The Rhythm of Worship
Worship & Dance as it relates to Yah’s
perfect sense of order
• Levitical / Davidic
Dancing
• Dance in Ancient Israel
• Yah’s Perfect Order
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Dances in Scripture
Dance Definitions
Postures of Praise
Worship & Dance Today
Levitical / Davidic Dancing
What is meant by Levitical dancing or
Davidic dancing?
Levitical is a reference to the Levitical Priests
who ministered to Yah with song and dance.
The priests were divided up into 12 divisions
with one division devoted to worshipping Yah.
First Chronicles 25 is an entire chapter
devoted to priests who …
“… were the sons of Heman the sovereign’s seer in the
words of Elohim, to exalt his horn. For Elohim gave
Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. All these
were at the hands of their father for song in the
House of YHVH’ with cymbals, harps, lyres, for the
service of the House of Elohim. And the number of
them, with their brothers who were taught in the
songs of YHVH, all who were skilled, was two
hundred and eighty-eight.”
I Chron.25:6-8
Second Chronicles 1 says, “…who should prophesy
with lyres, with harps, and with cymbals,” referring
to the Levitical priests who performed music,
worship and dance.
• Davidic is a reference to dancing as King David did
with all his might, unencumbered.
Second Samuel 6:14 says, “Then David danced
before the Lord with all his might; and David was
wearing a linen ephod.”
The priests always wore a linen ephod when entering
into the Holy of Holies to minister to YHVH.
• Other terms that are used to describe dance are
Messianic Dance, Prophetic Dance, Liturgical Dance,
Sacred Dance, Worship Dance, Praise Dance and
Celebration Dance. Regardless of the title or name,
it’s all the same.
• The dancing terms are international and cross
cultures because they celebrate the Kingdom of Yah.
If you visit any congregation that does Davidic,
Levitical or Messianic dance, you will recognize
many of these steps and you would be able to join in
most dances.
Dance in Ancient Israel
• From the beginning, Jewish dance has been a part of
the religious experience. Even today dance is a part
of every child’s education. To the Jews, dance was
always a prayer accompanied by music, singing or
beating of the drums. There are many references to
the dance in the Torah. The first mention of dance in
the Torah is in Exodus 15:20 “And Miriam the
prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in
her hand. And all the women went out after her with
timbrels and with dancing.”
• The Hebrew dances were very athletic in structure.
They were done by a chorus. The military used
dance as a means of training. They danced as David
did with finesse and freedom. They danced to a choir
and musicians. The dance was highly respected in
Israel. At this time, dance was not only connected
with everyday activities; Prophets, priests and kings
danced, as well as armies, maidens and lads, the
young and old alike were dancing. Everyone
danced.
• In the Apostles writings believers turned to the
Psalms and Prophets in their praise, preaching and
teaching. Dancers danced to Psalms sung by the
choir and accompanied by the musicians. Temple
worship reaches it peak during Feast days around 40
AD/CE. We have records of half a million devout
Jews flowing into Jerusalem three times a year to
worship Yahweh during His appointed Feast days. It
was at one of these times, during Shavuot or
Pentecost that the early assembly or the Kahal was
born.
Yah’s Perfect Order
• In Scripture we see a relationship between spoken
sound and transference of energy to receptacles. In
Genesis Chapter 1 Yeshua (the Word of Elohim
according to John 1:1) spoke into existence the
molecules of the Heaven and the Earth. The
molecules were formless, void and empty (without
motion). The Spirit of Elohim moved or hovered
(creating motion) over the face of the waters, putting
the molecules into motion or rhythm.
• Everything Yah created in the heavens and on the
earth has form, order, motion, rhythm and vibration.
The sun, moon, earth, the stars and the
constellations all have order and rhythm. The rain,
snow, wind, ocean tides, waterfalls, fire,
earthquakes, tornados and hurricanes also have
rhythm. Even time has order and rhythm.
• Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word be, which goes out of
My mouth; it shall not return to Me void (motionless
without transference of vibration or energy, not
brought into order), but it shall accomplish what I
please, and it shall certainly do what I sent it to do.
• Jeremiah 4:23 I looked on the earth, and, lo, it was
without form and void (motionless without
transference of vibration or energy, not brought into
order); and the heavens, and they had no light.
• Man lives and moves with order and rhythm; from
his heartbeat, to walking, dancing and playing
music. Even giving birth has rhythm. Yah breathed
into man the breath of life in perfect rhythm and
order.
• Man response with exhaling His Name “YAHWEH” in
perfect order and rhythm. To be one with Yah and to
be “in sync” with Yah is to breathe, live and move in
His perfect order.
• Man is the perfect receptacle to reverberate vibration
back to Yah in the Heavens for it shall not return
void.
• Mankind was created to receive Yah’s Word, to
proclaim it through out the world and to reverberate
it back to the heavens, to be receptacles and
conduits of His power (energy or vibration), to bring
His word to full effectiveness and to produce good
works, thus reflecting His glory and majesty. To be
imitators of His perfect order.
• Music and dance are viable conduits to do that.
Music is one way which man can worship Yah with
perfect order. When musicians play the same piece
of music in the same key, at the same tempo and
rhythm as one body reverberating sound from one
set of vocal cords in perfect harmony.
• The same is true with dancers. They move in
unison as one entity, a corporate body, with
hearts beating in perfect rhythm with each
other. Creating a rhythm that reverberates
through the heavens back to Yah.
• Worship is at the heart of YHVH. He says He
inhabits the praises (vibrations) of His
people. He says our prayers (vibrations)
ascend into the heavens upon the smoke of
the incense (remember fire creates both
energy and vibrations).
• Yah is eternal and He is not limited to time or
bound to the laws of time, therefore He
inhabits the praises of the righteous
continually - Adams, Noah's, Abrahams,
Isaacs and Jacobs, the Judges, the Prophets,
the Kings and ours. Our praises enter into
His presence in the throne room with the
praises of the Patriarchs.
Dances in Scripture
There were many different types of dances done in
Ancient Israel referenced in scripture.
• The Dance of Anointing:
Accompanied with the flute to bring the
presence of the Lord: 1 Samuel 10:-5-10, 1 Kings 1:40.
• The Dance of the Ascent Procession or
“Entrance”:
Was a call to worship, done on the way up to the
Temple Mount. David danced to bring up the
ark: 1 Chronicles 15:29,
2 Samuel 6:21, Psalm 120-134, and the Psalms
of Ascents. David and the people of Israel
danced before the Ark of the Lord which
represented the presence of God:
2 Samuel 6:14, Psalms 48:12, 42:4, and 26:2 .
• The Dance of Dedication: Done at the
dedication of the temple: Jeremiah 31:4, 13 and
Psalm 30:11 and Nehemiah 12:27.
• The Dance of Deliverance: As the song of
deliverance came forth, the feet were put to use
along with clapping:
Psalm 32:7.
• The Dance of Fasting: 2 Chronicles 25:25.
• The Dance of Feasting: Accompanied by harps
and tambourines: Psalm 118.
• The Dance of Greeting: Usually done by
women to greet the Sabbath: Judges 11:34.
• The Dance of the Mourning Procession: A
dance lead by one flutist and two lamenting:
Jeremiah 9:20, Luke 7:32.
• The Dance of Praise and Worship: A round
dance with chorus. Sometimes done as a solo:
Psalms 149:3, 150:4, 1 Chronicles 16:20,
Psalms 96:6 and 30:11.
• The Dance of Victory: Was danced with many
palm branches waved by the people: Exodus
15:20, 1 Samuel 18:6 and 1 Chronicles 15:29.
At the defeat of Pharaoh's armies following the
crossing of the Red Sea were “Miriam, the
prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in
her hand; and all the women went out after her
with timbrels and with dancing”: Exodus 15:20.
Also when David slew Goliath, the women sang
'to one another in dance': 1 Samuel 29:5.
• Dance of the Wedding Processional:
Was danced to the groom’s house by the bride
and her maidens, also done around the bride
and groom in the ceremony: Song of Solomon
3:11, Isaiah 61:10, Genesis 29:33 and 24:61,
and Psalm 30:11.
Dance Definitions
There are 15 different Hebrew words 6 Greek
words that describe dance. The word ‘dance’
is not used often in our English Bibles, but the
activity of dance is. It appears hundreds of
times in Scripture, in terms such as: rejoice,
make merry, praise, joy, glad, celebrate and
bless.
• Other words that refer to dance are twirl, twist,
spin, turn, leap, jump, hop, skip, run, stomp,
spring, to bound, to be light and agile, march,
walk, to reel to and fro, to revolve, surround,
border, procession, as strolling along, travel,
caravan or company, using the hands, to revere
or worship with extended hand with graceful
gestures, to show or point out with the extension
of the hands. A sacrifice of praise,
thanksgiving and celebration, to “Selah”
(stop, pause, ponder & act out).
1) Chag - this is the word we get the word ‘feast’ from
which means ‘to whirl about with giddiness’.
In the Torah, the Feasts were celebrated with dance to
YHVH.
2) Rikud – to skip or leap for joy.
3) Hul – refers to the whirl of the dance and implies a
highly active movement.
4) Halal – (#1984) to praise, to celebrate hilariously, to be
boldly carefree, to rave, to boast, to make a show, to
show forth.
The root word in ‘HalleluYah’ means to ‘Praise Yah’. Ps
148:1; 150:1-6
“Who ever offers praise, glorifies Me”
Ps 50:23
“Great is YHVH, and greatly to be praised.” 1 Chr. 16:24
5) GUWL - (#1523) to spin around under the influence of
strong emotion; to spin like a top; to rejoice and be glad.
Most often translated "rejoice.”
"Let the daughters of Judah exult" Ps 48:11
"Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation”
Isa 25:9
"Let the heaven rejoice, and let the earth be glad” Ps
96:11
"Be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I
create Jerusalem for rejoicing and her people for
gladness” Isa 65:18-19
"YHVH your Elohim in your midst,...He rejoices over you
with joy…He rejoices over you with singing” Zeph 3:17
6) ALAZ - (#5937) to rejoice, to exult, to jump for joy. Most
often translated "exult" or "rejoice”
"Let the kind ones exult in glory” Ps149:5
"Let the field exult and all that is in it” Ps 96:11
7) PAZAZ - (#6339) to leap, to spring, as if separating the
limbs.
"King David, leaping and dancing before YHVH”
II Sam 6:16
8) RAQAD - (#7540) to leap, to stamp, to spring about
wildly with joy.
"King David leaping and making merry”
I Chr. 15:29
9) MACHOWL- (#4234) a round dance
"Praise His Name in a dance” Ps 149:3
"Praise Him with timbrel and dance” Ps 150:4
"The virgin shall rejoice in a dance” Jer 31:13
"All the women went out after her with timbrels and
dancing” Ex 15:20
"The women came out …singing and dancing to meet
Saul” I Sam. 18:6
"You have turned my mourning into dancing”
Ps 30:11
10) MACHOWLAH - (#4246) a dance, company dances.
"Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took
the tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out
after her, with timbrels and dancing" Ex 15:20
"Did they not sing of him to each other in dances"
I Sam 21:11
"Is this not David, of whom they sang to each other in
dances" I Sam 29:5
"The women came out from all the cities of Israel,
singing and dancing to meet King Saul with timbrels, with
joy and with musical instruments" I Sam 18: 6
11) HALIYCHAH - (#1979) a procession or march, a
caravan: -company.
"Procession of my El, my King, into the sanctuary. The
singers went in front, The players on instruments after
them; Among them were the maidens playing timbrels”.
Ps 68:24 & 25
12) CHAGAG - (#2287) to celebrate, to observe a festival,
to march in sacred procession, to be giddy, to move in a
circle, to dance, to reel to and fro.
"You shall observe it as a Festival to YHVH” Lev. 23:41
"I used to lead them in procession to the house of G-d,
with joy” Ps. 42:4
13) RUAH - (#7321) to shout; to split the ears with sound;
to blow a Shofar or an alarm (associated with trumpets).
To call to worship and to direct attention to fighting the
enemy in battle. "Shout to Elohim with the voice of
triumph or shofar”. PS. 47:1
"Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout , O Israel! Be
glad and rejoice with all your heart” Zep. 3:14
"When they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and
when you hear the sound of the horn, that all the people
will shout with a great shout”. Josh. 6:5
14) SHABACH - (#7623) to praise, to address in a loud
voice, as in triumph.
"My lips shall praise Thee” Ps. 63:3
"Praise YHVH ("halal" YHVH, all nations;) praise Him all
peoples"! Ps. 117:1
15) YADAH - (#3034) "to give thanks; or to praise“, to
worship with extended, uplifted hands; to praise; to
give thanks.
"It is good thing to give thanks to YHVH” Ps 92:2
"At midnight I will rise up to give thanks” Ps 119:2
"Surely the righteous will give thanks to Thy Name” Ps
140:13
Postures of Praise
There are also important body postures of praise in
the Scriptures.
1) TOWDAH - (#8426) "thanksgiving”, an extension of
the hands in a thank offering,
a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
"Offer to YHVH a sacrifice of thanksgiving”
Ps 95:6
"Come before His presence with thanksgiving” Ps 95:2
"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving” Ps 100:4
2) BARAK - (#1288) to kneel in adoration;
to bless.
"Let us kneel before YHVH our Maker”
Ps 95:6
"Sing unto YHVH and bless His name”
Ps 99:5
"I will bless you and I will bless those that bless you” Gen
12:2-3
3) SHACHAH - (#7812) "worship"
to prostrate in homage.
"Let us worship and bow down" Ps 95:6
"Worship at His footstool; Holy is He” Ps 99:5
"Bring an offering and come before Him; worship YHVH
in the splendor of Holiness" I Chr 16:29
"All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to
YHVH; and all the families of the nations will worship
before Him” Ps 22:27
• There were processionals, ritual dances, dances of
religious joy, dances of vintage, harvest, joy, praise,
thanksgiving and warfare are just a few of the dances
done by those of old.
• The types of dance used in Israelite society included the
circular or ring dance, as well as the processional dance.
These were often used to celebrate specific events.
• In the Aramaic Hebrew which the Jews of Yeshua’s day
spoke, the word for 'rejoice' and 'dance' are the same.
Hence, in including 'dance' with 'rejoice' there are
references to dancing and leaping for joy (Luke 6:23) as
well as 'dancing in the Spirit' (Luke 10:21).
• The dances were usually performed to hymns or carols.
'To carol' means 'to dance'. 'Carol' is derived from the
Latin corolla for 'ring', and 'caroller' is derived from the
Latin choraula meaning 'flute-player for chorus-dancing'
(Oxford Dictionary). Most carols were divided into the
stanza meaning to 'stand' or 'halt', and the chorus, which
means 'dance'. Thus, during the chorus, the people
danced and, unless a solo dancer performed for the
stanza, there was little movement as the stanza was
sung.
Worship & Dance Today
• We are commanded to praise Yah with all of our
heart, soul, mind and strength. Deut. 6
• Romans 21:1 says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers,
in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living
sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - which is your
spiritual worship.” This is the least we are expected
to do.
• Yah has given each of us a talent or gift that He
wants us to use to glorify Him or bring honor to His
name. Some of you can sing pretty like a bird.
Some of you have the ability to play an instrument
like a flute or tambourine or trumpet and some of
you have a talent to praise Yah with dance, clapping
your hands or stomping your feet.
• There is nothing more anointed than to watch men
and women dance unto Yah. It is truly an extension
of the gifting of the Levitical Priesthood.
• But sometimes we find it hard to use our gifts and
talents in the presence of others. Yet, others are
blessed by our gifts and talents especially when
we’re glorifying Yah together as the Body of
Messiah. When we get nervous or we feel
embarrassed to use our talents and we hide them or
deny that we even have them we are hiding our gifts
under a bushel. We make excuses like “this isn’t for
today’s church” or “God hasn’t spoken to me about
that yet so I don’t have to do it.”
• When approaching Yah through worship and dance,
we need to see that EVERYTHING in His Word is
Truth and has value for us today. Yes, there were
things that were cultural, but these things were the
culture of Yah’s people, and we are Yah’s people
through the redemptive work of Yeshua Messiah on
the cross.
• Therefore biblical culture should become our
culture. When you feel hindered in offering your
body as a living sacrifice, whether raising your arms,
singing a song or playing an instrument remember
that Yah is NOT asking you to die on a cross, but to
be holy, set apart and pleasing, using your gifts and
talents in accordance to the Word as your spiritual
worship, to be a living sacrifice. It is your
reasonable service.
• Dance is a living expression of the heart in praise,
worship and intercession. It is meant for all to
partake in, to receive joy from, to receive ministry
through.
• We dance for an audience of “One”.
But while we are dancing for Him and Him alone,
others receive blessings & healing from it as a
secondary blessings.
• The purpose of dance worship is to praise and
worship Yah. Worship- dance blocks out all
distractions and demonic influences that try to
seduce us. By stepping into the authority that
Yeshua has placed upon the Body of Messiah, we
can ‘dance’ against all oppositions and be victorious
over sin and temptations. In this way, the dancer
becomes a vessel for Yah’s power and blessing. By
ministering unto Yah first, the dancer releases
blessings to the people.
• With the destruction of the Temple, we are the
temple of the Holy Spirit and we serve as a nation of
priests. We minister to Yah first and then we minister
to the people, ushering them into His Holy presence.
Drawing them in and waving their elevation offering
before His Throne. Gathering praise and offering it
up as the Olah offering.
• Dancing brings liberation to a people causing them
to rise up and come out of complacency, ministering
deliverance from the bondage of fear and
oppression, giving victory to spiritual warfare and
dancing on injustice.
Conclusion:
As singers use their voices and the orchestra play
their instruments, the dancers use their bodies.
Being yielded to the Holy Spirit, one can stand ready
to minister effectively.
A dancer’s body is an instrument yielded to the
power of the Holy Spirit representing grace, purity,
humility and order.