DANCE AND THE CHURCH 2

Shall the Church Dance Like David?

In discussing the merit of dance in worship, advocates of it invariably seize upon the Old Testament example of King David as a proof of the point. As Robert Webber defines it, liturgical dance is the "expressive use of the body similar to that used by David, who danced before the Lord."[1] It is argued that like David, congregations ought to offer sacred and celebratory worship to God through the medium of dance. David says the historical record, danced "before the Lord", so why shouldn't we? (2 Samuel 6:14). The answer to this question lies in our understanding of both the occasion and the description of what David actually did before the Lord at the time the ark was rescued from the Philistines and brought back to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6).

THE OCCASION. From the days of aged Eli and Samuel, a state of war existed between Israel and the Philistines (1 Sam. 4:1-2 Sam. 5:25). Early in that war, the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of the Lord's Divine Presence with the nation. For 100 long years the ark had been separated from the tabernacle. First it stood under Philistine control for several months. Then it rested for a short time at Beth Shemesh, and for the duration of those years at the town of Kiriath Jearim. All the while, God's ark beonged in Jerusalem.

After David consolidated his reign over Israel after Saul's death and the defeat of the Philistines, he determined that the Ark of the Covenant should be returned to its rightful place, to the tabernacle in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 4-6). While moving the ark, a disaster occurred.

Instead of moving the ark in a manner prescribed by the law--it was to have been shouldered by Levites with poles run through the ark's gold rings--David moved the ark like the Philistines had on other occasions, "on a new cart" pulled by oxen (compare Ex. 25:13-14; Num. 4:15, 20; 1 Sam. 6:1-21; 2 Sam. 6:1-11). As the ark moved, Israel celebrated with musical celebration (2 Samuel 6:5; Psalm 150).

When the celebratory procession reached "the threshing floor of Nacon", the cart and the ark suddenly wobbled. To keep it from falling over, Uzzah instinctively reached out to steady it. In that instant, "the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God" (2 Sam. 6:7). Why did Uzzah die? Because the ark was not moved "according to the ordinance" of the Lord (1 Chron. 15:13). In other words, in the midst of their celebration, they were breaking the law of God and Uzzah had touched the forbidden. The lesson to be gained is, God's children must not profane the sacred, and if, for some reason they do, no amount of celebration will compensate for indifference to God's standards.

In the aftermath of this tragedy and emotionally smitten by anger and fear over what had happened, David ordered the procession/celebration to stop. The ark was stored in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for a cooling off period of three months. When it became apparent that God blessed Obed's household because of the ark's presence, David decided that it would be safe to make another attempt to move the ark to its rightful place. He organized a second procession to usher the ark into Jerusalem. During the second procession David was seen "dancing before the Lord".

THE DANCE DESCRIBED. David's Position. As the ark was being transported into Jerusalem, David's position was "before the Lord" (2 Samuel 6:14, 16). In that the ark symbolized the dwelling presence of God, the preposition "before" suggests that David danced in the Lord's presence. Yet such understanding does not exhaust the meaning of where David danced. In the context, "before the Lord" means that David danced "in front of" the ark. As Youngblood notes: "In this context, 'before the Lord' (v.5; cf. v.14) is virtually tantamount to 'before the ark' (a literal translation of "in front of it," v.4)."[2] We understand from this that David's dance was processional "in front of" or before the ark.

David's Movements. The Scripture says that, "David was dancing (Hebrew Pilpel participle suggesting rapidly repeated whirling movements) before the Lord with all his might" (2 Sam. 6:14, 16). David's movement could be interpreted in several ways. David may have repeatedly performed athletic spin moves, "360s" or "180s", as he led the procession. Or, that as the procession and carriers transported it into the city, David circled about the ark.[3] Or that, as one commentator suggests, the king engaged in "an old ritual dance."[4]

Added to his whirling, the scene also describes him as "leaping" before the ark as it entered the holy city (2 Samuel 6:16). The word "leaping" (a Piel participle signifying intensive action) nuances "to leap, show agility." When the two descriptions are combined, a word picture emerges of David repeatedly, rapidly and alternately leaping and spinning his body before the ark as the procession first approached and then entered Jerusalem.

The description of his dance amidst the celebration implies that David spontaneously and athletically jumped up and down in a whirling fashion in front of the ark as it was ushered into the city. The physical demands of David's movements may in part, explain why he "uncovered" himself by removing cumbersome royal garments to wear only "a linen ephod", a linen robe typically worn by Levites (2 Samuel 6:14, 20; see 1 Chronicles 15:27).

David's Strength. One final point: David danced "with all his might". His movements were demanding and can be compared to the most exhausting of today's aerobic workouts.

DOES DAVID'S EXAMPLE PROVIDE ANALOGY FOR TODAY? When the dance of David is studied for what it was, it becomes difficult to see any similarity between it and the liturgical or sacred dance of today.

Robert Webber justifies the use of sacred or liturgical dance "similar to that used by David." In his book Worship Is a Verb, he then proceeds to describe the dance of a young girl that he once observed during an ordination service at a local Baptist church, a service crafted and choreographed to present to the congregation mystical imagery and symbolism.[5] Of this type of dance he says, we need not "fear. It certainly will not turn us into worldly Christians, nor impede our worship or produce unclean thoughts."[6] Assuming his point for just a moment, that such dance will not turn us into "worldly Christians," then does it not necessarily also follow that neither will such dance help us to become more spiritual Christians?

One can only compare the processional, spontaneous and aerobic dance of David to the choreographed and scripted dance advocated within the pale of contemporary evangelicalism to see that the forms, occasions, cultures and motivations are worlds apart. Ancient Hebrew and modern liturgical dance simply do not belong to the same genre. So let's stop promoting the use of sacred or liturgical dance in the modern church by referencing it to the example of David. At this point, we're not comparing apples with apples.

Pastor Larry DeBruyn

(To be concluded)

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[1] Robert E. Webber, Worship Is a Verb (Nashville: Star Song Publishing Group, 1992) 194.

[2] Ronald F. Youngblood, "1, 2 Samuel," The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Vol. 3, Frank E. Gaebelein, ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992) 870.

[3] S.R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text of the Books of Samuel (Winona Lake, Indiana: Alpha Publications, 1912) 269.

[4] Joyce G. Baldwin, 1 and 2 Samuel (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1988) 209.

[5] Webber, 194-195.

[6] Ibid. 195.