Daily Bible Reading
Psalm 133
1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.
Daily Devotion
Psalm 133
I must admit, before James Wilson released his song titled “Hineh Ma Tov,” I barely took a second glance at this Psalm. I already knew that unity was important, and this passage was so small that I sort of just skimmed my way through it when I read this section of Psalms. However, when James Wilson released his song, I learned that it was actually a cover of an extremely popular song often sung in Jewish communities, even today. The more I looked into it, the more versions of the song I found – each of them quoting this passage of Scripture and each emphasizing not only the importance of unity, but also the blessings that come with it.
The amount of symbolism and significant tidbits in this passage is enough to talk about for days. There are connections both to the time of Moses and Aaron, as well as events that took place in the New Testament. If you are interested in learning more about these connections, I highly recommend doing some research on the subject – you’ll be amazed by how much you can find! For now, however, I want to focus on the concept of unity itself.
For years, I thought of the blessings that come with unity as simply being that there would be fewer disagreements, and generally happier attitudes held by those who were in unity. After a few lessons learned the hard way, though, I’ve learned that unity is more than just agreeing with other people. It is actually the coming together of people who may still disagree with each other for the sake of something more important. I like to visualize it as though we are a huge family coming together for a holiday and keeping the peace while there, even though we may hold differing opinions. While some disagreements may take place at that event, the common goal of coming together to enjoy the holiday is (usually) upheld to the best of everyone’s ability.
When people unite toward a common God-centered goal, blessings follow. I encourage you to take some time today to think about who and what you have unified yourself with. Do your values show through those alliances? Are you practicing the sort of unity that brings blessings upon yourself and others? Have you isolated yourself from others? Are you bringing others into your circle? If your response to any of those questions gives you pause, take the time to start working toward a fix as soon as possible. Believe me, it’s worth the effort!
~Morgan Seagraves