Does God Dance?

A Bible verse recently caught my attention: “The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy. He will be quiet in his love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.” (Zephaniah 3:17 NASV) The Hebrew word, ‘rejoice,’ means to “spin around under violent emotion.”…

Credit: Jonathan Chen/Flickr/Creative Commons

A Bible verse recently caught my attention:

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy. He will be quiet in his love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.” (Zephaniah 3:17 NASV)

The Hebrew word, ‘rejoice,’ means to “spin around under violent emotion.” The phrase “rejoice over you” literally means to “dance, skip, leap, and spin in joy.”

So, the latter part of this verse is more accurately translated, “He will dance over you with singing.”

I love the visualization that comes to my mind when I read this. God is portrayed as a mighty warrior, singing and dancing over me with shouts of joy.

It describes how a warrior must have felt in the Old Testament after winning a hard-fought battle and realizing the victory was his.

I can envision power, authority and strength exuding from him as he steps into a victory dance. I imagine whooping, hollering, leaping, dancing and victory shouts.

We see it today, as well. It’s not much different from a team hitting a winning field goal on the final play in the Super Bowl or striking the winning goal in the World Cup. There are tears, shouting, rejoicing, dancing and singing. It’s not hard to picture because we see it all the time.

For generations, singing and dancing have been the ultimate expressions of joy.

Yet, many people perceive God as stern, gloomy and servile, but Zephaniah does not describe the Lord this way.

The prophet portrays God as glad and happy as He delights in His creation — His sons and daughters — you and me! Therefore, we should not be ashamed or embarrassed to dance with joy since God is in our midst rejoicing over us.

It is a holy union as God delights in us and we in turn rejoice in His love!

“For as a young man marries a virgin. So your sons will marry you. And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you.” (Isaiah 62:5 NASV)

I love to dance in worship to the Lord during church services. I sense His presence and that He is very close to me.

Sometimes, I feel like God is dancing with me even as I revel in His presence. I rejoice in God as He rejoices in me.

This is not the perception of God that many of us have. We need to begin visualizing God’s love for us in light of this passage.

17 responses to “Does God Dance?”

Donna Kirk

October 20, 2016 at 9:42 am

This is good ! Thank you thank you for sharing that God really is rejoicing over us💓

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mrcomptech

March 12, 2017 at 9:23 pm

While I enjoyed your article and your visualizations, I can find no evidence the you are interpreting the meaning of rejoice (Zephaniah 3:17) correctly. What is the source of your translations? I am using Strong’s Greek and Hebrew dictionary it it translates rejoice as “a primitive root: to be bright; that is, cheerful; -be glade, X greatly, joy, make mirth”

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mrcomptech

March 12, 2017 at 9:25 pm

secondary post, i forgot to check the box for notification

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1. Dean Smith
  
  March 17, 2017 at 11:00 am
  
  Thanks for your comment and my apologies for my delay in getting back to you as my husband and I were traveling. You are correct that rejoicing is the major definition of the word, but according to the Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the OT, it includes the idea “to be glad, prop. to leap for joy, used in the Zabian language of the leaping of horses.” It speaks of such excitement and joy that it produces leaping, that I interpreted as dancing. — Barb
  
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Michaelia Daubon

June 1, 2017 at 12:03 am

Thank you for this view on that scripture. I recently had an encounter where I was dancing with God but I questioned the legitimacy because I had not seen it in scripture prior. I knew it was a real encounter but my logic was pulling me back because I didn’t want to err or step outside of the word. I decided to study a little deeper to find out if it was just my emotions or if God really does dance with us and over us and I found your writing. I am at peace to say the least and over joyed at the fact that God would dance over me…over us!!!

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Barb Smith

June 21, 2017 at 12:53 pm

It gives me great joy as well to know that God expresses His love to us in the way!

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Mz. Keshia

October 14, 2017 at 2:47 pm

That was the most beautiful, joyful article I’ve ever read!! Splendid indeed!!

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Denise

December 26, 2017 at 5:31 pm

There are times when I am worshipping at home and I just start to dance with the lord; like doing a waltz and I feel his presence as if he’s right there. I always ask the lord if he could dance with me when I get to heaven. I wrote a song today and sang it to the lord. Here goes the lyrics- Do you dance when I sing? Do you tap your feet when I sing? Do you snap your fingers and shake your head when I sing? Lord what do you do when I sing? Its after writing this song and singing it to him, that I sought to research for scriptural evidence of God dancing or being that emotional and I stubbled on this . Wow!!

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Barb Smith

December 30, 2017 at 2:31 pm

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me and the song you wrote. I am blessed that my article encouraged you. I wrote it much for the same reason you wrote your song. I love that David danced unabashedly before the Lord after winning a great victory. He is an upclose and personal God and delights in our worship and dancing! Dance on!

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Debbie L

January 25, 2018 at 8:54 am

I love knowing that we are so loved by the Father and thankful that He is so happy and proud of us. To know that out of everything He creat s He is most proud of us. He is such a personal God that He only seeks what is for our good. Our God promises to even use the bad things that happen to us to work to for our good. Some many people have such a poor image of God but we are under his grace and mercy. He loves us so much more than we could ever know. I revel in His love for me

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Barb Smith

January 25, 2018 at 10:58 am

Thank you so much for sharing with me! ‘Reveling in His presence is the greatest joy I know!” Blessings!

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Bjoern Strotmann

February 27, 2018 at 5:46 am

I’m a man, and I totally agree! Hallelujah! Jesus rocks! Let’s rejoice! Sing & dance!

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Barb Smith

February 27, 2018 at 11:38 am

Thank you for your joyful response and encouragement! Blessings! Yes . . . I love it when men dance freely before God. They have a unique expression of their own!

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Yah’s girl

September 7, 2018 at 6:35 pm

Reblogged this on Yahs/true/torah/girls/blog and commented:
Does God Dance?
written by Barb Smith
5 Votes

Credit: Jonathan Chen/Flickr/Creative Commons
Credit: Jonathan Chen/Flickr/Creative Commons

A Bible verse recently caught my attention:

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy. He will be quiet in his love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.” (Zephaniah 3:17 NASV)

The Hebrew word, ‘rejoice,’ means to “spin around under violent emotion.” The phrase “rejoice over you” literally means to “dance, skip, leap, and spin in joy.”

So, the latter part of this verse is more accurately translated, “He will dance over you with singing.”

I love the visualization that comes to my mind when I read this. God is portrayed as a mighty warrior, singing and dancing over me with shouts of joy.

It describes how a warrior must have felt in the Old Testament after winning a hard-fought battle and realizing the victory was his.

I can envision power, authority and strength exuding from him as he steps into a victory dance. I imagine whooping, hollering, leaping, dancing and victory shouts.

We see it today, as well. It’s not much different from a team hitting a winning field goal on the final play in the Super Bowl or striking the winning goal in the World Cup. There are tears, shouting, rejoicing, dancing and singing. It’s not hard to picture because we see it all the time.

For generations, singing and dancing have been the ultimate expressions of joy.

Yet, many people perceive God as stern, gloomy and servile, but Zephaniah does not describe the Lord this way.

The prophet portrays God as glad and happy as He delights in His creation — His sons and daughters — you and me! Therefore, we should not be ashamed or embarrassed to dance with joy since God is in our midst rejoicing over us.

It is a holy union as God delights in us and we in turn rejoice in His love!

“For as a young man marries a virgin. So your sons will marry you. And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you.” (Isaiah 62:5 NASV)

I love to dance in worship to the Lord during church services. I sense His presence and that He is very close to me.

Sometimes, I feel like God is dancing with me even as I revel in His presence. I rejoice in God as He rejoices in me.

This is not the perception of God that many of us have. We need to begin visualizing God’s love for us in light of this passage.

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James McGee

April 28, 2020 at 12:03 pm

You have expressed my desire completely! Thank you. Glory to God!

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1. Barb Smith
  
  May 2, 2020 at 3:37 pm
  
  Amen! I am glad that you were encouraged!
  
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ddinnsen

November 21, 2020 at 9:24 am

“”The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.” (Zep 3:17 NAU)

Some translations use “sing” instead of rejoice, and some say the Hebrew lemma pictures leaping and spinning, which is a form of dancing. The Hebrew lemma is used 27 times in scripture often in poetic parallel with joy. The BDB (a highly-regarded lexicon) lemma entry, quoted below, does not list singing or dancing as a meaning. Nor does TWOT(unabridged) or Holladay (that’s all I have). None of the 27 Scripture uses are in parallel with singing or dancing, but several speak of an intensified joy. Thus, the leaping and spinning uses of this word must be from extra-biblical sources, assuming they exist. The context of Zephaniah speaks of Messiah being in the midst of the saved remnant of Israel in the millennial kingdom, so it is a bit of a stretch to apply Zep 3:17 to individual gentiles now, like the songs do.

All this thinking about God singing makes me wonder if He ever does sing? Will our constantly condescending God ever join with us in a chorus when the song implores everything with breath to join in?

BDB entry: 9389 ] שׂוּשׂ9390) [Hebrew) (page 965) (Strong 7797(
† שׂוּשׂ, שִׂישׂ vb. exult, rejoice )Nö:ZMG xxxvii)1893(, 536 der. (‘perh.’) fr. interj., as šaÀšaÀ an enticing call, so Gerber:20);—Qal Pf. 3 ms. שָׂשׂ Dt 28:63 +, 1 s. שַׂשְׂתִּי Psalm 119:14, etc.; Impf. 3 ms. יָשִׂישׂ Dt 28:63 +, 3 mpl. יְשֻׂשׂוּם Is 35:1 )Ges:§ 47 n Kö:i. 510, but ם erron. Kenn Ol:§ 244 a, prob. dittogr., so Lo Hi Gr Che:Hpt Marti(, etc.; Imv. fs. שִׂישִׂי La 4:2, mpl. שִׂישׂוּ Is 65:18, 66:10; Inf. abs. שׂוֹשׂ 61:10; cstr. לָשׂוּשׂ Dt 30:9;—exult, display joy, c. עַל over, Dt 28:63, 28:63, 30:9, 30:9, Je 32:41, Is 62:5, Zp 3:1 )+ בְּשִׂמְחָה; || (גִּיל, Psalm 119:162; c. ב Is 61:10 (שׂוֹשׂ אָשִׂישׂ), 65:19, Psalm 35:9 )all (גּיל 40:17, 68:4 )+ בְּשִׂמְחָה; || (עָלַץ, 70:5 )all || שָׂמַח; 119:14, Jb 39:21 )horse(, Psalm 19:6 )sun, as athlete(; c. בִּי and cl. La 1:21; abs. Is 35:1, 65:18 )both (גִּיל, 64:4 )but del. שָׂשׂ וְ LXX Gr Du Che:Hpt Marti(, 68:14; La 4:21 )|| (שָׂמַח, Jb 3:22 )|| אֱלֵי־גִיל (שָׂמַח, Is 66:10 )acc. cogn.; || (גִּיל, (שָׂמַח.—Ez 21:15 is crpt., Co rds. ) לְאַנְשֵׁיfor (נָשִׂישׂ, Krae לִנְשִׂיאֵי, other conj. in comm.: on cl. vid. esp. Da Toy:Heb.Hpt.

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