"Celebrating with All Their Might"

Hello! Glad you stopped by. I'm getting back into my blogging rhythm. I find it particularly interesting how the OT and NT readings echo each other. Read on below to see what I'm talking about!


Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Thursday: Fill in the blanks: “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s ________, God’s _____________.” (I Cor 3)

And here's the question of the day:
Friday: What is David’s reaction when Nathan tells him that God said, “I will be his father and he will be my son. . . . But my love will never be taken away from him. . .” (2 Sam 7)


And here's the reflection of the day:
David is generally accepted to be the epitome of leadership, primarily because he was chosen by and protected by the Lord Almighty. And in today's reading from 2 Samuel 6, we see another aspect of his kingship, which is appealing to some but a turn off to others.

As David "and the whole house of Israel" bring the Ark of the Covenant out of Judah into the City of David, they were "celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals" (v 5).

What a great turn of phrase--"celebrating with all their might." This isn't just the dance scene from the Peanuts' Christmas movie; this is the Irish "Riverdance" show and the Broadway musical "Stomp" and the TV show "So You Think You Can Dance" all rolled into one! This is a serious celebration. It is full of wild abandon and passion and devotion to God. It is an expression of the overwhelming gratitude David and Israel are feeling because they have regained the ark of God.

But Michal, one of David's wives, is not pleased. I'm not sure if she's more embarrassed that her husband would behave in such an undignified way OR if she is embarrassed that her king would behave in such an unseemly manner. Either way, "she despised him in her heart" (6:16). She expressed her contempt to David. David kept his cool and tried to explain to her why he did what he did: "It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord's people Israel--I will celebrate before the Lord" (6:21). He will be even more undignified, he tells Michal, in order to give God glory.

This part of 2 Samuel reflects some of what we're reading in 1 Corinthians. 1 Cor. 4:10 says, "We are fools for Christ." That's what David was doing.

Paul was talking to people, who think like Michal, when he wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:18-19, "Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a 'fool' so that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight."

How foolish are you willing to be for Christ? How foolish are you willing to allow your church to be? How can you celebrate with all your might everything God has done for you?

Allison