What does the Bible say about dancing?

There are many Scriptures about worship and celebration in the form of dance in the Bible. This post will discover what the Bible says about dance. It is an act of praise, worship, leadership, rejoicing, celebration, and more. Let’s dive into some Bible verses on dancing:

Dance in the Bible as Praise and Worship

We’re going jump into the Biblical foundation for dancing with some verses from the Psalms. The kind of dancing described in these verses says that dance is an integral part of worship. Dance is mentioned in a list format along with other expressions of worship like instruments and songs.

Psalm 149:3

Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!

Psalm 150:1-6

Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

It is interesting that dance is mentioned so matter-of-factly in these Psalms. When we look at many modern (Western) churches we can witness most of the things mentioned here… We see instruments and we hear songs, but dancing? That is often missing from our churches nowadays. 

Yet, according to the Psalmist, dancing is as beautiful and crucial as the other forms of worship that we practice so often. So, what does the Bible really say about using our bodies to worship God? 

Understanding how dance in the Bible can be seen as worship

In order to understand the use of dance for worship and more, we need to first understand how God sees His people. A.W. Tozer says “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us”. This is definitely true, and there is an important addition: What comes into God’s mind when He thinks about you should define you.

It’s easy to have a warped sense of self in the world today. God’s pure creation has been corrupted by sin and brokenness.Therefore, in order to see dance as worship, we need to learn what God sees when He looks at us. 

1. Our bodies are temples of the Spirit of God

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

2. The Spirit fills us with creativity that is from God

Exodus 31:3-5

And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft.

3. God enjoys what we bring Him and He takes pleasure in us

Psalm 149:4

For the Lord takes pleasure in his people. 

It is clear from these verses that Spirit-led creative dance that honors God must bring a smile to His face! In the same way that A.W. Tozer said our thoughts about God define us; we need to remember what really defines us. We are not defined by our shortcomings or flaws, because our identity is found in how the Father sees us. So, yes, what you think about God matters. But what matters more is this: What do you think God sees when He looks at you? 

Zephaniah 3:17

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.​

Dance in the Bible describes God’s treatment of His people. Let’s discover the celebration dance God does for each heart that turns to Him.

Celebratory dancing 

In the parable of the Prodigal Son, dance is also mentioned as a sign of celebration. Jesus told this story about a son who takes his inheritance and spends it on partying and a wild lifestyle. After realizing what he’d done, the son returns home to offer his services as a laborer for his father. But the father opens his arms and forgives his wayward son. He invites him in, puts a ring on his finger, and plans a great party to celebrate his return. This is where the word dance comes in:

Luke 15:25

Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.

Jesus Christ said that the Prodigal Son is a metaphor for the Kingdom of God. God has great joy over each person who repents and turns to Him. And how does God celebrate in the story? By hosting a party -with dancing! This passage of Scripture makes it clear that “it was fitting to celebrate and be glad” (Luke 15:32). 

“Did you know that when you give your life to Jesus, all of Heaven stops in your honor to celebrate?” – Robert Herber

Dancing is a beautiful expression of joy that is even used in a parable by Jesus. There are many more functions of dance in the Bible, like leadership, recovering from mourning, and rejoicing. Let’s explore them below:

Leading in dance in the Bible

God’s people spontaneously broke out in worship and dance as an act of response to a miracle. In the following passage from the Book of Exodus, Miriam sang about when God opened the Red Sea for the Israelites. The musical instruments and dance of the women of Israel combined to bring songs of joy about God’s goodness to His people.

Exodus 15:20-2

Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. And Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”

Exodus is the second book in the Bible and it was written around 1400 BC. Compare that with the following passage, written by the prophet Jeremiah around 580 BC. Jeremiah and the people of God would have heard the account of their forefathers and the Red Sea miracle. They heard Miriam’s song and learned about the dancing that accompanied it. God gave Jeremiah this prophetic word for the people:

Jeremiah 31:4

Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin Israel! Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourines and shall go forth in the dance of the merrymakers.

In both of these verses, dancing is described as a form of celebration and a response to the mighty works and presence of God. This is one of the main reasons why believers dance today: To worship God because He’s worthy. 

Leaders dance?

But there is a second element to this passage that is interesting. Miriam acted like a leader, more specifically, a worship leader. She models for the people how to praise God in a new way. This leadership facet of dancing is fascinating and it is also found in another important Biblical figure.

King David the dancer

From what we read in the Bible, King David had a habit of dancing before God. 

2 Samuel 6:14

And David danced before the Lord with all his might.

1 Chronicles 15:29

And as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and celebrating, and she despised him in her heart.

We can imagine King David leaping and dancing in front of the ark of the Lord. He humiliated himself and didn’t care what people thought about ‘the dancing King’, because He did it for an audience of One. David had his eyes fixed on God, so he did not care whether people thought he was a fool. Consider the following Scripture and reflect on the actions of the great leader, King David: 

1 Corinthians 3:18-19

Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God.

Leadership styles are often studied, but what does the dancing of King David teach us today? Pause for a moment and ask God to reveal this wisdom to you. 

Mourning and dance in the Bible

Some of the other examples of dancing in the Bible talk about different forms of dancing. Below are three Scriptures where dance is a positive example given in comparison with great sorrow or mourning. In simple terms, dancing is the opposite of mourning.

Lamentations 5:15

The joy of our hearts has ceased; our dancing has been turned to mourning.

Psalm 30:11

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.

Ecclesiastes 3:4

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

​The opposite of mourning is not necessarily dance, but it is cheer, exultation, happiness, and joy.

Rejoicing leads to dancing

The Bible is full of examples where dance is seen as a joyful response. 

Jeremiah 31:13

Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.

Psalm 96:11

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! 

Luke 7:32

They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’

​All of the above are ways that dance in the Bible honors God, but there are also some instances in the Bible where dance has a negative association with it. We discovered at the beginning of this post that everybody does not always see dancing as a form of worship. The following Scriptures shed some light on the roots of the idea that dancing is bad.

When dance in the Bible does not honor God

Exodus 32:19

And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.

In this verse, dancing is done for a calf that the people made. It might have been dances from other cultures, whose influence led to the making of the false god in the first place. Let’s see another example when dancing was connected with something bad.

Mark 6:22

For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.”

The dancing girl asked for the head of John the Baptist on a platter – and her wish was granted. But again, dancing was not necessarily evil, it was just what the girl happened to do. We will do well to remember the following verses:

Colossians 3:17

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

1 Corinthians 14:40

But all things should be done decently and in order.

The joyful moments that the Christian faith celebrates with dancing are not necessarily nightclub dancing. This act of dancing is not the indecent bodily movements that are associated with a wild lifestyle of partying, alcohol, and drugs. It is a pure, joyful response to the goodness of God at a particular moment. That is when dance in the Bible becomes worship. So, how did it get to the point where dance is often seen as a bad thing by Christians?

When dance as worship passed away

We have disembodied our faith. So often, we see ourselves only as spiritual beings and we forget that we are human too. In the quest to become more holy, there was an unintentional by-product: We became less human. 

In Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Pete Scazzero gives 10 signs that someone might be suffering from Emotionally UNhealthy Spirituality:

1. Using God to run from God (e.g. applying Scripture selectively to suit my own purposes, not me doing God’s will. 

2. Ignoring the emotions of anger, sadness, and fear (e.g. not being honest with myself and/or others about the feelings, hurts and pains beneath the surface of my life). 

3. Dying to the wrong things (e.g. denying healthy, God-given desires and pleasures of life (friendships, joy, music, beauty, laughter, nature) while finding it difficult to die to my self-protectiveness, defensiveness, a lack of vulnerability and judgmentalism). 

4. Denying the past’s impact on the present (e.g. not considering how my family of origin and significant people/events from my past have shaped my present). 

5. Dividing life into “secular” and “sacred” compartments (e.g. compartmentalizing God to “Christian activities” while usually forgetting about him when I am working, shopping, studying or recreating). 

6. Doing for God instead of being with God (e.g. evaluating my spirituality based on how much I am doing for God). 

7. Spiritualizing away conflict (e.g. Missing out on true peace by smoothing over disagreements, burying tensions and avoiding conflict – rather than disrupting the false peace like Jesus). 

8. Covering over brokenness, weakness, and failure (e.g. not speaking freely about my weaknesses, failures and mistakes). 

9. Living without limits (e.g. “trying to do it all” or “bite off more than I can chew”). 

10. Judging the spiritual journeys of others (e.g. finding myself occupied and bothered by the faults of others).

#3 Dying to the wrong things: like dance

Let’s consider point #3 for a moment.

“It is important we do not die to the good parts of who we are. We cannot ignore the person God made us to be. Instead, we are to die to the sinful parts.” – Tim Peden

The Bible verses we just studied make it abundantly clear that dancing is a celebratory response to God’s goodness. When we come from a traditional religious background (like I do), it might be hard to see it that way. Dancing in church might be the most cringy thing you can imagine doing! But, we need to consider where this apprehension comes from. Is it from God or is it from people? 

Dance in the Bible is not something to shy away from. It is not a sinful thing, but an act of worship! 

Making dance part of your quiet time spent with God and the Bible

“Quiet time” is such a funny term, but this is what Christians use to refer to the time they spend with God. It usually involves spiritual disciplines like reading the Bible, praying, and listening to worship music. Perhaps a better word is ‘encounter time’, since this pocket of time aims for connection with God, not keeping quiet or still! 

I want to invite you to make dancing part of your home ‘encounter time’ this week. Go into a room where nobody else can see you (or go out to a remote place in nature). Play some worship music through earphones or a speaker. Start by just standing still and listening to the song. Then say these words: “God, my body is yours. Holy Spirit, guide me to express worship to God in a new way.” Breathe out and… dance!

What if you’re just not that kind of person?

For a long time, I felt guilty for not being more expressive. As Christians, we hear a lot about the joy of the Lord and all the ways we “should” worship Him. Did you know your temperament is God-given? Psychologists have found that while personality might be a response to circumstances; a temperament might be inherent. 

“It’s just the way I am” may therefore be true to a certain extent. However, we must remember that God always has deeper freedom in mind for us. Our reluctance to dance might be because of deeper reasons than just our temperament. We might be afraid of embarrassment, scared of failure, or even ashamed. Those are not chains you are meant to live in as a Christian. 

2 Corinthians 3:17

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 

Are you willing to give something new a shot? At least try it and then say: “Oh, that’s really not my strong suit, but it was a fun experiment”. Below are some very different interpretations of dance that you can watch. There is no right way to worship God with dance in the Bible! 

The right way to dance is the way that glorifies Him and connects you to Him. 

*Originally written for Godsverse.org