Have you ever danced in worship? You probably know the story of David dancing with excitement as he carried the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem in 2 Samuel 6 (and 1 Chronicles 15 as well). David brought thirty thousand young men of Israel along with his men and went to Baalah (Kiriath Jearim) in Juda to bring up the ark of God. But this first attempt of David to carry the ark to Jerusalem turned into a disaster that resulted in Uzzah’s death. This was because David did not follow the Lord’s instruction to have the Levites carry the Ark of the Covenant on their shoulders (Num 4:15; 7:9), but instead transported the ark of God putting it on a cart, as the Philistines had done before (1 Sam 6:11).
David was angry and afraid of God, and he did not want to bring up the ark to Jerusalem. So, he took the ark to the house of Obed-Edom, and it remained there for three months. Then, the Lord blessed Obed-Edom and his entire household. This led David to realize “the sacredness of the law of God and the necessity of strict obedience,” and he hoped again “that the ark might bring a blessing to him and to his people” (Patriarchs and Prophets, 706). Now David took a closer look at God’s instruction and had the Levites carry the ark to Jerusalem. With fear, he watched as the men carrying the ark of the covenant took six steps, and then he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. Now joy had replaced his fear. He laid aside his royal garments and put on a linen ephod. He did not want to be a king before God but a mere worshipper confessing that only the Lord was to be adored. His joy and gratitude to God intensified, and he began to dance in the presence of the LORD God while many people were watching him. He did not care that he was a king. Rather he was thinking of God alone and exalting His name.
Everyone was happy and thankful except one. It was Michal, the daughter of Saul. (Notice that in the narrative of 2 Samuel 6, she is consistently called “the daughter of Saul” in verses 16, 20, and 23, not as the wife of David.) “[W]hen she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart” (v. 17, NIV). When David came back to his family later, she said to him, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!” (v. 20). Michal could not understand David’s behavior at all. She was raised in the royal family. She must have valued the dignity and authority of royalty. Back then, dancing was reserved for women of low status. She could not accept that a king would remove his royal robes, wearing only a linen ephod, and even dance in front of many people as maids did. When she despised David, she dishonored the Lord as well.
David sternly answered, “It was before the LORD” (v. 21). (The phrase “before the Lord” is repeated six times in the chapter, once each in verses 5, 14, 16, 17, and twice in verse 21.) The Lord had delivered David from all his tribulations and established him as king of Israel. Even though his mistake caused a terrible disaster in the first attempt to bring up the ark to Jerusalem, the LORD had forgiven his sin. Now, the Ark of the Covenant, the token of God’s presence, was being brought into Jerusalem, where he dwelled. David could not suppress his gratitude and praise for the Lord’s salvation and forgiveness and His presence with him and his people. So, he danced before the LORD. However, it was impossible for Michal to understand that since she had never experienced God’s salvation and forgiveness, and God’s presence meant nothing to her. The story ends that Michal was unable to have children until her death. The Lord accepted David’s worship with dance and punished Michal for her pride and arrogance.
I am not arguing now that we must dance in the divine service. Personally, to be honest, I am not used to worship dance. But this does not mean that I am against those who use dance as one of the ways of worshipping the Lord. It is my Korean Adventist background that makes me feel foreign to such worship culture. The same goes for using drums in church worship. As far as I know, no Adventist church in Korea has a drum set in their sanctuaries. However, many of our sister Adventist churches in Ontario play drums in their worship services. At the camp meeting of the Ontario Conference this year, the youth and young adults did, too. If they do that “before the LORD,” I believe no one can criticize them. Besides, there are many instances of the use of drums in the Bible (cf. Ps 150:3-5, 1 Chr 15:16, Isa 5:12, 2 Sam 6:5, Exod 15:20, Judg 11:34). The bottom line is that all this is a matter of culture, not doctrine.
For the past ten months, in addition to opening and closing hymns, we have had a praise time in the middle of the worship service. In the praise, we usually sing three songs: one hymn and two contemporary worship songs. We have added a keyboard and an electric guitar and occasionally use percussion lightly. The pastoral team carefully chooses songs in harmony with the message preached on that Sabbath day, and the praise team gathers every Friday night to practice and rehearse. I and the other pastors are aware that some of our members feel foreign to some songs we sing in worship. I do understand those who feel uncomfortable with some music. Generally speaking, older generations tend to be more comfortable with hymns, while younger generations tend to like singing contemporary worship songs. This is why we sing three hymns in opening and closing and in praise time, as well as two contemporary worship songs in praise.
A Seventh-day Adventist Philosophy of Music (October 13, 2004) states: “We should recognize and acknowledge the contribution of different cultures in worshiping God”. Whether it is traditional or contemporary, every music in our worship service must be performed “before the LORD.” If we have truly experienced God’s forgiveness and salvation and are sincerely grateful for his love and grace, we will be able to praise God through either hymns or contemporary worship songs. Both of them can contribute to making our worship better.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, let us be David, not Michal. Let us be a true worshipper, not a critic. I respectfully ask you to be open-minded to our church’s worship music. In fact, many of the disagreements in the church are cultural, not doctrinal, and these are things that can be overcome with respect and understanding. What truly matters is whether the music we play and the songs we sing are being offered before the LORD and whether we praise God with all our heart, soul, and strength. If you find that you are unfamiliar with new songs and have difficulties keeping up with the melody, rhythm, and tempo when singing, focus more on the lyrics and try to sing along at least a little bit. God knows your heart and will accept your praise. Please pray for and encourage the musicians and singers in our church. Most of them are teens and young adults, and they need your encouraging words. Of course, they sing and play the instruments for the glory of God, but your words of appreciation and compliment will encourage them and push them to devote themselves even more to serving the Lord with music.
Thank you so much for reading this long post. I pray that God will lead you through the right path. May the Lord bless you!