Lessons from David Dancing Before The Lord

These are my sermon notes from Mateen Elass‘s message on August 26, 2012’ based on these verses in 2 Samuel 6:12-23 NIV:

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. When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!” David said to Michal, “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 Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.” And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

and 2 Samuel 7:1-3 NIV:

After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.”

It’s easy for us as Christians to try and live on “reflected glory,” we stop seeking God’s will for our lives because we want to seek our own will. We seek God’s blessing and sanctification of our own plans.

God’s presence should not be treated lightly
– Philistines learned this when they took the ark as documented in 2 Samuel

Love gives itself fully to what it cherishes

Sometimes when we look at others, we are not too please with how we see them worshipping. Our disdain about how others worship may reveal a problem within our own hearts toward God.
– it is hard for us to grapple with this as Presbyterians sometimes… Need to focus, however, on WHO we are trying to please
– God is the one who should be our focus in worship
– let’s not show disdain for others as they seek to open their hearts fully to God