness. Third, we must always handle the things of God appropriately. Lastly, expressing our love for God will not go unnoticed.
It is this last point that everyone should have something in their heart about God that causes them to rejoice. I call it “something worth dancing about.” I come from a Church background that did allow expressing love for God with what we called the ‘holy dance.’ No one was required to dance, but if you did, no one would try to stop you. So, we would have some that would ‘get their praise on’ by dancing in the isle of the Church. As a matter of fact, my Grandma had a little two-step that we called “the shout.” Well, on one Homecoming Sunday at my home Church, one lady got up and started to dance in the aisle. My cousin, who had moved down from New York with my Aunt, thought that was the coolest thing. So, he decided that he wanted to dance with her, but his was not a ‘holy dance.’ He was dancing just because he liked the music, and somebody was on the floor. He came down the isle doing the twist or Watusi or what-ever you call it and grabbed her by the hand and started swing dancing. Everybody in the Church was shocked. Of course, us young guys were cracking up over his actions. Our fun was short lived as the ushers came and escorted him back to his seat. My Aunt was as mad as a hornet getting ready to sting. She pinched him and mumbled something under her breath to let him know she was displeased. He just sat there with his head hung and said, “I just wanted to dance.”
What is it that makes you want to dance? In other words, what brings joy in your life? If it is not God, then you have a serious problem on two fronts. Problem one, you don’t realize all that God is doing in your life. Problem two, you are not showing any appreciation for the blessing that God is showering upon you. I can help you with the first problem, but the second problem is yours to solve. I can help you understand a little more how God is such an integral part of your life that without Him, you would not exist. I can tell you in Biblical terms, that the Lord is your Shepherd. The Lord is your Protector, Provider, Power, and Promise Keeper. The Lord is your Rock, your Righteousness, your Riches, your Redeemer, your Ruler, and your Rewarder. I can tell you all these wonderful things, but I cannot force you to acknowledge these truths. I cannot and will not twist your arm to appreciate the things of God. Here is another truth, neither will God force you to praise Him; that must come from your heart. But whenever that right song is played in your heart, you will dance and show respect and praise for all the mighty things that God has done for you.
It just takes the right song and King David had the right song playing in his heart that caused him to rejoice in the Lord, his God. When the trumpet sounded, David started reflecting on God’s goodness and the mercy shown to him. This instantly, moved his heart which moved his feet and David danced before the Lord with all his might. The dance was in recognition for how God had brought him so far and had done so much in his life. He had gone from shepherd, to warrior, to fugitive, to exiled, and finally to king of Israel and God was with him all the way. The music was playing the right notes to the praise and honor of God. The Bible encourages us to have a song in our heart to the Lord and to make melody to the Lord in our heart. Ephesians 5:19. There are so many that don’t have that rejoicing spirit like King David. Here is where we can learn four life lessons on ‘dancing in through life.’
1. Respond to life in a positive way. You are redeemed.
2. Remember God’s mercy always. It’s called reflecting.
3. Recognize God’s authority over your life. He is Ruler.
4. Rejoice always in the Lord. God is your Reward.
Reasons to Dance
King David and the leaders had attempted to bring the Ark of God to the City of David earlier but encountered some serious setbacks. They had not consulted God, they took the process lightly, and Uzzah (one of the priests) died before the Lord. Out of fear, David had the Ark temporarily placed at the house of Obededom, another member of the Levites. The Lord started blessing the home of Obededom in such a powerful way. This evidently resulted from proper handling of the holy Ark. When David heard about this, he then inquired of the Lord and asked for guidance on how the Ark should be transported to the City of David.
This introduces our first life lesson on dancing. Nobody can dance or even feels like dancing without a positive outlook on life. When David recognized that Obededom was getting blessed by the Ark, he reexamined his own attitude. Instead of allowing the death of Uzza to be a finality of bringing the Ark to the City, the King turned the situation around. He began to look at things positively from God’s perspective. As humans, we all fail, but that does not stop God from being our Redeemer. Don’t allow public situations to become your private meditation. Don’t allow failures of the past to become your road blocks to the future. If God has brought you this far, then go to the Lord and get a positive perspective on how things should go. Respond to life in a positive way. You are redeemed, so keep on dancing.
Other people may not like your dancing, so you may as well expect the critics to reject your moves. Michal, David’s wife, watched the processional from her window and saw the King of Israel dancing. I mean, David was getting his praise on. David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen garment. The Bible says, “she despised him in her heart.” Later she basically said that he had acted like a fool in front of all those people. Rather than take it as an insult, David remembered God’s mercy. When you remember God’s mercy always and reflect what God has done in your life, it puts criticism in perspective. It’s called reflecting. The King reflected on the times God had delivered him from danger. He reflected on the mercy shown all through his life. He made the choice to keep dancing despite the criticism. God had brought him too far, kept him too long, and had been too good to allow the criticism of Michal to keep him from his praise. My admonition is that you not allow the challenges and the stresses of this time to keep you from your dance in your heart. You will either cry your way through life or praise your way through life. The choice is yours.
And then you must Recognize God’s authority over your life. He is Ruler and the one who determines your destiny. When David saw that God did want them to bring the Ark of God into the City, his heart rejoiced. The closer they got to the City of David, the more he danced. He witnessed how God had blessed Obededom and now this blessing would be in house. He was happy as a child at Christmas time, so he danced with all his might. This leads us to a question, are we happy with God’s authority over our life or do we feel that God’s rulership is intimidating and frightening? Do we feel that God is out to get us or that He is out to bless us? Let me comfort and confront you with David’s example. He danced because He knew that God was for him and that God was not out to get him. He was blessed and highly-favored so he danced like it.
This brings us to the final point of why we dance. We dance because it is an expression of rejoicing and being happy that we have a relationship with God. Rejoice always in the Lord. God is your Reward. David knew that the one sure thing in his life was His God. We should realize that even if everything else fails, God is the One who is always constant, always good, and always in control. We are reminded to rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice. Philippians 4:4. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in Heaven. Matthew 5:12. Life is going to happen with or without your approval. While you may not be able to pick your circumstances, God has given you both the privilege and the strength to pick your attitude. Choose to dance and rejoice. Choose to show that you are not living a defeated life. Choose to dance rather than mourn your way through life. Others will take note and they will want to dance.