Exodus 15:20 (ESV)—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.
Throughout San Juan, music flows through the doors of restaurants and bars. Music pours from speakers the residents carry.
At one point, while I sat with my husband at an outdoor tea and coffee kiosk, one customer’s speaker played soft guitar strains and Latin beats flowed from another’s. And after visiting for a few days, I realized that music blending together in the streets is part of the island’s fabric of the life.
In several parts of the Bible, dancing due to victories over enemies is part of the fabric of life. Take, for example, the prophet Miriam’s song and dance in Exodus 15:20: “Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels and dancing.”
However, as charming as this scene is, her dancing didn’t come immediately. First, she had to learn to trust God with her troubles. For instance, Miriam learned the hard way that God appointed his servant Moses. Her attempt at gaining more power ended in leprosy and seven days of banishment from the Israelite camp (Numbers 12).
Better the former than the latter, right? Well, we can’t have one without the other.
Our relationship with him involves both troubles in our lives and trust in his blend of music for our lives. His love for us comes in comfort and peace during trials. It comes in the form of encouragement from family and friends. For these situations, we can still worship by bowing down in humility to the One who has designed for us a plan.
Indeed, not every situation is going to make us want to dance. But some are, and for these, God deserves our raised hands, our songs of praise, our bodies swaying to the fabric of his plan.
