The Unity of God’s People

Psalm 133 begins with this title: “A Song of Ascents [written] by David.” In total, there are fifteen Psalms called “A Song of Ascents” (Psa 120-134). Other names are the Gradual Psalms, Songs of Steps or Pilgrim Songs.

Some believe that Jewish people sang these songs as they traveled up the road into Jerusalem to celebrate their three annual religious festivals (Deut 16:16). Others suggest that the Temple priests sang them as they ascended the fifteen steps into the Temple during worship ceremonies, singing one song for every step.

As the fourteenth song in this series, Psalm 133 the Israelites would sing this psalm second to last, making it one of the most exhilarating songs of them all, one with a very important message.

This message focuses specifically on the Jewish nation, on Old Testament Temple worship, and on the city of Jerusalem. So, consider what this Psalm meant to the nation of Israel when David wrote it and when they sang it before their festivals in Jerusalem.

The Importance of Unity between Brothers

The first verse reads, “Behold, how good and how beautiful [it is] when brothers dwell together in unity!” (Psa 133:1).

The word dwell can also mean “to sit down together in the same place for a while.” The most direct way to understand this concept would be as when two or more brothers live in the same house together.

An expanded way to understand this concept would be as when the nation of Israel settled into the Promised Land as a peaceful nation, not feuding among themselves over territorial, political, tribal, or personal concerns.

When you read the Old Testament, you discover that brothers did not always get along, especially brothers in Israel’s history. In fact, the first brothers of all, Cain and Abel, engaged in a fatal feud in which Cain murdered Abel.

More specifically, Abraham’s sons Ishmael and Isaac experienced animosity between them, and so did Isaac’s sons, Esau and Jacob. Esau even threatened to kill Jacob. What’s more, Jacob’s twelve sons experienced all sorts of infighting and intrigue, and these men would become the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Study the family history of David, who wrote this song, and you’ll discover that his older brother was angry with him (1 Sam 17:18). David’s own sons would end up feuding with one another, even killing each other (as when Absalom killed Amnon his brother).

Can you see how “brothers dwelling together in unity” was not a trademark of the Jewish nation? That said, when the people of Israel (or at least the Jewish men) traveled to Jerusalem three times a year, to worship the LORD and to celebrate his faithfulness, it was a good and beautiful sight when they entered the city and gathered in the Temple to worship the LORD as brothers?

To illustrate the how good and how beautiful these worship gatherings were in God’s sight, David gave two illustrations.

Remembering when Moses Anointed Aaron

The second verse gives the first illustration. It says, “It is like the fragrant oil on the head, which ran down on the beard – the beard of Aaron, which ran down on the collar of his robes” (Psa 133:2).

At first, this illustration may seem odd and unusual to you. You might be thinking, “That doesn’t sound good or beautiful at all.”

This illustration refers to a special occasion in Israel’s history, the ceremony when Aaron had become their first high priest (Lev 8:12). This happened before Moses died and before the Israelites had entered the Promised Land.

This ceremony was a very important moment because it began a new level of relationship between the LORD and the Jewish people. In fact, it was the first time the nation of Israel had gathered together to worship the LORD at the tabernacle or temple, as they would continue to do for centuries.

From that day forward, they could approach the LORD to offer sacrifices and to worship him themselves, without relying on Moses. This opportunity would also increase their awareness of needing the one, true Messiah, Jesus Christ, who would cleanse them from sins forever.

It is especially remarkable that David mentioned this ceremony in this song – because it was a ceremony that involved two brothers, Moses and Aaron. Though these men had done many things together, they had also experienced some difficulties between them.

On one occasion, Aaron led the nation of Israel to worship a golden calf idol instead of following Moses’ instructions to wait for his return from Mount Sinai (Exo 32). On another occasion, he had joined with their sister Miriam in criticizing and gossiping about Moses, calling his character and integrity into question among the congregation (Num 12).

For Moses to anoint Aaron as the high priest of Israel who would lead the people in worshipping God was remarkable for at least two reasons. First, it featured two brothers with some serious past differences between them uniting together to worship the LORD. Second, it displayed the mercy of God in choosing a man like Aaron to serve him in such an important way.

Can you see why David wrote about this moment? Can you see why it was important and meaningful for the people of Israel to sing about this moment every time they worshipped the LORD together as brothers in the nation of Israel?

Together, this verse and Leviticus 8:12 describe how Moses anointed Aaron with oil by pouring it onto his priestly turban. As you know, oil runs slower than water (due to higher viscosity). As the crowd of Israelites watched expectantly, the oil ran down slowly over his turban, onto his face, then onto his beard. This song indicates that Aaron had a long beard, not a goatee. It extended past the collar of his priestly robes, so that the oil eventually ran down to the tip of his beard and onto his robes.

As the oil ran down, an exquisite fragrance spread slowly among the crowd, reminding them that God was pleased to gather the twelve tribes of Israel together as a nation for worship. This was true, even though they had repeatedly rebelled against him in the wilderness.

Through the priesthood of Aaron, the LORD would unite the nation of Israel together by providing them with a way to worship him. This was a blessing that God bestowed upon Israel in mercy, love, and grace, not because they – or even Aaron – had somehow earned or deserved it. They deserved his judgement instead.

Appreciating the Water from Mount Hermon

To further illustrate the goodness and beauty of “brothers dwelling together in unity,” David offered another fascinating example. He said, “It is like the dew of Hermon, which runs down on the mountains of Zion, for there the LORD has pronounced his blessing – life everlasting!” (Psa 133:2).

This resembles the first illustration, which begins with “it is like.” It also resembles the first by describing something that “runs down” from one place to another.

However, while the first example (Moses anointing Aaron as priest) was a religious or ceremonial illustration, this second one is an illustration from the natural world. It is about water from a place called ‘Hermon.’

Hermon was a mountain on the far northern border of Israel, and it’s still there today. Its summit was (and still is) the highest point in the territory controlled by Israel. It straddles the borders of Syria and Lebanon and its ranges stretch southward to the Golan Heights. This makes it a strategic place for national, military defense.

Hermon is one of the most important natural resources in Israel. Due to its high elevation, it receives a lot of precipitation in a very dry part of the world. Snow falls there in winter and spring and it covers the peaks most of the year.

Meltwater from its western and southern regions seeps through its surface, flowing into springs at the base of the mountain. These springs flow out as streams and rivers which run down together to form the Jordan River. At the southern end of the Jordan, streams flow out from this river to water the ground around Mount Zion (the city of Jerusalem, more than 100 miles away) and around the mountains that surround it.

Today Mount Zion is 2,510 feet tall, while Mount Hermon boasts an elevation of 9,232 feet. Like Moses overshadowing Aaron, Mount Hermon overshadows Mount Zion. Yet as with Aaron, God chose Mount Zion for worshipping him. Both Aaron and Mount Zion were small and rather insignificant compared to their “brothers,” but God poured out and commanded his blessing on these smaller, lesser characters, nonetheless.

Furthermore, both Aaron and Mount Zion relied upon their “larger brother” for significance. Without the ministry and sanction of Moses, Aaron would have been unable to serve as high priest. Without the nourishment from the rainwaters of Mount Hermon, Mount Zion would have been unable to accommodate a city for people to dwell in, what’s more a place for an entire nation to gather for worshipping God.

Yet more than all this, the entire nation of Israel and the splendor of her program of worship was ultimately made possible by the LORD himself. Neither Moses nor Aaron, Mount Hermon nor Mount Zion were anything apart from God.

After all, God has chosen Moses and Aaron out by his own sovereign will, just as he had chosen the nation of Israel. He gave Moses his commandments and Moses passed them on to the people. It was also God who sent the dew and the rain down upon Mount Hermon and caused it to flow down to Mount Zion more than 100 miles away.

Ultimately, it would be God alone who would guarantee a relationship with the nation of Israel in a kingdom filled with blessing and rest, abundance, and peace.

David calls this close and lasting relationship with God “life everlasting,” and it includes an abundant, peaceful, prosperous life in an everlasting kingdom with God, a kingdom with Jerusalem and Mount Zion as its capital city forever.

Application for Our Lives Today

Though this song was written for the nation of Israel, it provides us – as believers in the church age – with important lessons for today (2 Tim 3:16). It also provides us with much-needed encouragement from God (Rom 15:4) and warnings against a wrong response towards him and towards one another (1 Cor 10:11).

God is pleased when brothers (and sisters) are unified.

This is a simple and important truth. Satan wants brothers and sisters to be at odds with one another. God wants brothers and sisters to unify and solve problems together. That’s why Proverbs 17:17 says, “A brother is born for adversity.”

• Are you at odds with a brother or sister in your family?
• Do you have any unresolved disputes?
• Are you angry or upset with a brother or sister, or is there a brother or sister who is upset with you?
• Have you said unkind or hurtful things that have offended a brother or sister?

Jesus teaches you to resolve such problems quickly, before you worship or serve him. “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matt 5:23-24).

• Do you need to speak to any of your brother or sisters (or close family relatives) about anything that is causing conflict between you?

Be like Moses and Aaron and resolve the differences between you.

God is pleased when Christian believers come together in unity.

This is true for any church, including FBC and IBF. Indeed, the New Testament frequently calls Christians “brothers.”

Like brothers in a family and citizens of a nation:

• We must set aside our personal, political, social, and cultural differences.
• We should not gossip about and criticize one another as Aaron did to Moses.
• We should not argue and fight with one another as Jacob’s brothers did or cheat one another and threaten one another as Esau and Jacob did.

So:

• Are you at odds with anyone in your church?
• Do you hate them?
• Are you gossiping about them or criticizing them?
• Are you deceiving them?
• Do you argue with them?
• Do you have unresolved differences?

Just as Moses and Aaron resolved their differences (and as Jacob and Esau resolved theirs), you must also resolve your own.

• Are you critical of another member’s cultural differences?
• Are you critical of members in the other church?

Surrender these criticisms to the LORD so that we can gather together to worship him and serve one another every Sunday in the goodness and beauty of unity.

Our unity increases as we unify around worshipping the LORD.

To grow in unity with one another, we need to gather together on a regular basis for an important reason – to worship the Lord and to serve one another.

We do not gather to celebrate our culture or our ethnicity. We gather to worship the LORD. Sharing this single focus enables us to be unified.

The book of Hebrews commands us to gather together more and more frequently, not less (Heb 10:24). This command is based upon the fact that we have Jesus as our High Priest in heaven today, not Aaron or his sons (Heb 10:19). What’s more, Jesus has cleansed us all from our sins and has made it possible for us to worship him better than ever before, even better than when the nation of Israel worshipped him together in the tabernacle or Temple (Heb 10:22).

Just as it was important for Jewish citizens to gather in Jerusalem for worship three times a year in unity, it is even more important that Christians like you and me gather as much as possible to worship God, especially on the weekly Lord’s Day (Sunday).

What’s more, the book of Hebrews commands us to serve one another through love and good works (Heb 10:23). Paul calls this “equipping the saints for the work of the ministry” (Eph 4:12). This ministry to one another is how we become more unified (Eph 4:13). What’s more, this ministry is the responsibility of every member (Eph 4:16).

Unlike the nation of Israel, who attended the festival in Jerusalem and watched the priests conduct the ceremonies, it is important that members of a church all work together to worship the Lord, with every member doing some of the work. After all, Peter tells us that we are all members of a “holy” and “royal priesthood,” with a responsibility to proclaim his praises for all to see and hear (1 Pet 2:4, 9).

Like Aaron and his sons, we have also been shown incredible mercy by God (1 Pet 2:10). We do not deserve this role and responsibility in the world, but since God has bestowed it upon us, we should carry it out with sincerity of heart and with unity among one another.

Are you exhibiting a growing commitment to gathering together with your church family, or are you gradually withdrawing instead? With Christ as our high priest, God calls us to gather together with confidence and regularity. Are you doing this?

Are you taking seriously your role as a priest before God? Do you worship God with your whole heart, and do you prepare your heart to worship him? (Our 9:30 a.m. prayer time is an important opportunity for doing so.)

Are you faithfully serving in your church in some way, working hard and contributing your part, as a priest in the family of God?

Like Israel, we can look forward to an eternal relationship with God and endless life in his everlasting kingdom. With Jerusalem and Mount Zion as the capital city, we will enjoy a world marked by blessing and rest, abundance, and peace – yet not as Israel only, but with those who have believed on Christ from all the nations of the world. When we gather together to worship the LORD and to serve one another, we should experience a foretaste of this blessing by the unity that we share with one another every week. As we learn to do this better, we experience increasingly “how good and how beautiful it is for brothers to dwell together in unity.”

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Thomas Overmiller serves as pastor for Faith Baptist Church in Corona, NY and blogs at Shepherd Thoughts. This article first appeared at Shepherd Thoughts, used here with permission.

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Photo by Wylly Suhendra on Unsplash