Category: The Lord and the Dance

Let’s read aloud together:

2 Samuel 6:21b-22 NIV
21b I will celebrate before the Lord. 22 I will become even more undignified than this…”

1 Chronicles 16:31-36
31 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
32 Let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!
33 Let the trees of the forest sing,
let them sing for joy before the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth.
34 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
35 Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior;
gather us and deliver us from the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name,
and glory in your praise.”
36 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Then all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.”

“In David’s utter abandonment to dance and in his liturgic, social, royal extravagance, a new order is authorized, wrought out of unrestrained yielding and worship” (Walter Brueggemann). When we approach God in reverence, the joy we experience in prayer can now take any shape.

Prayer: God, all of creation celebrates before you. Thank you for sending Jesus our Savior to die for us, so that we can live in this freedom and joy to worship you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s sing, “Heaven Invade” by Kari Jobe (click here).

-AW

 

2 Samuel 6:14-15, 17 NIV
14 Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, 15 while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets. 17 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.

As they bring the ark in the proper way, David is dancing with “all his might.” He was singing with “all his might” earlier as well, but now he is dancing, wearing a linen ephod or robe and does so “before the Lord.” He is physically in front of the ark, the symbol of God’s presence, and spiritually as an act of worship. Here he is dressed as a worshiper and not a king – for this is not what a king would wear in public. David is now the priest, not some earthly king, in the procession. He is the lead worshiper. In coming before God in reverence and awe, in true worship, with every detail taken care of, he is now free – so free, happy and elated that he literally whirls around. Not only does David experience this individually, but the entire community, all of God’s people, are blessed too.

Prayer: God, we worship you with all our might for you are holy. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s sing, “Mention of Your Name” by Bethel (click here).

-AW

2 Samuel 6:9, 13 NIV
9 David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, “How can the ark of the Lord ever come to me?” 13 When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf.

We must recognize that to come before God is a fearful thing, and we can only do so because of God’s mercy. The ark was to be borne on human shoulders and in doing so we show reverence for him. It illustrates the proper relation between God and humanity. God leads us, guides us, rules us, feeds us, and cares for us. (P.Wayne)

“The difference was that the ark this time was to be carried on the shoulders of men, not driven like an exhibit at a fair or like the ancient equivalent of a float. Why is the difference so important? The ark was never meant to be driven on a cart. Careful instructions had been issued in the Levitical Laws. The gold-covered poles, fitting through the rings in the lower corners of the ark, were designed for the shoulders of the Levites…You are driven, so to speak, when you bear the sacred presence on your shoulders.” (White, John. Daring to Draw Near: People in Prayer. InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.)

Prayer: God, in every step, we are in need of your mercy. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s sing, “Holy Holy Holy” by Shane and Shane (click here).

 

-AW

2 Samuel 6:3b-4, 6-7 NIV
3 Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart 4 with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. 6 When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. 7 The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.

“The people of Israel learned that their God was the God high above all. He was not a talisman. They did not own him as a national resource. He was ‘their’ God only in the sense that he had graciously chosen them, not they him. Neither Uzzah nor the seventy of Beth-shemesh had been unjustly treated. Every one of them deserved death a thousand times over. In his mercy God allowed his just judgments upon them to awaken Israel in general and David in particular to something they all badly needed to know: that God is God, and humans are human; and that God’s presence in their midst was a privilege a human race will never deserve and must never take for granted.” (White, John. Daring to Draw Near: People in Prayer. InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.)

Prayer: In reverence and in awe, God, we worship you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s sing, “Obsession” by Deliriou5? (click here).

-AW

 

1 Chronicles 16:8-10 NIV
8 Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.
9 Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.
10 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice

Our approach towards God in prayer must combine both an attitude of reverence and rejoicing. Prayer is a serious task that requires our utmost attention, care, and preparation: for this is what one does in reverence. The severity that prayer demands however, does not diminish pleasure nor joy – rather it amplifies it. Reverence is recognizing the importance and preciousness of the thing or person being revered…When we recognize and place ourselves before our Lord in reverence, there is an unabashed joy that bursts forth. (P.Wayne)

“The absence of rejoicing, especially when rejoicing is appropriate, is sin. Cold indifference toward God or resentment toward him can in his presence become like droplets of water in a furnace, scorched into oblivion. We are to approach him with gratitude, with praise and with thanksgiving.” (White, John. Daring to Draw Near: People in Prayer. InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.)

Prayer: Lord, we come humbly before you in reverence and rejoicing because you are worthy. We will tell of all the wonderful things you have done. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship the Lord by singing, “Hands to the Heavens” by Kari Jobe (click here).

-AW