Why King David danced like a toddler
And why his wife despised him for it.
Have you seen toddlers dancing?
At the press of a button, put on music, their bodies start shaking. It’s out of their control. And they’re shameless!
King David had the heart of a toddler.
Let me prove it to you.
Toddler David brought the ark of the covenant into his city, music blasting with cymbals, horns, and shouts. He was at the front leading the procession. It says he danced before the ark with “all his might”, with his whole body and heart (2 Samuel 6:14).
He’s so overwhelmed by God’s nearness that he forgets he is a king, strips off his royal garments, and just moves.
No shame.
He sheds his royal dignity to express himself in humility, and reverences the ark in total abandonment to God.
However, His wife Michal got jealous of him. She thought his dancing was undignified, improper, and beneath royalty. Her heart twisted. And Scripture says she “despised him”. DESPISED.
When she confronts him, she says (paraphrasing): “you embarrassed yourself. You behaved like a commoner, and a child. You made a fool of yourself. You little toddler, you think you’re a king??”
To the world, Michal’s reaction might’ve been wise and reasonable. But we know God’s wisdom opposes the wisdom of the world, and David was “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14).
Upon seeing her husband’s heart being expressed wildly for God, Jealousy was part of her reaction. But it was not a romantic jealousy. It was a deeper, more interior envy: she envied his freedom; she envied a heart that is humble and simple, a heart that can detach from the world and fully surrender to the workings of the Holy Spirit.
This is the heart of a child (Matthew 18:3-5).
He was free enough to let the love of God burst into dance. Michal couldn’t do that. Her identity was tied to status, pride, and royal decorum; to the luxuries and comforts of this world.
And since light exposes what is in the dark, David’s joy exposed her rigidity.
His response? He was dancing before the Lord, not people. And he was willing to become even more "undignified" to honor God.
Here’s his unedited legendary answer:
“I danced for the LORD. And I would do even less in the eyes of men if it meant honoring Him more.”
Ouf.
Keep on dancing buddy.
