Friday 17th June 2016 - Daily Reading:
2 Samuel 6 - Even More Undignified
When the Ark finally came to Jerusalem, King David famously danced before God half naked. Can you see yourself doing that? Even the people around the King were shocked by the display. David’s own wife, Michal, criticised him in front of everybody.
In her criticism, Michal particularly disliked that David had behaved as “any vulgar fellow would”. Here was David, who was supposed to be the King, embarrassing himself, as she saw it, in front of everybody. For Michal, a King was somebody who wore royal robes, who carried himself with dignity and kept himself separate from the ordinary people.
But David understood where his kingly authority came from: not from royal robes or fine manners, but from God himself. He replies, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people”.
Everything we have comes from the Lord. When we praise, it is to the Lord and for him, not for others. When David dressed in a skimpy priestly garment instead of royal robes, and danced joyfully, he was thinking only of the Lord, not of his own dignity or position, and not of the others around him. Indeed, David declared, “I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this”!
It might feel strange to dance or leap or bow down before the Lord, and yet we often express strong feeling through our bodies at other times. Have you ever seen a football crowd stand perfectly still and applaud politely when their team scores? No! They jump and shout for sheer joy!
As we come to worship God, let our focus not be on ourselves, on others or even on whether or not we should lift our hands or dance or sing louder. Let our focus be only on God, and let our firm resolve be to celebrate before him and be “lost in wonder, love and praise”.