WEBVTT

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Day 83, or March the 24th. Let yourself go sometimes.

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Our thoughts are rooted in 2 Samuel chapter 6,

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verse 14. Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing

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before the Lord with all his might. First, the

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big picture surrounding this verse. David is

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finally anointed king over all Israel, and destined

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to reign for forty years, until he is seventy

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years old. His reign for the next thirty -three

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years will be centred in Jerusalem, and even

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today it is called the City of David, along with

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nearby Bethlehem. After a disastrous attempt

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to bring the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem,

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which ended in the death of one of the men carrying

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it, it is finally safely escorted, all ready

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to be placed in the new temple. However, God

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makes it clear that David will not be building

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the temple. Nathan has the difficult task of

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telling David what God has decided, but David

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responds in a beautifully positive way, by praising

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the Lord. And now, our action step for today.

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Once David is established as king, he decides

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it's time for the Ark of the Covenant to be brought

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back to Jerusalem. As the returning procession

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approaches the city, David is overwhelmed by

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the whole event and gets carried away as he worships

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God. It seems this could be the first instance

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of dad dancing in history. 2 Samuel chapter 6

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verse 20 tells us that Michal, David's wife,

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the daughter of Saul, came out to meet him. She

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said in disgust, how distinguished the king of

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Israel looks today, shamelessly exposing himself

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to the servant girls, like any vulgar person

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might do. As men in those days wore long robes

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and little else, they weren't dressed for boisterous

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dancing. David didn't think of this as he praised

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the Lord. Supporters at football matches don't

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either, when their team scores. It's okay at

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football matches, of course, but spontaneous

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rejoicing is very acceptable to the Lord, too.

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This is a word for all of us conservative Brits,

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including me. When did we last let ourselves

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go as we worshipped our God?