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Dancing In Worship: What The Bible Says by philpwresh(m): 5:49pm On Feb 27, 2017 |
Answer: Dance is mentioned on
many occasions in Scripture. The
first appearance of God’s people
dancing as an act of worship is
found in Exodus 15:20: “Miriam the
prophetess, Aaron's sister, took a
tambourine in her hand, and all the
women followed her, with
tambourines and dancing.” This
joyful dance to the Lord, led by
Miriam, followed Israel’s crossing of
the Red Sea and celebrated Israel’s
newfound freedom from slavery.
However, dancing is not always
presented in a positive light in the
Bible. Soon after Miriam’s dance of
praise, the Israelites were found
dancing before a golden calf in
worship. “When Moses approached
the camp and saw the calf and the
dancing, his anger burned and he
threw the tablets out of his hands,
breaking them to pieces at the foot
of the mountain” (Exodus 32:19).
On this occasion dancing was part
of a wicked, idolatrous carousal.
Thus, dancing is a mode of
expression that can be used for
good or for evil.
Other instances of dancing in the
Bible Include 2 Samuel 6:16, which
has David “leaping and dancing
before the LORD.” Also, the
Amalekites danced in celebration
after plundering Judah and Philistia
( 1 Samuel 30:16); theirs was a
short-lived dance, however, as
David and his men soon defeated
them (verses 17-20).
The Psalms offer a unique look at
dance as an act of worship. In
Psalm 30:11, the psalmist says,
“You turned my wailing into
dancing.” Psalm 149:3 encourages
the use of dancing to worship God:
“Let them praise his name with
dancing!” Likewise, Psalm 150:4
urges, “Praise him with tambourine
and dancing!” just like Miriam.
Some have argued that dance is an
Old Testament form of expression.
Since dance is not mentioned as a
method of worship in the New
Testament, Christians should not
worship in this manner. However,
this is an argument from silence
and is not based on clear biblical
teaching. Most early Christians
were Jewish and likely would have
incorporated Jewish forms of
worship in their praise to the risen
Messiah.
Another concern has been the
association of dance with sinful
activities. The idea is that, if dance
is used in worship, it could be seen
as approving dance in other
situations that do not honor God.
However, this is not necessarily the
case. The Amalekites’ dancing in 1
Samuel did not prevent David from
dancing in 2 Samuel. Christians can
and should utilize dance as they do
any other art form such as music,
painting, drama, or filmmaking. As
long as dance is worshipful, God-
focused, and praiseworthy, it can
have a proper place in worship.
Worship dance is a far cry from the
seductive dance of the daughter of
Herodias ( Mark 6:17-28).
Finally, it is important to understand
that dance in the context of
worship is not simply self-
expression. It should be done in a
way that is helpful to the entire
congregation. Paul noted that
“everything should be done in a
fitting and orderly way” in the
church ( 1 Corinthians 14:40).
“Everything” would include the use
of dance in worship. Anything
during a worship gathering that
distracts from a focus on Christ
should be left out. Each
congregation bears the
responsibility to structure its
worship service in a way that
honors God and encourages those
within their group.
Dance is used as an act of worship
in Scripture and can continue to be
used in that way today. However,
churches should take care to avoid
dance that leads others to
temptation or sin, and the focus
must remain on worshiping God
rather than drawing attention to
self. When practiced in this way,
dance is a beautiful art form that
can communicate truth, bringing
glory to God and edifying others. |
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