DANCE

MIRIAM: "And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out with her with timbrels and dances. And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously, the horse and rider He hath thrown into the sea. Ex 15:20.

BACKSLIDDEN DANCERS: "And it came to pass, as soon as he saw nigh unto the camp; that he saw the calf nigh unto the camp, then he saw the calf and the dancing: and Mose's anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hand, and broke them beneath the mount." Ex 32:19

JEPTHAH CAME TO MIZPEH: "And Jepthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came to meet him with timbrels and dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had no son or daughter." Judges 11:34.

DANCE OF DEATH: Matt 14:6-12.

CELEBRATION DANCING: "And it came to pass, when David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing to meet King Saul with tabrets, with joy and with instruments of music. And the women answered one another, Saul hath slain thousands, and David his ten thousands." 1 Sam 18:6-7.

DANCING BEFORE THE LORD: "And David danced before the Lord with all his might: and David was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. And as the Ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal, Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart." 2 Sam 6:14-16.

INFANT DANCERS: "They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children danced." Job 21:11.

SORROW GIVES WAY TO DANCING: "Thou has turned my mourning into dancing: Thou has put off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness." Ps 30:11.

DANCE OF PRAISE: "Let them praise Him with the dance; let them sing praises unto Him with the timbrel and harp." Ps 149:3,4.

DANCE OF PRAISE: "Praise Him with the timbrel and dance. Praise Him with stringed instruments and organs." Ps 150:4.

A TIME TO DANCE: "A time to weep and a time to laugh: a time to mourn and a time to dance." Ecc 3:4.

ISRAEL DANCING: "Again, I will build thee, and thou shall be built, O virgin of Israel; thou shall be adorned with tabrets, and shall go forth in the dances of them that make merry." Jer 31:4.

DANCING CURTAILED: "The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance has turned into mourning." Lam 5:15.

MUSIC WITHOUT DANCING: Jesus said, "And we have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented." Matt 11:17.

Dance, dance wherever you may be;
I AM the LORD of the dance said HE!!

Dance, dance wherever you may be;
I AM the LORD of the dance said HE!!

As a young kid I disliked that hymn because it sounded like it was promoting dance rather than Christ with a quote that isn't explicitly in the Bible.

I have not heard/read the hymn for nearly 30 years and know very little about it. Christ is obviously the LORD of all so I'm not judging it, just saying how it came across to me at that age.

PassingThru

Ecclesiastes 3:4
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

Fascinating subject; someone should do a sermon on this and perhaps even a broader discussion on the use of rythmical instruments and what is good and what is bad. Is a repetitive beat bad like in modern day dance music? Did anyone use a drum in the bible? Is a thumping bass drum bad but tambourine good?
Here is an example of people literally dancing themselves to death: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing_mania

My personal belief is that it is the spirit behind what is being offered. Are we feeding the flesh or the spirit. Are we really worshipping the Creator of the universe or just working up our flesh.

I love true worship music. It lifts my heart into the presence of my Lord, I hate un-worship music that seeks only to awaken my soulish man.

There is a big difference between the two. It really is easily discerned. Just what is stimulated when you participate? Heart or flesh.

A great book if anyone is interested is Watchman Nee's "The Latent Power of the Soul". It gives a real good description of what is spirit and what is soul.

There are many place in the word that talk about dancing before the Lord, as mentioned in the first post. The question is, are the dancers drawing attention to themselves or just worshipping the Lord oblivious to the rest of the world. If they are trying to look good, show what great dancers they are, etc. they have their reward. If they are lost in Jesus they also have their reward.

What is the spirit behind everything we do? Are we trying to get recongnition or trying to get lost in Jesus? Only we really know. Choose wisely. If we have done anything to be seen of men we will be very dissappointed when we see Him face to face. It will all have been in vain.