The Unity of God's People

BackgroundInformation

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

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

As thefourteenth song in this series, Psalm 133 would have been sung second to last, makingit one of the most exhilarating songs of them all, one with a very importantmessage.

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

The Importance of Unity between Brothers

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

The word dwellcan also mean “to sit down together in the same place for a while.” The mostdirect way to understand this concept would be as when two or more brotherslive in the same house together.

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

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

Morespecifically, Abraham’s sons Ishmael and Isaac experienced animosity betweenthem, and so did Isaac’s sons, Esau and Jacob. Esau even threatened to killJacob. What’s more, Jacob’s twelve sons experienced all sorts of infighting andintrigue, and these men would become the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Study the familyhistory of David, who wrote this song, and you’ll discover that his older brotherwas angry with him (1 Sam 17:18). David’s own sons would end up feuding withone 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 toJerusalem three times a year, to worship the LORD and to celebrate hisfaithfulness, it was a good and beautiful sight when they entered the city andgathered in the Temple to worship the LORD as brothers?

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

Remembering when Moses Anointed Aaron

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

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

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

This ceremonywas a very important moment because it began a new level of relationshipbetween the LORD and the Jewish people. In fact, it was the first time the nationof Israel had gathered together to worship the LORD at the tabernacle ortemple, as they would continue to do for centuries.

From that dayforward, they could approach the LORD to offer sacrifices and to worship himthemselves, without relying on Moses. This opportunity would also increasetheir awareness of needing the one, true Messiah, Jesus Christ, who wouldcleanse them from sins forever.

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

On oneoccasion, Aaron led the nation of Israel to worship a golden calf idol insteadof following Moses’ instructions to wait for his return from Mount Sinai (Exo32). On another occasion, he had joined with their sister Miriam in criticizingand gossiping about Moses, calling his character and integrity into questionamong the congregation (Num 12).

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

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

Together, thisverse and Leviticus 8:12 describe how Moses anointed Aaron with oil by pouringit onto his priestly turban. As you know, oil runs slower than water (due tohigher viscosity). As the crowd of Israelites watched with bated breath (orsilent suspense), the oil ran down slowly over his turban, onto his face, thenonto 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 eventuallyran down to the tip of his beard and onto his robes.

As the oil randown, an exquisite fragrance spread slowly among the crowd, reminding them thatGod was pleased to gather the twelve tribes of Israel together as a nation forworship. This was true, even though they had repeatedly rebelled against him inthe wilderness.

Through thepriesthood of Aaron, the LORD would unite the nation of Israel together byproviding them with a way to worship him. This was a blessing that God bestowedupon Israel in mercy, love, and grace, not because they – or even Aaron – hadsomehow earned or deserved it. They deserved his judgement instead.

Appreciating the Water from Mount Hermon

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

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

However, whilethe first example (Moses anointing Aaron as priest) was a religious orceremonial illustration, this second one is an illustration from the naturalworld. It is about water from a place called ‘Hermon.’

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

Hermon is oneof 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 fallsthere in winter and spring and it covers the peaks most of the year.

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

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

Furthermore,both Aaron and Mount Zion relied upon their “larger brother” for significance. Withoutthe ministry and sanction of Moses, Aaron would have been unable to serve ashigh priest. Without the nourishment from the rainwaters of Mount Hermon, MountZion 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 thanall this, the entire nation of Israel and the splendor of her program ofworship was ultimately made possible by the LORD himself. Neither Moses norAaron, Mount Hermon nor Mount Zion were anything apart from God.

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

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

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

Application forOur Lives Today

Though thissong was written for the nation of Israel, it provides us – as believers in thistime period of the church – with important lessons for today (2 Tim 3:16). Italso provides us with much-needed encouragement from God (Rom 15:4) andwarnings against a wrong response towards him and towards one another (1 Cor10:11).

God is pleasedwhen brothers (and sisters) are unified.

This is asimple and important truth. Satan wants brothers and sisters to be at odds withone another. God wants brothers and sisters to unify and solve problemstogether. That’s why Proverbs 17:17 says, “A brother is born for adversity.”

• Areyou at odds with a brother or sister in your family?
• Doyou have any unresolved disputes?
• Areyou angry or upset with a brother or sister, or is there a brother or sisterwho is upset with you?
• Haveyou said unkind or hurtful things that have offended a brother or sister?

Jesus teachesyou 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 brotherhas something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go yourway. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift”(Matt 5:23-24).

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

Be like Mosesand Aaron and resolve the differences between you.

God is pleasedwhen Christian believers come together in unity.

This is truefor any church, including FBC and IBF. Indeed, the New Testament frequently callsChristians “brothers.”

Like brothersin a family and citizens of a nation:

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

So:

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

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

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

Surrender thesecriticisms to the LORD so that we can gather together to worship him and serveone another every Sunday in the goodness and beauty of unity.

Our unityincreases as we unify around worshipping the LORD.

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

We do notgather to celebrate our culture or our ethnicity. We gather to worship theLORD. Sharing this single focus enables us to be unified.

The book ofHebrews commands us to gather together more and more frequently, not less (Heb10:24). This command is based upon the fact that we have Jesus as our HighPriest in heaven today, not Aaron or his sons (Heb 10:19). What’s more, Jesushas cleansed us all from our sins and has made it possible for us to worshiphim better than ever before, even better than when the nation of Israel worshippedhim together in the tabernacle or Temple (Heb 10:22).

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

What’s more, thebook 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 theministry” (Eph 4:12). This ministry to one another is how we become moreunified (Eph 4:13). What’s more, this ministry is the responsibility of everymember (Eph 4:16).

Unlike thenation of Israel, who attended the festival in Jerusalem and watched thepriests conduct the ceremonies, it is important that members of a church allwork 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 “royalpriesthood,” with a responsibility to proclaim his praises for all to see andhear (1 Pet 2:4, 9).

Like Aaron andhis sons, we have also been shown incredible mercy by God (1 Pet 2:10). We donot deserve this role and responsibility in the world, but since God hasbestowed it upon us, we should carry it out with sincerity of heart and with unityamong one another.

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

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

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

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