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About this post: We want to stay connected! This blog post is part of a series of daily devotionals for this season. Read them, share them, and pray that they bring God's peace and love to our communities. To sign up to receive text notification of these posts, text zpc to 39970. We welcome your comments and questions each day. 

About the author: Karen Barnes has been a member at ZPC since 1996. She has been involved in many ministries through the years but is especially fond of the beautiful Zionsville Great Banquet community. She also adores her Home Group of powerful and passionate women (shout out to you girls) and is blessed by their continual prayers and sharing. Karen has three amazing kids – Gracie, currently hunkering down in her apartment in LA; Christina, currently escaping NYC living at home in Zionsville; and Noah, currently climbing a tree in the front yard. Karen has been married to Clay for over 30 years now and one day soon hopes to actually get to see the Elton John concert that was to be their 30th anniversary gift (#rescheduled twice #firstworldproblems). 

Today's Scripture:

How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord ordained his blessing, life forevermore.     - Psalm 133

Psalm 133 is one of the shortest psalms, encompassing just three verses. You could almost miss it in your reading of the book of Psalms, or gloss over it. This psalm is simultaneously a call and a reminder for us to live in unity (v. 1). Sounds like a simple message but it is supported by very rich imagery in the two word pictures that encompass verses 2 and 3. The first analogy depicts Aaron, the High-Priest, who by job description is a representative for God’s people, receiving an anointing of oil as he did during his ordination. The oil is valuable (precious), abundant (running over his beard and down the collar of his robes) and a gift from above (starting atop his head and metaphorically coming from the hand of God).  The second word picture describes living in unity as the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. Mt. Hermon, a 9200-foot peak at the extreme northern portion of Palestine, provided a major water supply for the Jordan River by its melting snow. The dew that fell on Hermon ultimately fed the Jordan river. Dew is the gentle provision of life-giving moisture to nature, especially essential in times of little to no rainfall. The dew is valuable (life-sustaining), abundant (blanketing everything) and a gift from above (coming from the sky as well as the hand of God).  Both illustrations depict a gift of God that refreshes life and blesses all the people around it. That is the psalmist’s point about living in unity. 

The world seems set on dividing people into differing groups of “us” vs. “them.” These factions are breeding grounds for misunderstanding, hurt and distance. Yet God reminds us in this psalm of how good and pleasant unity is. And, much like dew or anointing oil, he calls us in a way that is gentle, refreshing and leads to great blessings. Where do you see unity in your world today? It is easy to get caught up in the bad news and division. But even in these challenging times it is “very good and pleasant” to stop and make note of how our kindred are living together in unity. Today I see unity in the ladies who are using their time, talents and own fabrics to sew face masks for those who need them. I see unity in a professor who created a food pantry to help the kids at her college who no longer have their campus jobs. I see unity in medical researchers collaborating to understand this virus. I see unity in my own children who are working hard at e-learning and at home to help their tired parents out. I see unity in families reaching out to others to check in on them, putting down grievances in favor of giving care. I see unity in God who hasn’t stopped working to gently refresh his children by bringing them together through “God winks,” texts, phone conversations, zoom meetings, online worship services, devotions, and a million other ways. In what ways have you seen God at work blessing his people with the gift of unity? In what ways can you further the blessing of living together in unity in your day-to-day world?

Activity:

It’s only three verses … perhaps give a try to memorizing Psalm 133. 

Prayer:

Dear Father God,
Thank you for this moment that makes us stop and think about how you want us to live.  Please help us to remember and to be encouraged to live together in unity.  Thank you for your precious gifts and for your ways which are always so much better than our ways.  In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

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