RenderBitcoin on Nostr: The Sunday before last, in a moment of corporate worship as a church, a woman in our ...
The Sunday before last, in a moment of corporate worship as a church, a woman in our church positioned herself in front of the congregation and began dancing. The moment was captivating, and across the room folks began to feel their walls coming down - myself included. Something was loosened by the physical act of dancing as a form of worship, especially in the corporate setting where one must be completely vulnerable in front of God and His bride.
That moment impacted me so deeply that I spent the last week mulling over the significance of dancing, and studied the most famous act of dancing spoken about in the Old Testament (2 Samuel 6). While there are many motivations that lead David to dance undignified before the Ark, I believe James Flanagan comments well on the occasion by noting that the scene was "a period of release from usual constraints and an occasion for creative response. It was here that the structures of the former state no longer held sway and the new state of the Davidic dynasty had not yet been fully established. The dialogue between Michal and David made explicit that the issue was the legitimacy of his house as leader in Israel."
Dancing as a form of rebellion against the old order speaks to the release from those "usual constraints" that James Flanagan refers to. This act of uninhibited worship signifies the newness and transformation brought about by God, and legitimates the foundation whereby God intends to govern His people. It was a foretaste of how the kingdom of God values devotion over ritual, sincerity over appearance, obedience over sacrifice, and a willing heart over imposed order. The new order meant that true leadership, both as a king and as God’s people, are centered around wholehearted surrender and joyous, unguarded praise to the Lord God Almighty.
I say all that to propose that perhaps our deepest desires for freedom and justice could be realized through dancing. Dance while you usher in the true King, build a house for Him (in you, as the temple), and dwell with Him. 🌸💃🏻🕺🪩
That moment impacted me so deeply that I spent the last week mulling over the significance of dancing, and studied the most famous act of dancing spoken about in the Old Testament (2 Samuel 6). While there are many motivations that lead David to dance undignified before the Ark, I believe James Flanagan comments well on the occasion by noting that the scene was "a period of release from usual constraints and an occasion for creative response. It was here that the structures of the former state no longer held sway and the new state of the Davidic dynasty had not yet been fully established. The dialogue between Michal and David made explicit that the issue was the legitimacy of his house as leader in Israel."
Dancing as a form of rebellion against the old order speaks to the release from those "usual constraints" that James Flanagan refers to. This act of uninhibited worship signifies the newness and transformation brought about by God, and legitimates the foundation whereby God intends to govern His people. It was a foretaste of how the kingdom of God values devotion over ritual, sincerity over appearance, obedience over sacrifice, and a willing heart over imposed order. The new order meant that true leadership, both as a king and as God’s people, are centered around wholehearted surrender and joyous, unguarded praise to the Lord God Almighty.
I say all that to propose that perhaps our deepest desires for freedom and justice could be realized through dancing. Dance while you usher in the true King, build a house for Him (in you, as the temple), and dwell with Him. 🌸💃🏻🕺🪩