1. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
James 4:10

2. Imagine for, a moment, that you have been transported back in time to another place. Back to sometime around 2000 B.C, in Jerusalem. It’s a normal day. Nothing special is going on. Maybe you’re eating lunch. Maybe you’re sweeping the house, because {you know} it's a little dusty in an open air house, on a hill, near the Mediterranean sea. Whatever you’re doing, you suddenly hear sounds. Noise. Its music. A chorus singing, with trumpets, and horns, and harps, and lyres, and cymbals. There are also people shouting! Of course you have to see what's going on out there, so you run outside to see for yourself {and it's lucky you live near the gate of the city}. You see a dead ox and some other animal, they seem to have been sacrificed right there in the street. There is a parade going by, led by a man dressed in undergarments, like a nightgown. He’s dancing wildly, concentrating and sweaty. You realize, its David, King David, your king! Then you see following him 4 priests carrying something, you gasp as you realize it's the Ark of God, the Ark of the Covenant that was lost over 20 years ago to the Philistines. You join in the procession and shout with the crowd, praising God that the Ark has been returned to Israel! The priests take the Ark into a tent and offer 7 bulls and 7 rams to God. After that King David have everyone there a cake, some meat, and fruit. You go back to your dusty Mediterranean house, filled with awe and your heart full of excitement, almost giddy from what you have just seen and been a part of. Maybe a fire has been kindled in your soul. Having been led in worship, personally by your King. Who wasn’t being high and mighty, not wearing royal robes, and no crown. He was sweaty and sincere. He was humble.
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3. A lot of this story is fictional,
We looked at it from an imagined point of view
A point of view we aren’t given in scripture
But the source of the events in our POV are Biblical
There are two sources of this event:
2 Samuel 6:12-19
1 Chronicles 15:25-28
We’re going to spend our time tonight in 2 Samuel 6
These accounts tell us about King David having the Ark of the Covenant brought to Jerusalem, the city of David, his new capital.
Through a series of events, the Ark was lost in battle to the Philistines, returned to Israel, sat in the countryside for 20 years, then finally brought to Jerusalem by David.

4. David Danced Before God
As the Ark was brought into the city, David danced before God...

5. And David danced before the LORD with all his might
And David danced before the LORD with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod.
II Samuel 6:14
v14 - And David danced before the LORD with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod. (II Samuel 6:14)
David wasn’t just skipping down the street
This wasn’t just a superficial show
He was worshiping God with his dance
With everything that he had!
We might say today that he left it all on the field
You could imagine the look of concentration on his face
He was probably sweaty, having also just sacrificed an “ox and another fattened animal”
By the way, this sacrifice wasn’t a Levitical sacrifice
David himself wasn’t authorized to perform that kind of sacrifice
Only a Levite Priest could sacrifice on the altar
This seems to be more of a personal worship, similar to his dancing
He poured his heart and soul into this dance
All while wearing a linen ephod
A robe
And undergarment basically

6. Michal Despised David While we imagined being present
Seeing David lead the people of Israel in worship
We were in awe, right?
His humility inspired us.
David’s wife, Michal, who was the daughter of the former King Saul, didn’t feel the same way.

7. As the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window...
V16 - As the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window...

8. ...and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, and she despised him in her heart.
II Samuel 6:16
...and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, and she despised him in her heart. (II Samuel 6:16)
There was a time when she loved David...
Now Saul's daughter Michal loved David… (I Samuel 18:20)
This was when Saul gave Michal to David after he had killed Goliath and he was a national hero
Brave
Strong
And very humble
He didn’t feel like he was worthy to marry the king’s daughter
But things had transpired over the years that changed all that.
It's not a story that will fit into the time we have tonight.
But not anymore, Michal didn’t love David anymore
She despised him, for his dancing
Thesaurus.com gives these synonyms for despised:
Abhorred
Detested
Loathed
I think it’s safe to say she didn’t like him very much

9. …“How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before...
And she decided to tell him, very sarcastically, how she really felt about him...
v20 - “How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before…

10. ...the eyes of his servants' female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!”
II Samuel 6:20
...the eyes of his servants' female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” (II Samuel 6:20)
Remember, he was basically wearing an undergarment
She tells David the female servants…
this probably meant something like a maid
or house servant
… that worked for his servants/men
Thing like government employees, his royal court
Saw him in his underwear!
Very noble/kingly of him right?
Then she tells him he is like a vulgar fellow
The Hebrew here has a sense of vanity
She says he was being vain
Uncovering himself…
Putting himself on display to the maids of his employees
Showing off the goods, if you will

11. David’s Response
Of course David has a response to her accusations, and it's a bit harsh, but appropriate...

12. ...“It was before the LORD, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince...
V “It was before the LORD, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince ...

13. …over Israel, the people of the LORD-and I will make merry before the LORD. I will make myself yet more contemptible than this...
… over Israel, the people of the LORD-and I will make merry before the LORD. I will make myself yet more contemptible than this ...

14. …and I will be abased in your eyes
…and I will be abased in your eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor.”
II Samuel 6:21-22
… and I will be abased in your eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor.” (II Samuel 6:21-22)
David says..
Oh you didn’t like my dance?
Good, it wasn’t for you anyway
It was for God
Remember that I replaced your father because of his pride
I’m not ashamed to humble myself
In fact, I’ll be doing it again
I’ll humble myself even lower
We can read about David’s heart in the songs and psalms he wrote
And the maids you’re so worried about
They know why I was not dressed in kingly clothes
And I am honored by them, because of my humble worship
Whew!
He really let her have it, didn’t he?

15. David’s Dance Now we see David’s heart in his dance.
I want to notice 3 things about how he came before God in his worship...

16. He Danced With All His Might 2) He Didn’t Care Who Saw
3) He Humbled Himself
He Danced with all his Might
Like we observed before
This wasn’t skipping or gallivanting (thats a great word, galavant) down the street
He was concentrating
Pouring his heart into it
He gave God all he had, mentally and physically
He didn’t care who saw
Remember his response to Michal?
His men and their maids saw
The entire city was there
v19 - “the whole multitude of Israel”
He led his people
Not only politically and militarily
But spiritually too
He humbled himself
Let’s make a note here that David wasn’t perfect
He was already married to multiple women at this time
And he would marry more still
His pride would get him in trouble more than once in his life after this
His family life was like a soap opera
He was punished near the end of his life because he wanted a census taken to see just how big his kingdom was
But he also knew when it was time to be humbled
And he did it without shame
While his history in the books of Samuel and Chronicles point out some major flaws
The Psalms show his sorrowful, repentant, and humble heart

17. How Do We Offer Our Worship To God?

18. Do We Worship With All Our Might?
We don’t make animal sacrifices or dance for God today, in Christianity
But we do give our money and our time
But more importantly
We give ourselves
The way we live our lives are a sacrifice

19. ...to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Romans 12:1
The Apostle Paul begs us…
...to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (Romans 12:1)
He wrote this to the Christians in Rome, but it applies to us as well.

20. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord…
Colossians 3:23
He also wrote to the Colossians…
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord… (Colossians 3:23)
Whatever you do, including our worship
Do we pour our hearts into our singing?
Do we sing at all?
Do we really concentrate on the prayers being led?
Do we pay attention to the messages brought in
Bible classes?
And here from the pulpit?
Worship with all of your might!

21. Do We Care Who Sees Us Worship?
David sure wasn’t ashamed to be seen worshiping God!

22. And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God...
Jesus told us this about being seen worshiping Him...
And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God...

23. ...but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.
Luke 12:8-9
...but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. (Luke 12:8-9)
There’s nothing really to comment here.
If we’re ashamed to be seen worshiping God…
there are dire
eternal consequences.
Never be ashamed to worship God

24. Do We Humble Ourselves? And finally…
Do We Humble Ourselves? -in our worship...
It's just not human nature to be humble
As Americans, we’re certainly not humble
I’m a new Texan, but I know Texans aren’t very humble about being Texans!
And its ok to have pride in our county and our home states…
But don’t let it overshadow your humility as a Christian
Don’t let your patriotism overshadow your Christianity
Michal told David he humiliated himself in front of Israel
He said yes, that he did humiliate himself
But not in the eyes of the Israelites
He humiliated himself before God

25. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
James 4:10
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. (James 4:10)
Come humble before the throne of God.

26. Maybe you’re here tonight and haven’t been humble before God
And would like Christians of this congregation to pray for you, we’ll be happy to pray together for you
Maybe you aren’t a Christian yet
If you want to humble yourself before God
To the plan of salvation in Jesus death, burial, and resurrection...
To be baptized, to wash away your sins and be saved
Please come forward as we stand and sing