Question
The Bible says that David danced. Is it okay for certain kinds of dancing?
Answer
“And David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod” (2 Samuel 6:14).
“Again the long train was in motion, and the music of harp and cornet, trumpet and cymbal, floated heavenward, blended with the melody of many voices. ‘And David danced before the Lord,’ in his gladness keeping time to the measure of the song.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 707.
“David’s dancing in reverent joy before God has been cited by pleasure lovers in justification of the fashionable modern dance, but there is no ground for such an argument. In our day dancing is associated with folly and midnight reveling. Health and morals are sacrificed to pleasure. … God is not an object of thought and reverence; prayer or the song of praise would be felt to be out of place in their assemblies. This test should be decisive. Amusements that have a tendency to weaken the love for sacred things and lessen our joy in the service of God are not to be sought by Christians. The music and dancing in joyful praise to God at the removal of the ark had not the faintest resemblance to the dissipation of modern dancing. The one tended to the remembrance of God and exalted His holy name. The other is a device of Satan to cause men to forget God and to dishonor Him.” The Adventist Home, 517.
Speaking of the night of deliverance from Egypt, Ellen White wrote, “That vast helpless throng—bondmen unused to battle, women, children, and cattle, with the sea before them, and the mighty armies of Egypt pressing behind—had seen their path opened through the waters, and their enemies overwhelmed in the moment of expected triumph. Jehovah alone had brought them deliverance, and to Him their hearts were turned in gratitude and faith. Their emotion found utterance in songs of praise. …
“Like the voice of the great deep rose from the vast hosts of Israel that sublime ascription. It was taken up by the women of Israel, Miriam, the sister of Moses, leading the way, as they went forth with timbrel and dance. Far over the desert and sea rang the joyous refrain, and the mountains re-echoed the words of their praise—‘Sing ye to Jehovah, for He hath triumphed gloriously.’ ” Patriarchs and Prophets, 288, 289.