The Excellency of Brotherly Unity.
A Song of Ascents, of David.
133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
2 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.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon
Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing—life forever.
Indeed, there’s nothing quite like friends, family, or believers working together toward a common purpose. But how good is it? Well, I don’t think many of us can fully appreciate the word picture in v. 2. I mean, we can imagine it, and then think, “huh, that’s weird…” For the Israelites, being anointed by oil was a big deal, but I’m not sure if that happens in any culture these days.
But dew coming down on the mountains, that brings life, just as God commanded, that’s something we can get behind. It’s refreshing, and mountains are visually stunning, and fresh dew on the pines even smells good. And still, I think there is another way to appreciate it, even if it isn’t pleasant. Which is to look at the opposite, and there’s nothing quite so opposite as people working together, and people at each other’s throats.
We see it all over our world, man against man, party against party, business against business, nation against nation. Then go back and imagine them working together. Whew, now that’s a breath of fresh air, and it is what we are called to as children of God. We are not called to bring strife–sure, the world might not appreciate our actions, but they’ll still see the difference.
And if they aren’t seeing the difference in you? Take a good long look in the mirror, and commit to working with your fellow man (even those you might call competitors). It’s not easy, and it doesn’t come naturally. But it will be worth it, and God will help you when you ask and follow in His steps. Yes, there might be “wolves in sheep’s clothing” that need to be called out, but you better be 100% sure God wants you to be the one doing it.
Otherwise, leave the calling out to Him, and look for how you can be a part of something unified. As Jesus said, “they will know you by your love.” Do they?