Psalm 133--When Brothers Dwell in Unity

Psalm 133
English Standard Version

When Brothers Dwell in Unity
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
133 Behold, how good and pleasant it is
    when brothers dwell in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil on the head,
    running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
    running down on the collar of his robes!
3 It is like the dew of Hermon,
    which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the LORD has commanded the blessing,
    life forevermore.

---

See John 17 where Jesus prays for believers to be one with each other as He and the Father are one.  This is one of the ways that the world knows that we belong to Jesus, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13: 35).

The unity and brotherhood of the saints is compared to the oil running from Aaron's head down his beard and running onto his collar.  This is a picture of the anointing and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  The picture here though is that it is the same oil that was poured on Aaron's head that ran down on his collar.  There is no distinction.  All have the same Spirit.  Likewise, when the dew which represents the blessings of God's covenant is pictures, the sentence structure in Hebrew is very much the same--God gives the same life-giving dew on Mount Hermon in the north of the Land as He gives to Mount Zion in the south of the Land.  The whole Land naturally would be a desert wasteland, but the LORD causes it to bring forth life and be fruitful.

In the same way, the world does not expect people of different backgrounds and origins to come together in the Church and have unity and to love one another.  There is life that comes forth in a miraculous way that pictures the eternal life that we look forward to where God has redeemed people from every tribe tongue and nation to be one people for Himself.  We will be one with each other as the Father and Son are one and we will also be one with the Father and the Son as they are one with each other.  Such unity is not something that this world can produce or fully understand, so it is important that we live out this unity as part of our gospel witness as it is the power of the gospel that unites us and makes us one.