Day 83, or March the 24th. Let yourself go sometimes.
Our thoughts are rooted in 2 Samuel chapter 6,
verse 14. Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing
before the Lord with all his might. First, the
big picture surrounding this verse. David is
finally anointed king over all Israel, and destined
to reign for forty years, until he is seventy
years old. His reign for the next thirty -three
years will be centred in Jerusalem, and even
today it is called the City of David, along with
nearby Bethlehem. After a disastrous attempt
to bring the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem,
which ended in the death of one of the men carrying
it, it is finally safely escorted, all ready
to be placed in the new temple. However, God
makes it clear that David will not be building
the temple. Nathan has the difficult task of
telling David what God has decided, but David
responds in a beautifully positive way, by praising
the Lord. And now, our action step for today.
Once David is established as king, he decides
it's time for the Ark of the Covenant to be brought
back to Jerusalem. As the returning procession
approaches the city, David is overwhelmed by
the whole event and gets carried away as he worships
God. It seems this could be the first instance
of dad dancing in history. 2 Samuel chapter 6
verse 20 tells us that Michal, David's wife,
the daughter of Saul, came out to meet him. She
said in disgust, how distinguished the king of
Israel looks today, shamelessly exposing himself
to the servant girls, like any vulgar person
might do. As men in those days wore long robes
and little else, they weren't dressed for boisterous
dancing. David didn't think of this as he praised
the Lord. Supporters at football matches don't
either, when their team scores. It's okay at
football matches, of course, but spontaneous
rejoicing is very acceptable to the Lord, too.
This is a word for all of us conservative Brits,
including me. When did we last let ourselves
go as we worshipped our God?