12 And it was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing. 13 And when those who bore the ark of theLord had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal. 14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn.
16 As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart. 17 And they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it. And David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 18 And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts 19 and distributed among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins to each one. Then all the people departed, each to his house.
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What a picture of worship! David had failed on his first attempt to move the ark to Jerusalem but that was not the end of the story. David was given a second opportunity and he did not waste it. He moved the ark correctly this time and he recognized the holiness of the moment. After six steps, he made a sin offering by sacrificing the bull and calf. David also recognized the joy of the moment. He danced before the ark while the community of faith shouted and played the trumpet. The passage reminds us that Michal despised David’s worship. She thought a king should act differently, with more royal dignity. Yet nothing could stop the joy of David and the community.
This Advent season may our worship of God reflect this passage. May it be filled with intentionality as we marvel again at the gift of God in sending His son, Jesus. Ask God to guide our hearts in understanding the holiness of this season. Guard our hearts, oh God, that we would not be like Michal, despising others’ joy. And may we not allow the opinions of others to dim our joy in this holiday season. Rather make our prayer that we would dance like David and shout like the community at the good news that the Savior has come!