What Does Worship Look Like?
What does a reaction to the revelation of God’s presence look like, and how does it reflect in our worship? In this blog, we examine how King David displayed that worship is an awakened affection that is more than showing up on Sunday.
Scripture Context
The Ark was Israel’s national treasure and most sacred object; it was the presence of God among His people. It had been kept in the Tabernacle, in the Most Holy Place, a curtained-off location where only the High Priest would enter on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
The Philistines (an enemy of Israel) had captured the Ark more than 20 years prior but soon gladly sent it back after God destroyed the idol of their god Dagon and the people were stricken with tumors. Since then, Abinadab had been housing the Ark about 20 miles west of Jerusalem (in Kiriath-Jearim) after its return from the Philistines.
When David established his throne in Jerusalem, he determined to bring the Holy Ark to his new capital, to provide the focus for worship and a rallying point for the nation, and the most important thing: The very presence of God to reside in the capital city of Jerusalem.
[READ MORE: The God-Honoring Way]
Hearing But Not Hearing
As the Old and New Testaments both declare, David was a man after God’s own heart, and what he ultimately craved was the presence of God. He wanted the glory of God back and centered among His people.
In your walk with Christ or exploration of Christianity, is there something inside you that asks a similar question? There has to be something more to life, right?
Blaise Pascal said we all have a God-shaped hole in our life that only He can fill. If you’re asking that same question, note David’s pattern. David craves God’s presence because he knows only God’s presence can be deeply satisfied.
The novelty of everything in this life will fade. Everything we chase will eventually lose its appeal, fade and rust. However, the manifest presence of God never fades. He makes all things new, constantly renewing and pouring out His love.
David was on a holy mission with great significance and meaning.
He organized a parade of 30,000 men to bring the Ark back to Jerusalem. 2 Samuel 6:5 tells us that David celebrated “with songs on lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals.” He is worshiping because he had a revelation of God in his heart. He heard the words of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, and his spirit was open to the living God.
However, Michal, David’s wife and the daughter of Saul, is not.
As she watches David leap, dance and offer burnt sacrifices, she is disgusted by his demeanor. Michal doesn’t worship because she is insensitive to God’s revelations (Torah), and He hasn’t entered her heart. It hasn’t become personal to her yet. (More on that soon)
“‘They may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise, they might turn and be forgiven!’” Mark 4:12
But when you have a revelation of God’s Gospel, the beauty of His love and grace will stir a response. Affections for Christ awaken through:
Being taken from your dead state to new life.
Being forgiven and saved from your sins by Jesus.
The experience of God’s presence.
David demonstrated affection upon entering Jerusalem, as 2 Samuel 6:16 says, by “leaping and dancing before the Lord.”
Do you think David’s behavior is a little over the top? You may think grown men, particularly dignified men, and women, don’t act this way. But truthfully, is it?
Have you been to an SEC football game? Have you heard stories about fans of the Premiere League fútbol teams? Has your team ever gone to the ultimate championship game of its respective league?
During such matches, grown men and women leap, shout, dance, and sing for their team. The point is the human response to something that feels significant is normative. With that consideration, David’s response with worship to God’s revelation (Torah) is because he has given attention to it. The king’s demonstrative response is to God’s presence.
Showing Up To Worship
A worship gathering is a movement; thus, if the joy of the Lord is filling your heart, wouldn’t you express the exuberance in light of His revelations?
However, Mical showed up for the worship celebration at some distance as she looked out her window, but it was never anything more than that.
How often do we similarly view worship? We view going to church only as a means of showing up, a phrase we use in Christendom occasionally. “Hurry up, kids, we’ll be late for church!”
I feel tension with this phrase and ideology because it is complex and multifaceted. We go to fellowship together, but the church is not a building. Instead, it is the Body of Christ, the congregation. We don’t go to church, we go to worship, and Michal “showed up to church.”
Worship is never worship until worship is a verb for you. David honored and enjoyed God’s glory and presence because he realized it was not a noun.
I think the most overplayed song in Christendom over the last decade is “I Can Only Imagine” by MercyMe. However, it remains a great and thought-provoking song when you analyze the lyrics. The author paints a picture of how he might respond one day when He is in the Lord’s presence:
Surrounded by your glory
What will my heart feel
Will I dance for you, Jesus
Or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence
Or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing the hallelujah
Will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine
The point is, when you are in God’s presence, there will be a response.
But for Michal, there’s no response to the Lord’s revelation or presence. The parade was a worship gathering that celebrated God’s beauty and glory, but she was indifferent and apathetic.
A Captive Heart
For Michal, her response was based on the perception of others and her own unreconciled anger toward her husband, David.
“And David returned to bless his household. But Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet David and said, ‘How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!’” 2 Samuel 6:20
She accused David of dancing like a commoner and beneath his station in life with no robe or crown to set him apart as more important than others. Her basis for criticism reflects her worldview: She valued people’s opinions more than God’s. [READ MORE: Battling People-Pleasing; 3 Keys to Overcoming the Fear of Man]
David doesn’t allow what Michal thinks or what other people think to diminish his display of affection for God’s joy and presence. She is people focused instead of God-focused. Which leads to us seeing things as we are and not as they are.
“So David said to Michal, ‘It was before the LORD, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel; therefore I will celebrate before the LORD. ‘lightly esteemed than this and will be humble in my own eyes, but with the maids of whom you have spoken, with them I will be distinguished.’ Michal, the daughter of Saul, had no child to the day of her death.…” 2 Samuel 6:21-23
I want to call attention to that final verse to address what it is NOT saying. Many couples struggle with fertility challenges, and this verse is not prescriptive for your circumstance. You are not cursed; that is not the meaning. I am convinced the Scriptures sometimes give us physical pictures to help us understand spiritual realities. There is a barrenness in unforgiveness, resentment, and bitterness.
Michal’s father was Saul, the King before David. Even while Saul was still reigning, David was named as his successor, God’s anointed king, which sent him into a spiral of fear and paranoia. Saul became so burdened by David’s appointment that he even tried to have him killed.
Michal never let go of her father’s grief. Regardless of his actions, she resented David because of who he was and what he represented. In that process, she also resented God. She hasn’t appropriated the revelation of God’s grace and mercy in her heart so that the captive would be set free.
Title or Testimony?
“Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might…” 2 Samuel 6:14
I want you to note that this was dignified clothing. David was not dancing unclothed nor in his underwear. A linen ephod was the attire of the priests. Therefore, David was serving as if he was a priest.
“David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as also were all the Levites who were carrying the Ark, and the singers and Chenaniah, the leader of the music of the singers. And David wore a linen ephod.” 1 Chronicles 15:27
An ephod was a priestly garment; there was nothing immodest about it. David laid aside the outward garments of royalty that identified him as king to honor being in the presence of the King of Kings.
David dressed down to honor the One Who is lifted up. His kingly apparel would have designated him above the others, but he was now dressed like the rest of the Levites bearing the Ark. Instead, he worshipped in humility before his Lord and the Ark.
David was laying aside his title for the sake of lifting God’s testimony. What about you?
TL;DR
David’s reverent response to the Ark of the Covenant, symbolizing God’s presence, is contrasted with Michal’s critical attitude.
David’s heartfelt worship, expressed through dancing, highlights the awakening of affection in God’s presence.
Worship requires genuine expressions of love and reverence for God rather than being concerned with others’ opinions.
The consequences of a critical mindset like Michal’s emphasize the importance of prioritizing God’s approval and avoiding spiritual barrenness.
Related Reading
Fear Not; How to Flourish in Your God-Given Talents by Rev. Paul Lawler
The Battle of People-Pleasing: 3 Keys to Overcoming the Fear of Man by Rev. Paul Lawler
What is the Fear of the Lord? by Rev. Paul Lawler