A SONG OF ASCENTS. OF DAVID.
Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity!
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!
Is there anything as powerful as unity? Or, as beautiful? People working together for the same common good for all is far above riches, power or personal honor. Sports teams desire it, for-profit companies strive for it, churches should relish in it and display it. Perhaps one of the best examples of the power of unity is found in the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. Here you have mankind coming together to do something rather simple: Build a tower (perhaps not that simple in that primitive day). They came together and began to build a tower that wasn't quite as high as their ego was for building it. They set their hearts on being like God and wanting to reach God-like status in their act. They had "set their minds" to accomplish something. Note what God says of their coming together to work together in unity:
Genesis 11:6-7
The Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”
Their coming together as a people, the unity of their work, was very powerful. God dispersed them with different languages to keep them from forming a unified alliance that would be used in destruction toward God's plan. However, we should see the power of unity in this story. In our Psalm, above, we see that God values unity when it is done for and toward righteousness. In John 17 Jesus prayed for the unity of the church. He knew the power it would be for the expansion of the church. Unity is a powerful tool for God. When directed toward the pursuit of righteousness it is like oil down the face, running past the beard to the edges of the robe. A picture of ease, comfort and desire.
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