The Psalms end with an awesome expression of His character: describing a diversity of expressions unified in His praise!
The Psalms crescendos as David continually draws closer to Yahweh. The last two chapters of this precious book of encouragement contain some surprising commands from this King of Israel.
His ways are so far above our ways, and His thoughts are beyond all that we could ask or think!
David’s first mention of praise dancing in the Psalms describes the changing of our spiritual garments.
Psa 30:11 Thou hast turned H2015 for me my mourning H4553 into dancing: H4234
thou hast put off H6605 my sackcloth, H8242 and girded H247 me with gladness; H8057
Psa 30:12 To the end that H4616 my glory H3519 may sing praise H2167 to thee, and not H3808 be silent. H1826 O LORD H3068 my God, H430 I will give thanks H3034 unto thee for ever. H5769
What David showed Michal and all Israel, was that he was willing to lay aside his royal clothing before the King of kings. He was giving them a physical demonstration of what it means to humbly take off the fear of man, to lay it down, publicly, at the feet of the King of kings. Or, was it?
Michal’s reaction to David’s praise dance and the consequences of it seem so hard, until we investigate the root of it. The Almighty makes a point, in both recordings of the event, to first state that Michal is Saul’s daughter, implying that this attitude was passed down from him. That fact makes it imperative that we look further to find why He, Who has condensed thousands of years of history into one book which we can hold in our hands, would emphasize this by twice bringing this seemingly insignificant fact to our attention.
The key lies in 1Samuel 15. The Mighty One of Israel had given a command to Saul, through the prophet Samuel. Saul, however, did not lead the people in fully following the command, but let them have their own way by saving the best as sacrifice. Saul honored the people over the King of kings, by obeying them, rather than the Creator; that is called fear of man. Yet, because they were not keeping the animals for themselves, Saul has rationalized the decision to be obedience. He honored his own reasoning over that of the Creator. He even greeted Samuel saying, “Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.” Not only did he not fully obey, he allowed the people he led to direct his path, rather than directing theirs into the ways of their Deliverer. It did not end there, his justified his actions, he honored his own reasoning over that of the Creator! He twisted his own mind to try to convince himself that he had indeed obeyed. Even worse, he then attempted to convince the prophet that he had obeyed by defending his actions when Samuel questioned them!
In short, Saul was acting just like the serpent in the garden of Eden. He had defected, and become a traitor on so many levels. In criticizing David’s praise dancing, Michal displayed the weaknesses, the same treachery: fear of man (honoring/idolizing man over the Creator), choosing his own thoughts over those of the Creator (idolatry) and condemning the righteous actions of a man after His own heart.
We can be so quick to judge others, and forget to judge ourselves. Our Father tells us to do something, and we do it, almost, then convince ourselves that we really did obey. One of those times for me was when I was young. There was a school dance, and I loved to dance (quietly hidden in my room). My parents, very strict Lutherans, did not allow dancing. I begged to be allowed to go, and was finally allowed, but only on the condition that I not dance. I obeyed, right up until the last song. The peer pressure was intense, I caved, and told my parents that I had obeyed. Well, I had obeyed! I only danced ONE dance! That is obedience, right. Just like Saul greeting Samuel, “Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.”
That worked until the next day, when one of the chaperons told my parents what a wonderful dancer I was and asked why I didn’t dance more! Did my parents see it as obedience? No, not a chance!
Reading His Word can be like being a detective, going on a scavenger hunt, or reading a mystery! You look for clues, follow them, find where they lead, then look there for the next clues to follow, and on and on until you find the heart of the matter!
Each of us is unique, our point of view is unique, and the way we describe a situation will be unique. Courts depend on these unique variations. When they find that all tell an identical or nearly identical story, it is an indication that they were prepared and most likely hiding the truth. Samuel and Chronicles certainly do not appear to be hiding anything! They are an excellent example of two different variations of the same story. But, how do we get down to the truth of this praise dancing incident?
When our Father wants us to really pay attention to something, He often brings it up again. Let’s look at this second time closely. Notice that this time an entire chapter is devoted to each attempt that David made to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. There are significant differences between David’s first attempt to bring the ark to Jerusalem and his second attempt.
Some things never change. People who are hurting hurt others; they say thoughtless and heartless things. Those around them usually draw hasty conclusions and share them, and the gossip and slander begin.
David returned to Israel to become the king of Judah, and later, the king of a united Israel. The Ark of the Covenant was precious to him. He desired that it be returned to its proper place in Israel’s life. However, moving this Ark of His Presence would not be a simple task.
