Read 2 Samuel 6:12-16

12 Then King David was told, “The Lord has blessed Obed-edom’s household and everything he has because of the Ark of God.” So David went there and brought the Ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the City of David with a great celebration. 13 After the men who were carrying the Ark of the Lord had gone six steps, David sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. 14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might, wearing a priestly garment. 15 So David and all the people of Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouts of joy and the blowing of rams’ horns.

16 But as the Ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she was filled with contempt for him. (NLT)

It can be that in times of celebration there are two types of people. Those who celebrate and those who watch the celebration. That latter group can sometimes be critical observers, unwilling to join in, wondering what all the fuss is about, determined not to make a fool of themselves.

King David’s wife Michal seemingly belongs to that category. David is celebrating the return of the Ark of the Covenant to its rightful place in Jerusalem. This was a chest containing the Ten Commandments. David is dressed in what would have amounted to something like a skirt. A man dancing in a skirt needs to have a very special reason to dance in a skirt! David figured he did. His own dignity was secondary to his deeply felt delight.

Not so with Michal. She only saw a man making a fool of himself. Her heart was not intent on celebration. As such, she may be representative of those who are suspicious of ‘letting go’, wary of emotion. This finds expression in the concern of some today that we must be careful of too much emotion in church—as if emotion were more dangerous than intellect!

The gospel is good news and it is right that our emotions are fully engaged in our response to it. In our rightful desire not to go off the deep end, beware of going off the shallow end. We can do damage either way.

Blessings
David Reay

Get daily encouragement delivered straight to your inbox

Writers from our Real Hope community offer valuable wisdom and insights based on their own experiences!

Subscribe + stay connected with all
our latest stories

Hope 103.2 is proudly supported by