The King's Undignified Dance Text: 2 Samuel 6:12-15
Introduction: Two Kinds of Fear
The presence of God is not a tame thing. We moderns have a bad habit of treating God like a celestial housecat, a comforting presence that we can pet when we feel like it and ignore the rest of the time. But the God of the Bible is a consuming fire. His presence is the most dangerous and most wonderful reality in the universe. And how you approach that presence determines everything.
The Ark of the Covenant was the physical manifestation of God's throne on earth. It was where His glory dwelt between the cherubim. And David, in his zeal to bring the presence of God into the heart of his kingdom, had made a terrible mistake. He had treated the Ark with a kind of casual, innovative familiarity, putting it on a new cart like the Philistines did. The result was the sudden death of Uzzah, who reached out to steady it. This produced a holy fear in David, and rightly so. He exclaimed, "How can the ark of Yahweh come to me?" and left it at the house of a man named Obed-edom.
This sets up a crucial contrast. For three months, the presence of God that brought death to the presumptuous Uzzah brought nothing but blessing to the household of the humble Obed-edom. God's presence is a two-edged sword. It brings judgment on irreverence, and it brings overflowing blessing on simple, welcoming faith. When David hears of this blessing, his fear is transformed. He does not abandon his quest, but he changes his entire approach. He learns that the proper response to the holy presence of God is not to keep it at a distance, but to approach it with blood-bought, exuberant, and even undignified joy. This is the difference between the slavish fear that runs away from God, and the filial fear that runs to Him on His own terms.
What we are about to witness is one of the greatest worship services in the Old Testament. It is a rebuke to all our stiff, self-conscious, and anemic forms of praise. It is a portrait of a king who was not afraid to look like a fool for the glory of his God.
The Text
Then it was told to King David, saying, "Yahweh has blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, on account of the ark of God." So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with gladness.
And so it happened, that when those who were carrying the ark of Yahweh had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling.
And David was dancing before Yahweh with all his strength, and David was girded with a linen ephod.
So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of Yahweh with shouting and the sound of the trumpet.
(2 Samuel 6:12-15 LSB)
Gladness Born of Blessing (v. 12)
The story turns on the report that comes to David.
"Then it was told to King David, saying, 'Yahweh has blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, on account of the ark of God.' So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with gladness." (2 Samuel 6:12)
The news about Obed-edom is the key that unlocks David's heart. The very thing that had terrified him is now shown to be a fountain of life. God is not an arbitrary tyrant looking for reasons to strike men down. He is a generous King looking for vessels to fill with His goodness. Obed-edom simply opened his home, and God opened the windows of heaven. Everything he had was blessed "on account of the ark of God."
This teaches us that God's presence is not a neutral reality. It actively works, either for blessing or for cursing. When it is received with simple faith and reverence, it sanctifies and enriches everything it touches. Your business, your family, your livestock, your checking account, all of it comes under the waterfall of divine favor when God is at the center of your home.
David's response is immediate and instructive. He doesn't just try again; he tries again "with gladness." The fear of God has not been erased, but it has been properly educated. He now understands that the terror of God is reserved for the proud and the careless, while the gladness of God is the inheritance of the humble. His mission is renewed, not with grim determination, but with joyful anticipation. This is what the gospel does. It doesn't remove the fear of God's holiness; it satisfies it at the cross, so that we can draw near with boldness and joy, knowing that the fire that consumes His enemies now warms His children.
Six Paces to the Altar (v. 13)
David's gladness is not a flippant or casual happiness. It is a holy joy, grounded in the gravity of what is required to approach God.
"And so it happened, that when those who were carrying the ark of Yahweh had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling." (2 Samuel 6:13)
Here we see the crucial difference between the first and second attempts. The first attempt was marked by a man-made convenience, the new cart. This second attempt is marked by blood. Every six steps, the entire procession stops. Think of the logistics. Every six paces, an altar is used, an ox and a fattened calf are slaughtered, and the sacrifices are offered. This is not a parade; it is a slow, deliberate, bloody, and costly act of worship.
The theological lesson is impossible to miss. Access to the presence of God is only possible through atonement. Every step we take in our walk with God must be covered by the blood. David understood that he and his people could not presume upon God's grace. Their gladness had to be a purchased gladness. Their dancing had to be dancing on sacrificial ground.
This points us directly to the Lord Jesus Christ. We do not have to offer a sacrifice every six paces because He, our great High Priest, offered Himself once for all. Hebrews tells us we have "confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus" (Heb. 10:19). Our entire Christian life, from the first step out of darkness to the last step into glory, is made possible by that one sacrifice. The reason we can have a joy that is not presumptuous is because it is a joy that is eternally grounded in the shed blood of the Lamb.
Stripped for Worship (v. 14)
With the foundation of sacrifice laid, the worship can now be unleashed in all its fullness.
"And David was dancing before Yahweh with all his strength, and David was girded with a linen ephod." (2 Samuel 6:14)
This is the climax of the scene. David, the king of Israel, the mighty warrior, is dancing. And the text emphasizes the nature of this dance: it was "with all his strength." This was not a dignified, royal waltz. This was a whirling, leaping, spinning, full-bodied explosion of physical exertion. He was holding nothing back. He was spending all his energy in an act of pure, physical adoration. He was dancing "before Yahweh," for an audience of One.
But the most significant detail is his attire. He was "girded with a linen ephod." This was a simple, short garment worn by priests. It means that David had taken off his royal robes. He had stripped himself of the symbols of his own majesty and power. He was not approaching God as King David, but simply as David the worshipper. In the presence of the King of Kings, he was content to be a servant. This was an act of profound humility. He was laying his crown at the feet of Yahweh before he even had a permanent place to put the Ark.
This is a direct assault on all our notions of respectable, dignified religion. We are so often more concerned with what others will think of us than with giving God the glory He is due. David's worship was undignified. It was sweaty. It was extravagant. And, as we will see, it was offensive to the proud. But it was glorious to God, because it was the overflow of a heart that was utterly captivated by Him, a heart that cared nothing for its own reputation and everything for God's.
A Symphony of Praise (v. 15)
This was not a solo performance. The king's worship led the entire nation into praise.
"So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of Yahweh with shouting and the sound of the trumpet." (2 Samuel 6:15)
The worship was corporate: "all the house of Israel." True worship is never a purely individualistic affair. It draws the community together into a unified chorus of praise. The king's example set the tone for the people. When leaders are unashamed in their love for God, the people are emboldened to follow.
And the worship was loud. It was accompanied by "shouting and the sound of the trumpet." This was a triumphant procession. They were escorting their victorious King into His capital city. This is not the atmosphere of a library or a funeral parlor. It is the atmosphere of a coronation, a victory parade. The shout was the teruah, a battle cry, a cry of victory and acclamation. The trumpet, the shofar, was used to announce the presence of the king and to call the people to attention.
This is the sound of a people who are alive, who are joyful, who are unashamed of their God. It is a far cry from the mumbled hymns and passionless prayers that characterize so much of our worship today. God is not hard of hearing, but He is worthy of our noise. He is worthy of our shouts, our songs, our trumpets, and all the strength we can muster.
Conclusion: The Greater David's Dance
This entire scene is a magnificent portrait of true worship, but it is more than that. It is a prophetic picture of a greater King and a greater procession. David, in stripping off his royal robes to humble himself before the Ark, is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul tells us that Jesus, "though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant" (Philippians 2:6-7). He stripped Himself of His heavenly glory, not just of a robe. He humbled Himself, not just in a dance, but to the point of death, even death on a cross. He is the ultimate priest-king who, through the sacrifice of Himself, has brought the very presence of God not into a city of stone, but into the hearts of His people.
Because of His sacrifice, we are now the temple of the Holy Spirit. God dwells in us. And because of this glorious reality, our response should be one of perpetual, Davidic joy. We have far more reason to dance than David did. The substance of what the Ark only signified is now our present possession in Christ.
Therefore, let us cast off the grave clothes of our self-conscious dignity. Let us approach God on the basis of Christ's blood alone, and let us do so with gladness. Let us worship Him with all our strength, with shouting, and with song. Let us not be ashamed to be fools for Christ's sake. For the King who stripped Himself for us is worthy of the worship that holds nothing back.