How wonderful, how beautiful,
when brothers and sisters get along!
It's like costly anointing oil
flowing down head and beard,
Flowing down Aaron's beard,
flowing down the collar of his priestly robes.
Harmony is a wonderful thing. When the whole family is getting along and enjoying each other, it’s a great feeling. It’s heaven on earth.
At the consecration of a Jewish high priest, the nation gathered together as one. The ceremonial oil of consecration was poured over the priest’s head in the name of all the tribes; it spilled down his face and drenched his robes. You could smell the fragrance, you could hear the cheering in unison, you could sense the joyful spirit of togetherness – one nation, one faith, one prayer of brotherhood. Oil flows with exuberance - all for one and one for all.
It's like the dew on Mount Hermon
flowing down the slopes of Zion.
Yes, that's where God commands the blessing, ordains eternal life.
Dew is creation’s daily anointing of the earth, its lavish out-pouring of life-giving moisture, a gift out of thin air, mercy new every morning.
In a dry land like Israel, unity would be like the well-watered north, Mount Hermon, sharing its abundance with the parched highlands of Judea. Generosity, mutuality and collaboration like this is a rare experience, something you can only fanaticize about.
Imagine if the Israeli government were to ensure that Palestinians received equal access to water as Israel’s citizens. It would betoken a renewal as vibrant as the spring rains that burst the dry desert into bloom.
But there’s an irony hidden in these words, as pastor and author Mark Buchanen observes. Oil celebrates and dew refreshes, but these images also hint at how difficult unity can be to actually achieve. Oil and water don’t mix so easily. Both have amazing properties, but try to blend them together, and you have impossible on your hands.
Harmony always costs something, but when we make the sacrifice, we discover its reward. Harmony hammered out on the anvil of tough human hearts is a monumental blessing for everyone – like life from the grave!
As this psalm concludes, “there the Lord commands his blessing – life forevermore.”
Drench me, God of the morning dew. Wherever there is harmony, bless the efforts of people to sustain it. Wherever there is friction, let the oil flow, let the dew rise afresh. Teach brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, how to anoint each other with grace, how to water each others' gardens with mercy new every day. Teach nations your path to peace. Pour your oil on the troubled waters of our world this day. Amen.
Photo Credits:
Cat and Dog Photos - Unknown source, ubiqitous on the Internet
Mount Hermon - padfield,com
Dew - David Knight
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