And We Danced Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ecclesiastes 3:4

The Book of Ecclesiastes is a reflection of life through human eyes but with the understanding or the recognition that we're under God's rule. This verse looks at the cyclical nature of life. Consequently, it is rather apt that the author takes the negative positions of mourning and weeping and juxtaposes them with happy remedies of laughter and dance. Weeping and laughter relate to affairs of the heart, and the verse indicates that after sadness there will be a time of joy. The mourning and the dancing then become the physical manifestations of the sadness and the joy.

One wonders if this is what inspired Mark Knopfler when he penned his 1985 song "Why Worry"...
"Why worry
There should be laughter after pain
There should be sunshine after rain".

Answer: Lamentations 5:15

This verse comes hot on the heels of the description of the conquest of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BC. For the people of Judah this represented the destruction of their spiritual home (Jerusalem) and the core of their cultural identity. The removal of joy and the expression that their dance is now laced with sadness is meant to symbolize the breakdown of the people as a community. Commentators have also added that this, in turn, is the price they must pay for falling into temptation and giving in to sin.

Answer: Psalms 30: 11-12

The rest of the verse 11 and the addition of verse 12 reads as "that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. LORD my God, I will praise you forever".

This is David's song of praise to the Lord for granting him forgiveness for his sin or arrogance. The dancing, then, becomes a mode of celebration for David, for the Lord having lifted the yoke of sin from his shoulders. David had donned sackcloth, a rough and course garment made from goat's hair that is uncomfortable and a great irritant to the skin, not as penance, but as reminder to himself that he had sinned. The fact that he was now able to remove that symbolized the removal of sin and created the cause for celebration.

Answer: Jeremiah 31:4

There is evidence of God's duality in this verse. "I will build you" is followed by "You shall be rebuilt". Additionally the two introductions to those two segments, "I will" and "you shall", suggest a degree of inevitability and that his statements are not hearsay. The depth of this conviction is that, with God's help, Israel will rise from its despair to become a great nation.

Accordingly, it is suggested that this promise is something that should be celebrated. To this end we are given the image of Israel as a virgin, because she is a treasured maiden, one that should to dressed in joy. The use of the word "rebuilt" may also mean redemption.

This is also extended further in Jeremiah 31:13, which indicates; "Then young women will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy."

Answer: Job 21:11

In Job 21, the author confronts the notion put forward by his friends that the wicked will suffer. He argues against this indicating that it is the wicked that prosper in this life, that they enjoy the fruits and comforts of their wickedness and have long lives. He goes further to state that it is the righteous that do the suffering on this earth.

In the above verse he indicates that the wicked can afford to have many children (as a flock) and that their life is so bountiful that they can celebrate with dance.

Answer: Psalms 149:3

Psalm 149 is one of the last five psalms, all of which do not have a title. This whole psalm is a call to praise God, and to do so with music and dance. Verses 1 and 2 tell us the following:

"Praise the LORD. Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints.
Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King."

It instructs God's people (the people of Israel) to give thanks to the God that created them and, in the same breath, that they be aware that they are under his rule. Beyond, in verse three, we are informed that the Lord is also happy for his people and that he will adorn those that are humble before him with the trappings of victory over those that seek to oppress them. In a nut-shell, he is saying that he will look after them.

Answer: Exodus 15:20

This verse is preceded by the description of a supernatural event that rescues the Israelites: God parting the Red Sea and then collapsing it upon the Egyptian army. Moses offers a song of praise to the Lord and then Miriam, his sister, takes up the mantle by grabbing a timbrel (a type of tambourine) and leading the women in a celebratory dance.

In the following verse (15:21 - Miriam sang to them: "Sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea."), she is repeating the words that Moses had earlier presented in his song.

Answer: 2 Samuel 6:14

This book, 2 Samuel, essentially deals with the reign of one of the Bible's most significant figures, King David, and his relentless pursuit to be righteous. In the lead up to the above verse, we are informed of David's strong desire to have the Ark of the Covenant returned to his city. This is not out of personal vanity but because it (the Ark) is such a powerful symbol of God's presence among his people.

Accordingly, the arrival of the Ark is a moment of great joy to David and he expresses his gratitude in dance. In doing so, David is exhibiting a genuine desire to honour and glorify God. The fact that he is doing so in high regalia (the ephod) is a symbol that this is not something that is beneath him.

Answer: Luke 15:20

Luke 15 details the story of "The Prodigal Son", and this verse tells of the older (the loyal) brother coming from the fields and hearing the celebrations to herald the return of his younger brother. This brings forth resentment on his part, for, had he not been faithful to his father while his flippant brother squandered his inheritance. How come there was no music and dancing to celebrate his toil and loyalty?

Whilst this will eventually lead to a confrontation between the elder son and the father, what it does demonstrate is the father's unconditional love for his repentant son.

Answer: Judges 11:34

Whilst the verse speaks of celebration, this is a sad tale. Judges 11 tells the story of Jephthah and his confrontation with and subsequent victory over the Ammonites. Prior to this battle Jephthah made makes a rather rash, and probably unnecessary, promise to the Lord that, in exchange for him (the Lord) granting him this victory, he would offer, as a burnt offering, whatever first came from the door of his home upon his return.

Jephthah had expected a servant or, at best, an animal to be the first to come and greet him. Imagine his devastation when he sees that it is his daughter, smiling and dancing with happiness to see him. As he cannot go back on his word to God, that devastation is given a greater depth as he bears witness to the energy and the life that is expressed in his daughter's dance. The cruelest blow is that his daughter is his only child.