There is a common saying in the Christian circle, ‘where there is unity, God demands a blessing.’ This may sound nice, but is this saying true? Is this biblical? We find that this saying is based on Psalm 133. Here at Fresh Truth Ministries, we want to delve deeper into this psalm in its context to see if this saying is true. 

David is the writer of this psalm, and the theme is about unity. It’s part of a series of 15 psalms (psalms 120 – psalm 134) known as the ‘songs of the ascent’, or songs of the going up. Jewish people would go on a pilgrim journey to Jerusalem and unto the temple to observe certain feasts in Israel each year which God had commanded His people to observe. Deuteronomy 16:16 states ‘Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty.’ We can imagine David the writer of psalm 133 watching his people as they made their way through Jerusalem going up to the temple. The common factor bringing these people together is God Himself. To see the joy David would have seeing his people unite to worship the God of Israel. 

Psalm 133:

1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

2 It is like the precious oil 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.

Let’s break these verses down together:

Verse 1:‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!’

When we see scripture begin with the word ‘Behold’ the reader must pay attention to what is going to be said, because what follows is important for the reader. ‘How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!’ This is ‘good’ because the people are being obedient to God’s word as found in Deuteronomy 16:16. And it is ‘pleasant’. The word ‘pleasant’ here means ‘a sweet-smelling aroma or sweet sounding to the ear’. So, before God, unity amongst the brethren is not just good, but unity is an act of worship before God as it is like a ‘sweet-smelling aroma’ unto Him when they come together with God as the main purpose.

Verse 2: It is like the precious oil upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments

‘It is like the precious oil upon the head’, David compares ‘unity’ to this rare oil that was used to anoint Aaron and his sons as the priests of Israel. This anointing oil set Aaron and his sons to be separated for service in the temple for God. No one in Israel was to replicate this oil. The aroma was a strong and sweet-smelling fragrance. It would have been so strong that people would smell you before they saw. People around the priests would have been blessed by the sweet aroma that this oil had.

‘…that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments’ This is a picture of this oil being poured abundantly. It wasn’t a smear on the forehead or a sprinkle, but it’s a pouring on of this sweet-smelling oil, flowing down from the head to the beard and even to the collar. Unity in God is so precious to God, that like Aaron, He will set these brethren aside for His purpose. And just like the picture of the oil flowing down from the head, beard and collar, the blessing comes from the top and flows to the bottom. And just like the head, beard and collar is connected so those who are in unity under God will be blessed regardless their status in the world, because under God they are seen to Him as precious. 

‘It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion!’ 

Mt Hermon (also known as ‘sacred mountain’) was the highest peak mountain in Israel. This mountain was north of Mt Zion and the dew was very abundant in comparison to Mt Zion in the south that was much drier. If you were a shepherd in these areas, you would lead your sheep towards this mountain. The closer you get the more you realise the vegetation, the clean water, making it very beneficial for all animals and people alike. David compares the unity of his people in Israel here to the blessing of Mt Hermon to the drier mountains below. The blessing that the thick dew from the North would give to the mountain south of it that are drier. 

For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, Life forever more.’

So just like the oil and the dew come from above, so does God’s blessing on those come down from above to brethren who dwell together in unity. So, to quickly answer our question, yes there is a blessing where there is unity amongst God’s people. Unity in God is the key point here. It’s not a blessing in unity for the sake of unity but the key focus is unity in God. When His people come together to worship Him together, it is a sweet aroma unto God. Good and pleasant indeed unto Him. 

Are there things the Christian can learn from psalm 133? We want to conclude with a few points:

– Firstly, just as the people of Israel came together to observe the Jewish Holidays which God commanded them to observe together. We as Christians must keep to the ordinance of gathering together to worship God as an assembly as Hebrews 10:24-25 teaches: ‘And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together.’ 

– Just like this holy oil setting apart Aaron and his sons for service unto the Lord. Unity in Christ sets us apart from the world to do God’s service. And just like the priests couldn’t do their priestly duties unless anointed with the oil, so we as Christians cannot do our duties unto God unless we are one body under Christ following the teachings of our Lord Jesus.

– For the Christian, there are blessings when we are in unity under God, but the blessing we truly have is in Christ Jesus ‘Life forever more!’. The blessing we can offer people is Jesus Himself. As John 3:16 says, ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.’

– Bless people around you with the gospel of Jesus, because ‘life forever more’ only comes through Him.