King David, the Dancing Fool
King David, the Dancing Fool.
“The single most characteristic thing about David is God. David believed in God, thought about God, imagined God, addressed God, prayed to God. The largest part of David’s existence wasn’t David but God.” (Eugene Peterson, Leap Over A Wall.)
One of a Kind. David was totally unique in Scripture, perhaps the Bible’s most famous character. David lived from around 1040 to 970 BC. We certainly know more about him than any other biblical character. He was hand-picked by God to be anointed as King while still a young shepherd; “And from that day on, the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power.” (I Samuel 16:13). Raised a shepherd boy, the last of eight boys, the one everyone seemed to overlook, he became a renowned musician, a legendary poet, a fierce warrior, and the most beloved King in the history of Israel. He was a faithful worshiper of Yahweh, and, the highest accolade one could receive, he was “a man after God’s own heart.” (1 Samuel 13:14). Was he a prophet? Yes. His psalms prove that. Was he a priest? Well, he led worship and offered sacrifices when the ark was brought to Jerusalem, wearing a priestly garment at the time. Was he a king? Unquestionably, the greatest king of Israel. David’s life certainly hinted at his distant relative, the Messiah Jesus, who was the ultimate Prophet, Priest and King.
The Overture. David’s life was the God-song that anticipated the Christ-Song. His life was the musical piece that strongly hinted at the melodies and themes that would be heard in the Christ-Song much later. David’s life served as the musical preview that prepared us for the Song of Jesus, the son of David.
A Musician for Royalty. Young David’s skills as a musician were revealed early in his life: “Now the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and the Lord sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear… ‘Let us find a good musician to play the harp whenever the tormenting spirit troubles you, Saul. He will play soothing music, and you will soon be well again…’ And whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp. Then Saul would feel better, and the tormenting spirit would go away.’ (1 Samuel 16:14-23). David’s musical talents never left him, and were the centerpiece of his entire life and witness.
The Sweet Psalmist. In a full life of major spiritual, political, familial events, how did he see himself? The biggest clue to his self-identity is in his last address to the people, his last official words before his death. There is a phrase in II Samuel 23:1 that has been interpreted two different ways. Both versions are interesting and instructive. In the first version, he called himself the “sweet psalmist of Israel.” The other translation reads, “the favorite singer of the songs of the Mighty One.”
The Ultimate Maestro. Music was David’s life, which he proved as he took it upon himself to organize the worship for the Temple he planned but did not build. He arranged the worship music to be led by 4,000 persons with instruments, 288 accomplished singers who would lead the services with their cymbals, harps and lyres, and 120 priests who would accompany the worship with sounding trumpets! David arranged the worship music as described in 2 Chronicles 5 this way, “The trumpeters and singers performed together in unison to praise and give thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices and praised the Lord with these words: ‘The Lord Yahweh is good! His mercy endures forever!”
An Inspired Musical Tongue. After a dramatic life of tumultuous ups and downs, it appears he still at the end saw himself primarily as a musician of the Lord, the one who composed countless psalms for the God of Israel, worship songs in Scripture that continue to be revered and sung to this day. Because of his many psalms, we know he was a man who rejoiced, lamented, prophesied, praised, wept, raged, questioned, trusted, and revealed himself to be a thoroughly complex person who experienced deep emotions and profound insights. It seems that at the end of his life, David circled back and saw himself as the young boy playing his harp and singing for his sheep and for his Lord God. It’s easy to imagine David grooving to his inspired lyric from Ps. 145:8:
Vineyard Worship – The Lord Is Gracious And Compassionate [Official Lyric Video]
David Dancing before the Ark. “So David went and brought up the Ark of God to the city of David with rejoicing. And David danced before the Lord, whirling about with all his might, wearing a priestly loincloth, with shouting and with the sound of the horns… leaping and dancing before the Lord; and David said, ‘I was dancing before Yahweh, making merry out of pure enjoyment… And I am willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes!” (2 Samuel 6).
Holy Chutzpah. If there was one quality David had in his personality, it was confident, brazen audacity. With Goliath he was indeed audacious. With his manufactured crazy routine later on with the Philistines, he was outrageous. In his dance before the Ark, he was shameless. In all this, he demonstrated holy chutzpah at its finest. Rabbi Solomon Schecter once said, “Think of King David dancing before the ark! David praised God with every limb in his body, and with his head, his eyes, his mouth, his ears, his throat, his tongue, his lips, his heart, his hands, and with his feet!” (as told in Marvin Wilson’s great book, Exploring our Hebraic Heritage).
David Joyfully Rejoices in Dance. David was positively overflowing with joy as he escorted the Ark of God back to its rightful place in Jerusalem. The Ark represented the very presence of Yahweh, and it established Jerusalem as the religious center of Israel. David was thrilled that the Ark of the Covenant would be accessible for worship in Israel’s capital. So there was “great celebration” as they brought back the Ark. “David danced before the LORD, whirling about with all his might, wearing a priestly loincloth.” (2 Samuel 6). So David and all the people of Israel formed a riotous parade with shouts of joy and the blowing of ram’s horns. David wants to truly celebrate, to be raucous, boisterous, and loud in the celebration. So he appointed a choir of singers and musicians “to sing joyful songs to the accompaniment of harps, lyres and cymbals.” Then he appointed a large group to march before the Ark and blow their trumpets loudly, as another group blew their shofars, their ram’s horns, with great joy. All of Israel was shouting and cheering as they brought the Ark to Jerusalem in their holy parade. What could David do in this environment but dance? He was twirling, skipping, dancing ecstatically to demonstrate his elation at having God’s presence brought to his home city, this historic chest containing the Ten Commandments and Aaron’s budding staff. Here it was, the Jewish holy relic, built at the foot of Mt. Sinai by Moses and his craftsman, the very Ark that brings the Lord’s presence as He reveals Himself between the cherubim on the Mercy Seat! How can one contain oneself with this miracle?
“… And David stripped down to his skivvies, and then with everybody looking on including his wife Michal, David did a dance. With trumpets blaring and drums beating… how they cut loose together, David and Yahweh, whirling around before the ark in such a passion that they caught fire from each other and blazed up in a single flame of such magnificence that not even the dressing down David got from Michal afterwards could dim the glory of it.” (Frederick Buechner, Peculiar Treasures, pgs. 26-27).
A Killjoy of a Wife. But when his wife Michal saw King David “leaping and dancing before the Lord, she was filled with contempt for David.” Michal was disgusted with David for making a spectacle of himself before all the people. “How distinguished the King of Israel looked today, shamelessly exposing himself to the servant girls like any vulgar person might do!” David defended himself, and said “I was dancing before Yahweh, making merry out of pure enjoyment… And I am willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes!” After this exchange, their relationship hit the rocks, and she remained childless (2 Samuel 6:12-23). It needs to be noted that David’s priestly loincloth was basically linen underwear worn by priests when offering sacrifices. (Exodus 20:26 and 28:42). The Lord instructed the priests to wear the loincloth over bare skin. But in his celebration before Yahweh, David didn’t worry about playing the shameless fool. He said he would engage in even more of this foolishness if it was called upon!
David’s First Big Hit. David composed his first great song of thanksgiving when he placed the Ark of the Covenant in a special tent, a Tabernacle, that he had set up in Jerusalem. And what did he do immediately after housing the Ark? David proceeded to continue the joy, continue the worship, continue the music! He appointed a group of Levites to bless the Lord with lyres, harps, cymbals and trumpets in front of the Tabernacle. And David gave to these musicians a special song he wrote, just for this occasion. The psalm in 1 Chronicles 16:8-36 is a mosaic of excerpts from Psalm 105, Ps. 96, and Ps. 106.This was the first time that the appointed musicians blessed the Lord with music in David’s musical program before the Ark, music to be offered daily in worship of the God of Israel. “Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim His greatness,” began David’s song. “Let the whole world know what He has done!” David’s song of Thanksgiving was written around 1040 BC, immediately following his placing of the Ark in the Tabernacle tent in Jerusalem. His song is a high point of praise in Scripture, and it reveals David at his best, as “Israel’s singer of songs.” This song is ecstatic in praise of Yahweh, and shows the heart of David in his element, his joy in praising the Lord with exuberant music. David’s song is a heavenly mouthful. We’ll all be singing this song around the throne in Paradise. David’s song focused on who God is, and what we are to do in our faithful response.
Yahweh, the Lord (Psalm 145) – The Worship Initiative (Live)
David’s Final Psalm in the Psalter. “I will extol You, my God and King, and bless Your name forever and ever! Every day I will bless You and praise Your name forever and ever! Great is the Lord Yahweh, and greatly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall commend Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works, I will meditate. They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare Your greatness. They shall pour forth the fame of Your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. The Lord Yahweh is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord Yahweh is good to all, and His mercy is over all that He has made.” (Ps. 145:1-9).
David’s Parting Words. This Scripture passage found in 2 Samuel 23:1-5 offers insight into what was on David’s mind during his last days. “These are the last words of David: ‘David, the son of Jesse, speaks – David, the man who was raised up so high, David, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, David, the sweet psalmist of Israel. The Spirit of Yahweh speaks through me; his words are upon my tongue. The God of Israel spoke. The Rock of Israel said to me: ‘The one who rules righteously, who rules in the fear of God, is like the light of morning at sunrise, like the morning without clouds, like the gleaming of the sun on new grass after rain.’ Is it not my family God has chosen? Yes, he has made an everlasting covenant with me. His agreement is arranged and guaranteed in every detail. He will ensure my safety and success.” We find David speaking prophetically in this version of his last words. He at first rejoiced in his status before the Lord… He was raised up high by the Lord; he was hand-picked and anointed by the God of Israel; he was enabled by God to become the “sweet psalmist of Israel;” his tongue was filled with the words of the Spirit of Yahweh; he was even on speaking terms with the God of Jacob! David’s whole identity was wrapped up in his Lord. His last words are exultant in what God had done through him and for him. In his final words, David gloried in the fact that the Lord inspired him, that the Spirit of the Lord spoke directly to him, that Yahweh’s word was “on his tongue.” In the end, David was confident that he had been an inspired mouthpiece for his wondrous God.
The Greatest Holy Fool. Looking back on David’s life, it seems that it was David’s heart that set him apart. It wasn’t his artistic excellence in word and song, it wasn’t his physical beauty, it wasn’t his military valor as a warrior. Nor was it his astounding success as a king. There was something about his heart that caused Yahweh to accept David so intimately. Remember the Lord’s words at David’s early anointing… “Man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7). That’s what God was looking for, and in David that’s what He found. Because of his heartfelt trust and confidence in Yahweh, David was unafraid to play the fool. Perhaps David is the greatest holy fool in all of Scripture. The only competitor for this would be his descendant, Jesus Christ. In this case, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. There is no question that Jesus was the Son of David. David was the song before the Christ-Song, the overture before the main performance.