Image from joumc.org
Listen to the devotional here: https://bit.ly/3jTBNfk
1 David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 David and all the people with him set out and went from Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned on the cherubim. 3 They carried the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart 4 with the ark of God; and Ahio went in front of the ark. 5 David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. 12b So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing; 13 and when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. 14 David danced before the Lord with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. 16 As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. 17 They brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt offerings and offerings of well-being before the Lord. 18 When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the offerings of well-being, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts, 19 and distributed food among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, to each a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins. Then all the people went back to their homes. (2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12-19 New Revised Standard Version)
A blessed and happy Thursday ConCafe Family! May awesome blessings be yours, dear Friend is my prayer. Some of you have asked if I have any updates on Rev. Clark's wife, Sherry; I do not. If before this goes online I get any updates I will share that with you. I do thank you for your prayers for her and the family; please continue to pray for one another, for needs that have been shared with us, and pray for any personal needs you have; God answers prayers! I did receive a thank you from Mr. Eloy Rodriguez, for our prayers during his surgery and now during his rehabilitation. He had his first session yesterday and he is feeling good because he has more movement than he thought he would, and he has NO pain like he did before the surgery! We praise God! I also received a word of thanks from The Rev. Rosemary Grattan, who is the pastor of St. Mark's in Austin (I am late in my listings of pastors!) where she is now in her third year of being their pastor, for our prayers for her and family on the loss of her son, Mr. Kenneth Holmes.
We come across an interesting topic in this passage, and that is the topic of dancing. Well, I should say it has been an interesting topic in my family, or was, as we grew up. My father, who converted early in his life to the Christian way of life, received from one of his pastors strict do's and don'ts about how a Christian is to live. I remember hearing the list as he taught us about life. He and Mom had separate lists, but many overlapping ones. His contained a do not dance on it. Mom, on the other hand, loved to dance. She shared stories of how she and her sisters going to dances, sometimes with and sometimes without my grandfather's permission. Her favorite stories were those where they were at a dance without permission and my stern "Papá Grande" going to the dancehall and pulling them out and lecturing them all the way home. It was firmly stuck in my mind that I was not allowed to dance, which, for a very shy, chubby boy, was just fine. I remember the dilemma when our elementary school informed us that for PE we would be having "Rhythms." The coach tried to explain it as a sort of dancing. Gulp. Wait! What? I went immediately home (after school of course; I wasn't a hoodlum!) and told my Mom. She laughed and said that because I was a student I had to participate. I feared telling my Dad, but I did, and he said the same thing. All I remember of that event is staying in a circle doing the Hokey Pokey. LOL. No physical contact with anyone as far as I can remember. I do remember a lot of giggling and laughter. Some years later, the junior high had a dance and my friends all wanted to go. I asked permission and joined the neighborhood foot caravan to the school and I remember being a most content wallflower as we laughed at our braver friends who dared to dance. And with girls, no less! We were mostly at that stage where we both feared and were in awe of the fair sex. Fast Forward to the ninth grade, a graduation dance was being held for the High 9th'ers on the roof of our school in Houston and again, Mr. Wallflower goes dutifully. There I enjoyed most of the dance until a girl that I didn't really know grabs me and pulls me into the dance. I laugh at what must have been a series of missteps, and wiggling that many may have mistaken for a nervous breakdown or hunger fit. My Dad laughed when I told him. I soon learned that dancing in and of itself is not a sin, nor is it necessarily bad; it's a way to express oneself in times of joy or celebration. Which brings us to the celebration which we read above in the passage.
The ark of the covenant was a pretty big deal for the people of Israel, for in it were the remains of the stone tablets on which Moses had received the 10 Commandments. The ark itself represented God's throne, for God asked not to have a specific place designated as His home or resting place, for God is, and wants everyone to know, everywhere. The word is omnipresent, meaning God is everywhere. The ark, if you remember the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark, was considered a very holy item with powers associated with it. The specifics of who could touch it, carry it, walk alongside, or even in front of it, were strictly followed, because death would come immediately to those who disobeyed and touched it or walked near it, etc. It was also considered a trophy by enemies of Israel; so much so that to steal it and possess it was a slap in the face to Israel, and in this passage, David and his army had conquered the rascals who had had possession of it, and this passage is the commemoration of them bringing the ark home. This was a huge deal for King David. It was like the ticker tape parades of the days in New York City whenever something huge happened; like the end of a World War, astronauts returned home safely, a NY team won a championship, etc. And the mood in Israel was as electrifying as it used to be in NYC. And almost everyone who was either in the parade or along the parade route was in a celebratory mood. David, was no exception. Keep in mind, he's no longer the chubby, red-cheeked boy anointed by Samuel to be king while Saul was still on the throne; he's now a married man. And his first wife, was the grand prize or part of the triple crown prizes for having defeated Goliath (remember a huge cash prize and no income tax for the rest of his life!), was Michal. We get the idea that she perhaps did not consider David a prize, for this was, after all, an arranged marriage where it was supposed that love would come later, it appears it had not yet arrived. And some say, her disdain for hubby leaping up and well, not being appropriately dressed, had something to do with her being upset with his display of joy and other things. It's quite a thing to read, "And she despised him in her heart." Ouch.
The celebration was all about God and what God did for them, not so much about a king dancing wildly and openly. It was in a spirit of worship that all this took place, for burnt offerings and offerings of well-being that this all took place; and people who were there received a blessing from the king and food was distributed to all people; each received a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins; then all returned home.
Interesting to note that in the gospel reading for this coming Sunday, it was a dance that brought death to John the Baptist. Some have said it was an enticing dance that moved Herod to make the offer to the daughter of his lover, who requested John's death. And today's dance was a celebratory dance. And, I can't help but think back to the day the "new" United Methodist Hymnal had a new hymn in it called, "The Lord of the Dance," which I believe was banned and could result in immediate incarceration in Baptist jail if sung at any Baptist Church, that was about a "dance" involved and present in key events of our history as believers. I share some of the lyrics:
I danced in the morning When the world was begun, And I danced in the moon And the stars and the sun, And I came down from heaven And I danced on the earth, At Bethlehem I had my birth.
I danced on the Sabbath And I cured the lame; The holy people Said it was a shame. They whipped and they stripped And they hung me on high, And they left me there On a Cross to die.
Chrous: Dance, then, wherever you may be, I am the Lord of the Dance, said he, And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be, And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he
They cut me down And I leapt up high; I am the life That'll never, never die; I'll live in you If you'll live in me - I am the Lord Of the Dance, said he.
We read the "dance" to be the Spirit of Jesus. I truly believe and accept the idea if He lives in us, we have reason to express our thankfulness, our joy, our celebrations, in Him. He understands our dancing and receives it as praise. And, we can also dance inside with our joys in times where we deem it inappropriate to openly dance; but we say, receive the Lord, let Him be the dance in you as you dance your way through life. Yes, some times may come where the dancing is slow and painful, but a dance of faith nonetheless and we dance because He is still with us!
PRAYER: Loving Father, Loving Son, Loving Holy Spirit; fill us with the dance of faith and joy; may we dance in ways that bring honor and glory to You in all ways. We dance not to offend but to rejoice that in all things You are with us, amen.
Receive my blessing and invitation to dance in whatever way blesses God and you!
Pastor Eradio Valverde
Here is a version of that beautiful hymn: https://youtu.be/zDdQhsjNHcw
