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By: Anneke de Jong
You may listen to this devotion in audio form via podcast here.
How good and pleasant it is
when God’s people live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard,
down on the collar of his robe.
It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the Lord bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.
When my grandma was making plans to move into a nursing home, her pastor advised her to go to one in a different town because there would be more Christian Reformed people there. She informed him that “If she was going to share heaven with people from different denominations, she might as well start learning to live with them now.” The author of Psalm 133 would agree!
As a Psalm of Ascent, Psalm 133 was most likely addressed to God’s people as they came from all over Israel to Jerusalem to worship in the temple. People from different tribes, towns and families were all coming together to be united in the presence of God.
This psalm gives its listeners two metaphors to describe the blessings that would flow when they came together in such unity. The first goes back to Exodus 30 where the sacred oil is used to anoint and consecrate Aaron and his sons as God’s holy priests, purified and sanctified for God’s service. The second metaphor gives a picture of dew and life-giving water flowing from the high snow-covered peak of Mt. Hermon to the dusty, dry desert of Zion, filling the region with life and fruitfulness.
When we live together in harmony with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, our work becomes sanctified and holy, bringing life and fruitfulness to a dry and dusty world. “Christian unity is a heart union of believers ready to work together for the purpose of glorifying God and furthering the work of his kingdom.” (R. E. Brown). It is good and pleasant indeed!
Yet all too often, this is not the way Christians behave towards one another. We are divisive and argumentative, treating those we disagree with as our enemies. A friend of mine, who is not a believer, has said more than once, “If you guys can’t figure it out, what hope is there for the rest of us?” Our witness is tainted and the work of God is hindered.
Paul has a few things to say on the subject of unity, and basically tells us that we need to get over ourselves, and become more like Christ.
Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus… (Philippians 2:1-5)
Only then will we able to live in harmony with each other, experiencing the blessings so beautifully illustrated in Psalm 133.
How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!