2 SAMUEL 6:14-15
And David danced before the Lord with all his might: and David was girded with the linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.
(King James Version)
I have heard it preached that King David danced so hard before the Lord that he danced his clothes off in the street. As I read this passage this morning, I realized that was not the case. It was so much more! I believe that he stripped himself of his kingly robes as an act of humility. The garments that King David was wearing that day were not part of his regular wardrobe. They were actually priestly attire, not undergarments (1Chronicles 14:27). He had laid down his purple and gold because his heart was set on worshipping the Lord.
When I read “he danced with all of his might” I said to the Lord, “I want to do that”! “I want to do that!” If King David worshipped like that being under the law, why shouldn’t we even more so who are Born of the Spirit?
Philippians 3:3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
David was “a man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22). He prayed “Let the lifting up of my hands be as the evening sacrifice” (Psalm 141:2). In reality the lifting of our hands is an act of humility and worship. God see’s us even in our prayer closets. How can we believe for miracles when we don’t even have the faith that it takes to lift our hands?
I love the Apostle Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14-16.
14for this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 Of whom the whole(every) family in heaven and earth is named. 16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.
Zechariah 4:6
Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel saying, Not by might , nor by power, but by my Spirit saith the Lord of hosts.
God prefers obedience over sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22). To me that says that God prefers Relationship, not religion. It was not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away our sins or perfect our hearts, so he did away with the Old Covenant (Hebrews 10).
John 1:11-12
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them he gave power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (New Covenant)
In all of these passages I have read nothing about the power of religion. It’s Always been about Relationship over Religion with our Lord. We can read the word of God by the letter, but without the Spirit of God living inside of us we are spiritually blind (2 Corinthians 3:6), weak, and powerless. Until we are willing to lay self aside, and seek the Lord with all of our hearts, we will miss out on the dance!
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