Dance Before the Lord


Today I read 2 Samuel 6. This is when David and all of Israel are bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. The first time is a failure (the dude touches the Ark and dies, David gets spooked, and lets some other guy take care of it for a while), but I focused my study on the second part of the chapter, when they're bringing it in again the right way.

It says that David danced before the Lord (and subsequently all of Israel) with "all his might". There were shouts, and trumpets, and other musical instruments blaring, I'm sure. Then David began "leaping and dancing" in celebration and thankfulness before the Lord. Not only is David held in honor by the people for this whole-hearted display (as we find out later in the chapter), but David also blesses the people by giving them all food.

However, David's wife Michal (Saul's daughter), despises and condemns David for his dancing, saying that he made an utter fool of himself before the people. However, David answers (paraphrased), "Well you know what...it was before the Lord that I celebrated". David evens says that he will be even more undignified and humiliated in his own eyes (not just Michal's), for the Lord's sake (implied).

I got four points out of this small set of verses that I believe can be turned into application points for my own life, as I desire to glorify the Lord with my talents:

1) David's dance wasn't about self-exaltation
2) He blessed other people in the process
3) He celebrated, praised, and gave thanks to the Lord with %100 of himself
4) He did it for and before the Lord, so to him, it didn't matter if he looked or felt humiliated, because he was doing the right thing, and had the right heart

~~~

Change the world!

In Christ,
Ellie

Comments

  1. UnknownAugust 12, 2012 at 5:50 PM

    hi ellie, my name is christie. i'm blogging through the Bible and was searching for an image of michal. that's how i found your blog (and i'm glad i did!) i'd like to give credit to the artist, and (if there is one) the copyright holder. i'm hoping maybe you could help me find that info?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ellie FaggionAugust 13, 2012 at 8:00 AM

      Sure! This should answer your questions-- http://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/קובץ:Tissot_Michal_Watching_David_from_a_Window.jpg

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

People Matter

Image
Today was one of those first time experiences that I'll never forget. I've been a part of our local Church Body - Southwest Wake Christian Assembly (SWCA) - for right around eight years, and although we've had a dozen births and a handful of marriages, we've never had a death of one of Body members. One of our oldest members, Mr. Bob, was just transferred to Hospice this week with likely only a few more days to live on this earth. The whole situation was rather sudden - I knew he'd struggled with health issues for a while and was weak, but I didn't realize how close he's been to death. Today I got to visit him. Unfortunately, he was sound asleep the whole time, but I still got to talk and sing loudly to him. Even if he didn't hear anything I said or sang, I'm sure God will pass along the message when Mr. Bob falls into His embrace. I admit, I cried. It was emotional seeing him there, knowing he won't be here for much longer. I was also sad tha
Read more

Gracious Speech - Part 2

Image
In my last blog post, we looked at the attributes of Jesus' speech, seeing that we are to follow his example. One of those attributes is that he was submissive to the Father, both in word and deed. Today, we're going to look at some of those verses where Jesus submits to the Father, and by doing so shows his authority. ~~~ "Jesus replied, 'Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.' Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.'" ~ Mt. 3:15-17 Sometimes, from our time in prayer, reading in the Word, and/or a rebuke from a brother or sister in Christ, we can wonder why God wants us to do something or do it a certain way. In following Jesus' example, we should be quick to answer
Read more