The Praise Dance of David
April 12, 2009 by Lakita
Filed under Dance in the Word
This was originally an article published in Paneh’s Newsletter (December 2005). I’ll be slowly migrating these articles to the website. Your comments / input is welcomed and appreciated!
Miriam and David
Worship dancers and much more (part 2 of 2)
In the first article of this series, Miriam: Prophetess and Praise Dance Leader, we explored the life of prophetess Miriam; praise dance leader and sister of Moses. This time we are going to launch forward in history and examine David. Most dance ministers are familiar with 2 Sam 6:14: And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod
This was definitely a high point in David’s life! He is king of Israel and the Ark is being returned to Jerusalem. David danced before the Lord as an expression of praise. Operating in total humility he took the place of the slave at the head of the procession representing his true worship and submission to the Lord.
What can we learn from David?
- The lessons we can learn from David go beyond the scope of this article, however here are a few points of interest.
1. Know God’s timing!
Samuel was sent to anoint David as Saul’s successor as king. What did David do after he received his anointing? He continued to operate in his current office (shepherd) and served as Saul’s amour bearer.
1 Samuel 16
13Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
…
21And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armour bearer.
We must be careful to operate in God’s timing. Just because we are anointed to do a work it doesn’t mean that it is our time. David did not become ‘big-headed’ when he knew he would be king. He continued to serve where he was presently called.
As time passed, David had to flee from Saul. At times David was put in the predicament of fighting Saul’s enemies and running from Saul at the same time. David was even presented the opportunity to kill Saul, yet he refused to be ruled by anger or injustice. Not only did he not harm Saul under what seemed like optimal conditions, he didn’t allow his men to harm Saul either (see 1 Sam 24-26). David cut a corner of King Saul’s robe and was convicted to have done that!
He knew God’s promise was that he would inherit the throne of Israel. He also knew that Saul was in the way of that promise. But he also knew the blessings of being obedient and it was not his place to touch God’s anointed. This brings me to my second point:
2. The power of submission
David confronted Saul after he departed from the cave. David just spared Saul’s life after being on the run from Saul trying to take his life. David also knows that he has an anointing on his life to be the next king of Israel. Despite these conditions David did not confront Saul as if he was better than him or owed him any debt of gratitude, he did not even confront him as an equal. David bowed down before Saul and recognized him as ruler / king. Here he puts himself in a vulnerable position, Saul could have easily struck him, after all, he has been chasing him all this time. But David knew the power of submission and trusted in God to be his protection.
3. David knew how to kill giants!
We all know the story of David and Goliath. It’s a popular Sunday school story of how the young boy took out the giant with his sling. The odds were stacked against David: Goliath was a giant (9 ft tall) and a trained warrior, on the other hand, David was a shepherd that has never been in battle.
What giants are you facing? Impossible situations, people, haunting memories of the past etc. Whatever the giant let this popular story inspire you and give you confidence in the battles you face. Remember, the greater the battle, the more glorious the victory! To God be all the glory!
4. There will always be those that despise (hate) your praise
When the ark was finally returned to Israel we read that David danced before the lord with all his might. We go on to read that as his wife Michal looked on she saw him dancing and despised him in her heart. I won’t elaborate anymore on Michal at this time. The point is that we all will have “Michal’s” in our life, but we must not sit down on our praise!
