2 Samuel 6: 12 - 16
Now King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the household 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 bull 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 sound of trumpets.
As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.
They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty. Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.
I love this verse. David had learnt the hard way that the presence of the Lord Almighty, as carried in in the ark, needed to be handled with care. It was a matter of life and death. And yet the presence of God needed to return to its rightful resting place -in the tent designed to carry it, in the city of God's chosen people; the City of David. David had done his homework only after someone had indeed died for reaching out to steady the ark, and after housing the ark amongst a Levite (priestly) family, he designated the right people to carry it by hand back to its rightful home. The presence of God is never designed to be carried by carts or horses, but by humans. In reverence and awe.
But it doesn't end there. David took off his kingly robes and danced in what was probably a procession of ordinary people wearing a priestly ephod. There were oxens sacrificed and fattened calves indicating that the strength of the people and the very best that they had needed to be sacrificed. It was all laid down before the Lord Almighty. There must have been blood everywhere! But as we humble ourselves before our God, and pray and seek His face, then he will hear from heaven and heal our land.... (2 Chr 7:14). The similarities here and striking. David danced whole heartedly before the presence of the Lord; which was in itself and whole hearted act of worship and ministry directly to the ark of the Covenant; the very presence of God.... He sought God's blessing and then shared that blessing with his people. David knew the heart of God and found a way that was pleasing in His sight. As undignified as it might have been.
Oct / Nov 2015 I woke up after a dream that felt like a God dream - it was a Facebook message:
Holy Spirit: "When will you dance with me?"
My reply: "I will dance with you now."
What the? What does it mean to dance with the Holy Spirit? Is that what David was doing?? Maybe.... And so I asked God what it looked like and felt that it shouldn't be too hard but just a sideways step - to the right, together, and then to the left. One, two, three, four.... When no-one was home, I turned on some music and loosened up with some fancy moves. But it felt like me dancing and coming up with it all in my own strength. It felt like I was dancing for God, not 'with' him. One, two.... Three, four.... And then he met me there - in the seeking and the asking. He met me there in the quiet time that I took to worship Him. In the laying down of myself - my strength and own initiative and it was there in a simple step of faith - even just the one, two.... I have tried the same thing just recently but it didn't quite happen the same - there was something on the dance in that season for me. It doesn't mean that it won't again though!
Needless to say that I didn't share that with anyone in a hurry. Blessed to be a blessing maybe, but there are limits :) Although David said he would become even more undignified than this. God knows my heart. And now my heart is to learn to dance with the Holy Spirit in new ways. Dance, I am thinking, is a metaphor. I used to say that the only place I dance is on the netball court. Maybe for me, that is exactly where I can continue to dance with the Holy Spirit - in the place where my gifts and talents are at their best and I find my 'flow' (or maybe its His flow) and I love the freedom of movement? Or maybe I can also dance in the ordinary, mundane places of life in a short prayer, a small smile or just taking the time to go out of my way and connect with someone? I will endeavour to dance in my everyday; in any place where I can bring the presence of God to the heart of His people - bringing the best I can and laying it all down before Jesus. A place stripped of the fear of man. A place of humility and quiet reverence and worship. A dance with an audience of one.
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