Last week I was reading about David in 1 & 2 Samuel, and I found 2 Samuel 6:22 hilariously awesome. In 2 Samuel 6, David and his men were bringing the ark of the covenant to the City of David, and they were celebrating because the Lord had given them victory over their enemies. Verse 5 says, “David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals.” They were celebrating with “all their might.” Nothing could stop their rejoicing, and they were having the party of their lives, simply praising God.
But Saul’s daughter Michal was watching in disgust. Saul had given Michal to David in marriage as a reward for his many victories (the exact reason for the reward is a little graphic; read 1 Samuel 18 if you want to see why), but when Saul became murderous toward David, Michal helped David escape, and in his anger, Saul married off Michal to another man. Anyway, Michal saw David dancing and celebrating, and 2 Samuel 6:16 says, “And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.” So she approached David and accused him of dishonoring Israel by behaving in a manner unfitting for a king, “disrobing” of his dignity “in the sight of the slave girls” and dancing “as any vulgar fellow would” (2 Samuel 6:20).
I found David’s response very amusing: “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” (2 Samuel 6:21-22). He just brushed off Michal’s accusation, saying, “I’m celebrating because my God has done great things for me. You can’t guilt me out of praising Him with everything I am. I will dance like a madman, like a crippled man whose legs have been restored; I will sing like a mute man whose voice has been restored, like a deaf man who has just heard the sound of music for the first time since childhood, because I was doomed to failure but my God has given me victory! I was sentenced to death, but the Lord has given me life! I will humiliate myself with all my might in worship to the Lord, but these slave girls will look on my shame as honor. They acknowledge that I am but a man and that I deserve the right and the privilege to worship the Lord however I please, and they thank God because their king rejoices in Him and joins in their celebration. No king is too noble to dance before the King of kings and Lord of lords.”
David, the man after God’s own heart, found it pleasing to humiliate himself in worship. And similarly, Jesus Himself found it pleasing to be humiliated and made low in order that He might include us and give us the opportunity to praise God alongside the angels. So when it comes to worship and service, there is nothing too humiliating for a son or daughter of God. No one is above humbling himself before the King. So join the lowly in their work. Do the menial tasks so the janitors/maids don’t have to. And dance! (Easier said than done, I know, but I’m getting there, and you can too.) Celebrate “with all your might” because God has done great things for us! We were dead in sin, but now we are alive in Christ!
“Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” ~ Psalm 126:2-3
But Saul’s daughter Michal was watching in disgust. Saul had given Michal to David in marriage as a reward for his many victories (the exact reason for the reward is a little graphic; read 1 Samuel 18 if you want to see why), but when Saul became murderous toward David, Michal helped David escape, and in his anger, Saul married off Michal to another man. Anyway, Michal saw David dancing and celebrating, and 2 Samuel 6:16 says, “And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.” So she approached David and accused him of dishonoring Israel by behaving in a manner unfitting for a king, “disrobing” of his dignity “in the sight of the slave girls” and dancing “as any vulgar fellow would” (2 Samuel 6:20).
I found David’s response very amusing: “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” (2 Samuel 6:21-22). He just brushed off Michal’s accusation, saying, “I’m celebrating because my God has done great things for me. You can’t guilt me out of praising Him with everything I am. I will dance like a madman, like a crippled man whose legs have been restored; I will sing like a mute man whose voice has been restored, like a deaf man who has just heard the sound of music for the first time since childhood, because I was doomed to failure but my God has given me victory! I was sentenced to death, but the Lord has given me life! I will humiliate myself with all my might in worship to the Lord, but these slave girls will look on my shame as honor. They acknowledge that I am but a man and that I deserve the right and the privilege to worship the Lord however I please, and they thank God because their king rejoices in Him and joins in their celebration. No king is too noble to dance before the King of kings and Lord of lords.”
David, the man after God’s own heart, found it pleasing to humiliate himself in worship. And similarly, Jesus Himself found it pleasing to be humiliated and made low in order that He might include us and give us the opportunity to praise God alongside the angels. So when it comes to worship and service, there is nothing too humiliating for a son or daughter of God. No one is above humbling himself before the King. So join the lowly in their work. Do the menial tasks so the janitors/maids don’t have to. And dance! (Easier said than done, I know, but I’m getting there, and you can too.) Celebrate “with all your might” because God has done great things for us! We were dead in sin, but now we are alive in Christ!
“Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” ~ Psalm 126:2-3
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