Dancing & Bible

Nowadays dancing is not often associated with faith or with the Church. There is nevertheless an age-old tradition surrounding "dancing for God". This shows from different parts of the bible in which the words 'dance' or 'dancing' appear.

In the old testament dancing is often associated with joy. Dancing is regularly placed against mourning, like in the book Ecclesiastes:

"He sets the time for sorrow and the time for joy, the time for mourning and the time for dancing." (Ecclesiastes 3,4)

Also in the Psalms and in Jeremiah dancing is placed against mourning:

"You have turned my mourning into dancing for me. You have removed my sackcloth, and clothed me with gladness." (Psalm 30,11)

"The LORD says: Sing with joy for Israel, the greatest of the nations. Sing your song of praise, 'The LORD has saved his people; he has rescued all who are left.' They shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow to the goodness of Yahweh, to the grain, and to the new wine, and to the oil, and to the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all. Then the young women will dance and be happy, and men, young and old, will rejoice. I will comfort them and turn their mourning into joy, their sorrow into gladness." (Jeremiah 31, 7,12-13)

Also apart from mourning, dancing is used to express joy. You can read several times that dancing is used to praise the Lord, to express the greatness of God:

"Praise him with drums and dancing. Praise him with harps and flutes." (Psalm 150,4)

"David, wearing only a linen cloth around his waist, danced with all his might to honor the LORD." (2 Samuel 6,14)

"David answered: 'I was dancing to honor the LORD, who chose me instead of your father and his family to make me the leader of his people Israel. And I will go on dancing to honor the LORD'." (2 Samuel 6,21)

"David and all Isreal danced with all their might to honor God. They sang and played musical instruments -harps, drums, cymbals, and trumpets." (1 Chronicles 13,8)

In the three verses above, the verses about David, it looks like the initiative to dance comes from David and the people. But when you read the words a little more precisely, and also the context in which it is written, you find out that the people start dancing when God has done something special for them. Or when God has shown his greatness to the people. In this way, dancing seems to be an expression of the mutual love between God and His people: God does something for His people and the people answer to this love by dancing for Him.
The relationship between dancing and the mutual love between God and His people appears very clearly from the following bible verses:

"In the desert I showed mercy to those people who had escaped death. When the people of Israel longed for rest, I appeared to them from far away. People of Israel, I have always loved you, so I continue to show you my constant love. Once again I will rebuild you. Once again you will take up your tambourines and dance joyfully." (Jeremiah 31,2-4)

So the dancing is related to the love between God and His people. Actually, the whole bible is about this love between God and His people, because the bible is the story of the history of salvation between God and His people. Dancing is part of this history of salvation and is mainly placed at the end of it, when the history is completed and God (Jesus, the Bridegroom) is united with His bride (the people of Israel). When this happens, people will dance joyfully.
Another biblical image that is oftenly used as a symbol for this wedding feast, where God and His people will be united, is wine. The bible speaks often about wine and many comparisons are made with branches, vines and vineyards. In these comparisons God is the Lord of the vineyard, Jesus is the true vine and the people are the branches, who have to be set upon the true vine. If we live according to the will of God, we produce lots of fruit and good wine can be made of our fruits. We can drink this good wine at the Wedding between God and His people and there will be joy. And when there is joy, people will dance.

When we look at it in this way, dancing can be on a par with wine. The following comparison can be made between dancing and wine: the wine is the product that is made of the fruit (grapes) of the vines, which are set upon the true vine. The dance is the product of movements of the body, the body that is in the true body (the Body of Christ). This comparison is simplified in the following scheme:

The wine is good wine when the vines are set upon the true vine, but the wine becomes sour when we are not focused on Jesus (set upon the true Vine). It's the same with dancing. The dance is beautiful and joyful when it arises from unity with God, but the dance becomes dissolute and bad when it arises from disunity with God. So, we have to be united with God so that the fruit of our dance is love. We have to be united with God so that the movements of our body are an expression of the Body of Christ.

In short one can say that dancing, just like wine, is symbolic for the joy there will be when God and His people are united with each other in love. Dance, as well as wine, is thus an expression of the love between God and His people.