Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, Coming down upon the beard, Even Aaron’s beard, Coming down upon the edge of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon Coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing-life forever” (Psalm 133:1).
The Hebrew word translated “together” means “unitedness.” It carries the idea of a community working together. Perhaps you have seen the video going around on social media of the Amish community moving a barn – by hand! It is an excellent testament to what can be achieved when a group works united as one. It also helped me to see that this is a common practice among the Amish people.
The Psalm gives two illustrations of the real blessing of unity. The first is that of the oil poured on Aaron’s head running down all over his body. The second illustration is the dew coming down from Mount Hermon, the tallest mountain peak in the Middle East. Though the dew may fall on the summit, it comes down to refresh and invigorate all that is below.
In like manner, togetherness and unity must begin at the top. When it does, it trickles down to the entirety of a group, allowing great blessings to be the result.
- When a marriage is united together, the whole family is blessed with unity (Mt. 19:6; I Cor. 7:5).
- When church leadership is united together, the whole congregation is blessed with unity (Acts 2:1, 44-46; Eph. 4:11-16).
- When a congregation is united together, the individual members are blessed with growth (Phil. 4:1-3; Heb. 10:23-25).
The final line of this Psalm declares the Lord blesses where unity is maintained. Our world and nation see disunity and bickering continuously. Even among followers of Jesus, there is seemingly more and more division. What an example we could be if we worked together in unity. What a beacon of light we could be to our communities who have long grown tired of discord. We will never be able to effectively communicate the Gospel of Peace until we become peacemakers. Conversely, when we work together in love and unity those blessings from the top will flow down!
Corey Sawyers