Did I Really Say that Worship Is Like Going to Court?
Last month I published a post on The Liturgy of Official Proceedings. I was likening our Sunday morning worship to how a courtroom proceeds according to standard, formal procedures. I’ve gotten some pushback on this, and so I thought it would be a good idea to explore this idea further.
Another Model
I grew up in a Pentecostal preacher’s home. When I say “Pentecostal” I mean what most people would think of as charismatic. The churches I grew up in used the term “Pentecostal” to distance from the weirder fringe of charismatic circles. We thought Benny Hinn was a joke, the Toronto Outpouring was weird, and anyone barking like a dog in church might have been thought of as demon-possessed, not “Spirit-filled”. But other than that, we practiced what most people think of as charismatic. Speaking in tongues, rare instances of people “slain in the Spirit”, and frequent ecstatic emotional worship.
In this perspective on worship, the church service is like a romantic encounter with God. No, I am not making that up or exaggerating. That’s why choruses about an unexpected kiss (or a sloppy wet kiss!), “when only love could make a way”, and other Jesus-is-my-boyfriend type choruses were so popular. The song service in this model of worship is supposed to be a love concert to God. I recognize that if you haven’t been a part of this style of worship you may find it hard to believe what I’m telling you. Or you may think this is a weird fringe group. But this is perfectly normal and mainstream in hundreds, if not thousands, of churches around the US. And we’re exporting this around the world.
Dancing Naked for God?
“And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!”” (2 Samuel 6:20 ESV)
This right here is the holy grail for the romantic worship model. Michael despised David, in their interpretation, for his undignified worship and was cursed by God for it. Therefore, anyone who criticizes the undignified worship of the romantic model is committing the same sin as Michael. And, after all, if David danced naked before the Lord, what excess can we go to that wouldn’t be similarly blessed by God?
Here’s some context for this passage, however. David and Israel are bringing the ark of God to Jerusalem. When this had been tried earlier, God had killed a man named Uzzah for daring to put his hand on the ark to steady it on the oxcart. This time, David has the Levites carry the ark on their shoulders as God had commanded and nobody dies. As the ark arrives in Jerusalem, all the people are rejoicing, David and all the people are singing and dancing and shouting and sounding horns. This is truly an exciting celebration!
But David isn’t actually naked. Verse 14 tells us that David is wearing a linen ephod. This would have been the sort of garment a priest or Levite wears when serving the Lord. Not the high priest, just an ordinary servant in the house of God. It’s similar to a tunic you might wear under a robe. It’s clear from her words and from David’s response that it is this humiliation, NOT the way David was rejoicing, that Michael is upset about. Michael is worried about David’s dishonoring himself and how he was dressed, not his dancing.
It’s also worth noting that every instance of orgiastic worship in the Bible is done by pagans. Whether it’s Aaron’s golden calf that prompts people to rise up to play, or the worship of Baal, or temple prostitution in the New Testament, if you want to find people dancing naked in worship, you don’t find it in the house of God, you find it devoted to an idol.
Proper Worship
David’s dancing and rejoicing end as soon as they reach the tabernacle to house the ark. Here, he offers peace offerings and burnt offerings. No emotional dancing takes place in the worship, rather the rites and ceremonies God has prescribed to be done in worship. It doesn’t specify exactly how David offered these sacrifices, but it is fair to assume that they were offered exactly according to the commands of God given in Leviticus.
And we should also not forget what prompted this enormous celebration to begin with. When David tried to bring the ark to Jerusalem in just whatever manner he pleased, God killed a man. It was only when the ark was carried according to the letter of God’s command that God allowed the ark to be transported. If you don’t think that God cares how he is worshipped, just remember the fate of Uzzah.
