David said to Michal, “… I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this …” 2 Samuel 6:21-22
Michal was trying to “rain on David’s parade”, by making discouraging remarks about his enthusiasm. She said to him, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!” (v.20). But I love David’s response. He isn’t put off nor does he accept her perception of the situation. David has made up his mind to celebrate before the Lord and now promises to celebrate with even more vigour and zest in the future.
God called David to lead his people. “David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel (2 Samuel 5:12). David had good reasons to celebrate. His reign as king had just begun and his first act was to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, after an absence of about 20 years. The Ark symbolized God’s Presence and it served as the meeting place between God and his people. David wanted this meeting place to be easily accessible. Bringing the Ark to Jerusalem entailed many difficulties and even loss of life. Now it was finally entering the city and David’s joy knew no bounds.
Today we may find people trying to “rain on our parade”, trying to dampen our enthusiasm and telling us not to be so full-on for God, even suggesting we will “get over it”. But God’s goodness towards us is so amazing, how can we ever get over it? Let’s be like David promising to celebrate with more enthusiasm than we have before.
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