Brethren in Unity
One of the great privileges and responsibilities I enjoy as an older sister is teaching my youngest brothers from the Bible each morning. The most important way you can invest in your siblings is in their spiritual lives (and, by the way, this doesn’t happen without serious investment in other aspects of their lives).
You need to spend much time in God’s Word yourself. In order to invest, you need resources on which to draw. The littlest children will ask you the most interesting questions, and they will want answers! It is wonderful, and it is challenging.
The following is preparation done for a Bible study on Psalm 133, which you might share with your siblings. Keep it clear and simple. Trust the Lord’s promise that his Word will not return void. You do not need to embellish the Scripture with glitter and flashing lights; it is a rich stone best plain set. Pray, read the text, and give exposition appropriate to the understanding of your siblings. Be sure to include some discussion on personal application.
Begin with prayer.
In coming to the Scriptures, and especially when seeking to teach others, we must come with humble prayer. I pray every morning that the Lord would bless the time spent in Scripture with my two youngest brothers—that it would be a means of establishing in them a lifelong love and reverence and appetite for His Word. I pray that God would be the purifier of my words—that the truth would be planted firmly like a tree, and that all that is imperfect in my words would blow away like chaff. Pray that every heart would be prepared to receive his Word like a good seed in tender ground.
Read the text.
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (I still read that verse with the sing-song we used to memorize it years ago.) “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; 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 forevermore.” Psalm 133 is a mere three verses, but rich with meaning.
Expound each verse (or phrase) in turn.
The Happiness of Brotherly Unity
“Behold!” The psalmist calls our attention to something rare and wonderful. “See this!” he cries.—Observe, admire, and emulate. “How good and how pleasant it is!” Words fail him to describe exactly the great goodness and pleasantness of this thing; the “how” gives emphasis, but it also asks a question. “Can anyone say how good and how pleasant it is?” It is a joy that cannot be quantified.
“… for brethren to dwell together in unity.” Some of us (probably each of us at some time) are tempted to think that we would get along better with our siblings if we didn’t “dwell together”! “Sometimes it is chosen, as the best expedient for preserving peace, that brethren should live asunder and at a distance from each other,” wrote Matthew Henry in his commentary, citing the example in Genesis 13 of Abraham and Lot parting after disputes among their herdsmen. “That may indeed prevent enmity and strife,” Henry continues, “but the goodness and pleasantness are for brethren to dwell together and so to dwell in unity, to dwell even as one.” The brotherly unity lauded here is more than the simple absence of arguing and bickering. For some of us, that would seem enough!—but it is so much more. This unity is marked by an active delight in one another—the special delight of mutual interest, love, and service. It doesn’t happen at a distance. We need to be present (and not only physically) in the lives of one another, if we are to enjoy true unity.
The Illustration of Brotherly Unity
The psalmist then presents illustrations of that brotherly unity. He compares it to “precious ointment” and to “dew.” How do these two metaphors enrich our understanding of brotherly unity?
“It is like the precious ointment…” In Exodus 30, God himself gave instruction for the blending and use of a holy anointing oil, for the consecration of the temple vessels and of the high priests. Olive oil was perfumed, “after the art of the apothecary,” with costly spices: murr, with its rich, balsamic fragrance; kinnamon and kidduh, with their warm and sweet spiciness; and kenehbosem (“reed of fragrance”) with its buttery, nutty scent. Matthew Henry, again: “God appointed the ingredients and the quantities. Thus believers are taught of God to love one another; it is a grace of his working in us.” True brotherly love and unity is not natural to man’s sinful nature; it must be an anointing of God.
“…that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments.” The picture here is of overflowing generosity. The anointing oil was poured over the high priest so that it ran down his face and robes. In the same way, brotherly unity is unstinting in its blessing. The richly aromatic oil would have perfumed not only the high priest, but diffused in the air, delighting all the assembly. In the same way, siblings who delight in one another bring a rare and precious delight to others.
“As the dew…” How I love to go out in the early morning, when the world is fresh and cool and shimmering beneath the countless dew-drops! In the same way, brotherly unity cools sinful passions (anger, malice), and increases the fruitfulness and beauty of our lives.
“…of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion.” The hill of Hermon was a common hill, and Zion a holy hill. The dew that is brotherly unity descends upon both; bringing refreshment and fruitfulness to both secular and sacred spheres. Without this unity families, nations, and churches will wither.
The Proof of Brotherly Unity
“For there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life forevermore.” Those brothers who dwell in unity are blessed indeed, because blessed by God with an everlasting blessing. God’s people, by his grace, have been enabled to experience a taste on earth of the love and unity that is the mark of Heavenly fellowship. How good and how pleasant it is!
Discuss personal application.
The psalmist leaves us to make the application; and I will do the same, exhorting you to search the Scriptures for the many concrete ways in which God’s people are to express their love and unity (washing each other’s feet, assembling together, praying for one another, showing hospitality, greeting with a holy kiss, etc.). One application recalls the original use of the psalms: group singing. The Psalm 133 is identified as “a song of decrees,” or “ascents,” to be sung by pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem for the holy feast days. Today, what better way to enjoy brotherly unity than by singing this psalm together with your siblings or church family. There are several metrical versions of the psalm, and various tunes, which you can find on the internet. You might even want to try singing the original Hebrew: “Hine ma tov”!
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” [Colossians 3:16]
Friday, April 13, 2012