TEAMWORK
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Opening Prayer
Open my mind and heart as I come to your Word today, Gracious God. Use it to change me, to make me more loving, more thoughtful, more compassionate, more generous—more like my Savior Jesus.
Read PSALM 133
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Psalm 133
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 How good and pleasant it is
when God’s people live together in unity!
2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
down on the collar of his robe.
3 It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the Lord bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
In what tangible ways do you see unity making a difference for your church, as well as for its testimony in your community?
Israelis commonly dance when singing this psalm, repeating it again and again. The goodness and pleasure that comes from the unity of brothers and sisters is illustrated by two dramatic metaphors. I smell the fragrance of the first—the consecrating oil poured out over Aaron and his sons, over head, beard, and collar; the specification of this oil is set out in Exodus.1 Unity of believers is not an optional extra. It is a vital part of our faith and mission: ‘By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’2
The second metaphor is the dew of Hermon (in the far north) falling on Zion (in the south). I don’t think this is a climatic miracle; it is probably a reference to abundant dew, like that of Hermon, falling (we know dew does not really fall) on the parched hills of Judea and especially Mount Zion. I pause to reflect on any experiences I have had or stories I have read of believers working together and thus bringing refreshment and encouragement and hope to whole communities. Often these events are the result of one person of prayer and courage taking an initiative for the sake of others—I pray that I may be such a person. The promise of this psalm is that there (in Jerusalem) God is going to bestow his blessing. It is a sad and tragic irony that, through David’s dalliance in Jerusalem,3 a whole sequence of events unfolded, bringing discord and death through his whole kingdom.
Apply
Are the words ‘running down … falling’ (vv. 2, 3) a challenge, regarding the humility needed for energetic unity? Or a reminder that this wonderful gift comes down from God?
Closing prayer
Father, I pray for my relationships with family members and my closest friends, that our bonds of love will grow even stronger and realize greater and greater unity.
1 Exod 30:23–25 2 John 13:35 3 2 Sam 11
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