Some people will erroneously attempt to put Christianity and Islam together, claiming Islam and Christianity are similar or the same religion. While numerous approaches can prove such a belief as completely false, one of those ways involves looking at the five pillars of Islam, the five basic yet mandatory acts required by all Muslims to be part of the Muslim religion. One of these pillars Muslim call the hajj, or “the pilgrimage.” Sometime during their lifetime, all Muslims have the requirement to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, and the “good” Muslims make this trip annually. Christianity has no equivalent on this and for good reason. Christians rightfully believes that our bodies are temples of God the Holy Spirit. Therefore, in essence, Christians do not have to go to God because God comes to them. While Christians could not relate at all to Muslims in regard to a pilgrimage, ironically, the ancient Jews could. A few of the Jewish holidays, like Passover and Pentecost, mandated all the Jews report before the Lord, whether at the tabernacle or at the temple. Therefore, the holiday became just as much a pilgrimage. Indeed, the Jews could truly say about these holidays that the journey had just as much importance as the destination.
An examination of Psalm 133 will reveal that the psalmist learned piece of a wisdom from his pilgrimage, which he willingly shares with anyone pursuing wisdom. Therefore, when observing Psalm 133, imagine an ancient Israel making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, like Passover or Pentecost. It will make Psalm 133 clearer.
In ancient times, the book of Psalms consisted of five scrolls or books. Psalm 133 lies within the fifth book or scroll. This fifth book or scroll has a group of psalms nicknamed Songs of Ascents. This group of psalms received its nickname because most, if not all, of the psalms in this section of the scroll were sung by pilgrims ascending Mount Zion to Jerusalem (hence the “Ascent” in “Songs of Ascents”) for those three holidays requiring pilgrimage. Psalm 133 joins Psalms 127 & 128 as one of three wisdom psalms in the fifth scroll commemorating the family unit and society. Indeed, this psalm falls under the category of a wisdom psalm, for this psalm aims more to teach about the Lord and less of adoration towards the Lord. One can see the psalm as an extended proverb, more specifically, an emblematic proverb. Some have even gone as far as suggesting this psalm as possible greeting for distant relatives joining up with the family. The psalm begins with piece a wisdom: the positive experience of dwelling with family. The middle of the psalm utilizes two metaphors which highlight the positivity. The psalm ends with another wise statement to tie together positive impact of family together under God.
133:1. The psalmist begins by exclaiming “behold” to get the attention of the audience. He wants his audience to observe something carefully. He follows up with the adjectives “good” (טוֹב, tov) and “pleasant” (נָעִים, nāʿîm) , which should not come across as redundant. Each has its own meaning. The adjective “good” (טוֹב, tov) reminds the audience of the creation account in Genesis 1, in which God declares every aspect of his creation as “good.” The family and community are part of God’s good creation. The adjective “pleasant” (נָעִים, nāʿîm) comes from the root נעם, and from this root comes Hebrew words meaning “attractive,” “friendly,” “good,” “joyous” and “lovely.” It constantly pairs with “good” (טוֹב, tov) throughout the Old Testament. Therefore, the two adjectives do not come off as redundant, but rather, as emphasis. These two adjectives together declare something positive as something very positive. Then why not just say “very good” (ט֖וֹב מְאֹ֑ד, tov meod)? When “good” (טוֹב, tov) and “pleasant” (נָעִים, nāʿîm) do distinguish in meaning, “good” (טוֹב, tov) means positive in an objective way, and “pleasant” (נָעִים, nāʿîm) means good in a subjective way. Family dwelling together is both objectively and subjectively positive, further cementing the very positive nature of family dwelling together.
In this case, the very positive thing would be brothers, or families, dwelling together. In ancient Israel, nuclear families would live together with their extended family. When sons married, the son would bring his newlywed wife back home to live with in his father’s house until the time of his father’s death, in which the eldest son would inherit the house, and the other sons would move away to build houses of their own. Daughters, when married, would move into their husband’s father’s house. Even when the father died, the oldest son inherited the house and the younger songs moved away, the younger brothers did not move far. Therefore, quite commonly, the family’s neighbors also shared a common ancestor with his neighbors. As seen in the first verse alone, the psalmist seems to praise this practice, both nuclear families continuing to live with extended family and communities consisting of related families. Not only did the people living in community have nationality ties, they also had blood ties. Soon, we will learn they had a third tie: religious ties.
See, keep in mind that, back in ancient times, no one could guarantee safe and secure long-distance travel. Therefore, when the holidays required pilgrimages to far off lands, no one left alone. The whole family unit, and sometimes the whole community, would travel together because traveling in numbers created safety and security. Again, the psalmist seems to praise such a practice because of unity it brings. Not only do these people have nationality ties and blood ties, they have religious ties because they all embark toward Jerusalem for the same cause: to worship the Lord. This imagery of people tied together in three aspects paints a picture of hope that a perfect peaceful unity can happen.
Concluding Psalm 133:1, imagine somebody, like the psalmist, traveling with his family and with his community up to Jerusalem for the holiday. Quite possibly, the stressors that happened in the ancient caravan match the same stressors that could happen in the modern-day Dodge Caravan. Babies crying. Children annoying and teasing one another. Slowing down for the elderly to allow them to catch up with the rest. Unexpected bathroom stops. While the psalmist probably experienced the like, he also observes, however, people helping each other. People protecting one another. People providing for one another. Therefore, he can confidently say, “What a wonderful time traveling with family and with community!”
133:2. The Holy Land had an abundant amount of olive trees, so Israelites learned to utilize olives to their fullest capabilities. One of these uses involved mixing olive oil with scented spices, like calamus, cassia, cinnamon and myrrh, to create a lotion for body care, especially for hair and skin. In a way, it kind of acted as a shampoo to wash hair, and for men, beards. Therefore, when a guest visited a home, the host would follow up the washing of feet by washing with oil. More specifically to this case, anointing oil consecrated the high priest to serve as the high priest. Moses anointing Aaron as the first high priest (see Exodus 29:7 and Leviticus 8:10-12), and every high priest after him followed that law. Therefore, in this case, Aaron represents the high priest. Before the high priest would perform any important ritual on any of these significant holidays, he underwent consecration, including anointing by oil. This anointing in the presence of the people would remind the people that the Lord had established the priesthood as man’s arbiter to God. The consecration of the high priest demonstrated that the people had the utmost respect for God and entering his dwelling place, the temple. On the flip side of that, the priests anointing the high priest with oil represents Yahweh as a good host, taking care of his guest as he enters the house. Thus, the anointing of oil served as a two-fold reminder that the people of Israel dwelled in community with God himself, and they themselves, as a community, dwelled with God.
Twice Psalm 133:2 has the verb “going down” (יָרַד, yārǎḏ) to describe the flow of the oil. The verse ends with the oil reaching literally the “mouth of the robe,” in essence, the collar. If anointed with a healthy heaping of oil, which is probable, the oil would flow down to the breast place of the high priest, which had twelve gemstones representing the twelve tribes of Israel. If the case, connecting the imagery of anointing oil flowing down the high priest to brothers dwelling together makes clearer sense. It paints a picture of God’s blessing flowing down from heaven and touching the entire community, the entire nation. Do not take for granted the direction of flow for the anointing oil. Obviously gravity will drag the oil down the head, over the face, down the beard and down to the collar. When the psalmist observed this very literal downward movement, he also saw it could have symbolic downward movement. Some have argued for a more social justice downward flow, as in the richer or older brother helping a poorer or younger brother. Other believe in a more spiritual downward, as in God from heaven pouring down blessing on the earth below.
Concluding Psalm 133:2, imagine someone, like the psalmist, has finally arrived in Jerusalem for festival. He or she find himself or herself in a large crowd gathered at the front of the temple to watch the high priest. The opening ceremonies begin the priests consecrating the high priest to begin the rituals and sacrifice, which would include anointing the priest with oil. Now remember, Leviticus 19:27 forbid shaving the corners of the beard. Sometimes priests so afraid of accidently snipping these corners would avoid shaving altogether. Thus, the high priest’s beard could grow quite long, rivaling that or a hippy or a civil war general. Therefore, imagine someone with the longest, most epic beard anointed with oil. The oil gushes down the head and over the face like a waterfall. Each drop of oil clings to every follicle of beard hair, sliding down drop by drop, until it reaches the collar. When the psalmist sees this in the crowd, so many thoughts go through his mind. He sees a priest honored to represent humanity before God, and he sees the Lord as hospitable host. He remembers the abundant blessings of Yahweh, like the abundant oil on the head of the high priest, whether the blessings directly from the Lord or indirectly through his family and through his community.
133:3a. For the second simile to illustrate the positive benefits, the psalmist utilizes dew on Mount Hermon as a simile. In between April and October, Mount Hermon had thick layers of dew, so thick a person wearing socks and shoes would still have wet feet walking through it. Mount Zion, however, usually experienced a dry spell during that same time period. Without a supply of moisture, Judah would experience deadly droughts. If Mount Zion could somehow gain Mount Hermon’s dew, it would bring relief to Jerusalem. Mount Hermon, however, locates itself about 125 miles north of Mount Zion. Dew normally does not migrate, and even if it could, it would have a long distance to go. Some have proposed that טַל (tal) better translates to “light rain,” which makes slightly more sense. Rain on Mount Hermon would roll down into tributary rivers to the Sea of Galilee, which empties into the Jordan, which, through irrigation, would make its way to Jerusalem. Others suggest, however, that the psalmist sets up a hypothetical scenario to colorfully illustrate relief and refreshment, which seems more probable. Someone might assume the Lord would make his dwelling on a naturally blessed mountain (as some Canaanite associated Mount Hermon as Baal’s home), yet God made Mount Zion his home. Since Yahweh resided on Mount Zion, not Mount Hermon, Jerusalem, in reality, had the real blessing. Again, the Lord’s presence on Mount Zion compares to Mount Hebron’s dew suddenly ending up on Zion during its dry season. It paints a picture of refreshment. The psalmist uses this metaphor to argue brother dwelling in worship together bring the same refreshment and invigoration.
Again, imagine a pilgrim in Jerusalem for one of these Jewish festivals, like the psalmist. Quite possibly, the psalmist pilgrimed during the Judean summer, and in this year, Jerusalem suffers from drought. He feels hot and sweaty, yet he has a hard time securing water to think. He remembers Mount Hermon, whether he lives close to there or he just visited there one time, and he recalls how much dew gathers on the plants. He thinks to himself, “Man, if we could just take the dew on Mount Hermon and put it on Mount Zion, that would bring so much relief from this heat and drought. Then he remembers something, or rather someone, better dwells on Mount Zion: Yahweh. While hot and parched, he remembers he pilgrimed to Jerusalem to celebrate God’s blessing to the Israelites, like God blesses Mount Hermon with dew.
133:3b. From Zion, Yahweh dwelled. From there, the Lord would give blessing his people. The Hebrew noun “blessing” (בְּרָכָה, berāḵâ) reminds the audience of what God gave Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (see Gen 12:3 & 32:29) and what God gave the Israelites when wandering in the desert (see Deut 2:7). The people of Israel have rightly communed in their desire for blessing. If the Israelites wanted blessing, it only made sense to go to the place where Yahweh resided.
Once again, imagine a pilgrim, like the psalmist on the long journey back home. Just like the journey up to Jerusalem, the family might have driven him crazy, especially traveling in close proximity. This time, however, the pilgrim sings Psalm 133. That person would have remembered that their family brought pleasantness to their lives. Even if that person couldn’t picture family as good and pleasing at the moment, the metaphors in Psalm 133 would remind them that just like oil is good, and dew on a dry land is good, so family is also good. The closing colon further teaches that tighter than blood relation, the community ties together under their God. As the family ascents toward Jerusalem to celebrate the holidays, they should celebrate the greatest blessing God has given them: their family and their community. God calls his people to come together for three festivals for a reason: to promote unity of family and community. These three holidays reminded those gathered in Jerusalem of the common unity of religion, nationality and blood, and this common unity made them a true community. On the next pilgrimage for a holiday, that person will remember to sing Psalm 133 to prepare his or her mind for worship when the family and the community arrives in Jerusalem.
To review, the psalm begins with piece a wisdom: the positive experience of dwelling with family. The middle of the psalm utilizes two metaphors which highlight the positivity. The psalm ends with another wise statement to tie together positive impact of family together under God. While structurally this forms a chiasm, logically it does not make sense. Typically, the main point falls in the middle of the chiasm, yet here, the middle of the chiasm has similes. Analogies usually support the main point. No way would typical secondary information become the primary information. Quite possibly, the psalmist anticipated that expectation, and he “tricks” the audience. He flips it around so that that outside pieces become the emphasis. The most important of the psalm lies within the outside points, not the inside points. That opening and closing colon, the brothers dwelling together and Yahweh’s blessings become the focal point. Then what does brothers dwelling together have to do with the blessing of Yahweh? They connection has to do with worship. Because the foundation of the psalm lies within that first verse and the last colon in the third verse, and because of the chiastic structure, the brothers dwelling together in one must specifically refer to brothers coming together to worship the Lord.
I have problem with Christians who view themselves as “Christian islands.” These Christians call themselves “non-practicing” Christian or “self-practicing” Christians. According to them, they can sign off on mentally agreeing with the doctrines of Christianity, but they don’t act out their faith, especially in terms of worshipping at a church. “Non-practicing” Christians or “self-practicing” Christians really throw off secular surveys. When secular surveys ask about religion, they mark down a person who says “Christian” as a Christian just because that person said “Christian” with no further qualifications needed. (Christian surveys typically fix this problem by requiring affirming certain beliefs to qualify as Christian.)
See, I understand how Christianity got this point. Earlier in modern church history, some legitimately thought of themselves as good, born-again, saved Christians because they saw in the pew for an hour a week. Pastors had to do a lot of work to teach people that salvation comes by grace, through faith alone, and not by works (Eph 2:8-9), which includes going to church. Unfortunately, the pendulum swung to the other extreme. Some people conclude, “If I can become a saved, born-again Christian by grace through faith, and works does not save, why do works?” which would include going to church. Thus, church attendance dropped.
Psalm 133 reminds Christians of the importance of communal worship. First, God commands it. All the feasts and festivals in the Torah Yahweh mandates. A few of those holidays, like Passover and Pentecost, require the Israelites to assemble before the tabernacle or temple to properly celebrate them. Failing to assemble results in a failure to celebrate appropriately. With all the blessing the Lord gives humanity, from salvation to protection and provisions, God has the right to demand Christians to gather for worship. Second, worshipping in community builds unity. Remember the exegesis of Psalm 133 revealed that the pilgrimage strengthened the bonds of blood times, nationality ties and religious ties. No wonder the New Testament uses the same metaphors to describe the church! The New Testament calls Christians brothers and sisters and Christ to create “blood ties” or “family ties.” The New Testament calls Christians “fellow citizens” (Eph 2:19) of the kingdom of God, creating “national ties.” Christians who do not worship together do not build the religious ties God desires his people to have. Third, Psalm 133 also reveals that God has designated the church, the community of believers, as a blessing to Christians. Yes, part of the purpose of the church should involve blessing Christians. As a matter of fact, sometimes the Lord sends blessing to individual Christians by blessing the community of the church. Christians denying themselves church deny themselves God’s blessing!
These three points I can illustrate the best with a [heated] conversation I had with a Unitarian Universalist. Unitarian Universalists believe in universal salvation, meaning they believe God will ultimately save everybody in the universe in the end. In our [heated] discussion, I contested his claims by asking, “Well, if God will save everybody in the end, why bother becoming a Christian?” His rebuttal went along the lines of, “You sound like you’re selling spiritual fire insurance. Becoming a Christian should have more positive benefits than escaping hell and entering heaven. How about having a loving community to support you through the hardships of this life?” While I still ultimately disagree with universal salvation, this unitarian universalist did make a good point. Christianity should have more positive benefits than just escaping hell bound for heaven. As his example, he named the church as a loving and supporting community. Quite possibly, his example came from his experience. His Unitarian Universalist church loved and supported him. If the Unitarian Universalist church can promote this love and support, Christian churches of all denominations need to both speak of and act out this love and support. Again, Christians communing in worship both promotes unity and blesses the Christian, just like it blesses the Lord.
The Early Church understood the importance of community in celebrating the blessings of God. In the Early Church, Psalm 133 would circulate as one of the Eucharist readings because it brought together people in the family of Christ. Early Church Father St. Augustine used Psalm 133 as a defense of monasteries because monasteries developed brotherhoods that blessed the men who joined them. Do not think that this means the Early Church had the perfect churches, with no inner conflict. Trust me, the Early Church knew how conflicting the church could get. That same Early Church Father Augustine once blatantly put it, “The church is a whore, but she’s my mother.” Augustine knew that sometimes Christian in the church could struggle with sin, but also knew how much the church had taken care of him and blessed him. Christian philosopher and scholar Erasmus once put it more nicely when he said, “I put up with this church, in the hope that one day it will become better, just as it is constrained to put up with me in the hope that I will become better.” If I may paraphrase, Erasmus said, “I put up with the church because the church puts up with me.” People commonly will point out the faults in others, but they rarely will point out the faults in themselves. If Christians could focus less on how the congregation members upset them, frustrate them and disappoint them, and focus more on how they themselves have fallen short and work on that, Christians would more easily see themselves as that blessing of a loving and kind family.
Instead of a closing prayer, listen to this closing worship sons “Hineh Ma Tov (Psalm 133)” by Joshua Aaron. Some people call Joshua Aaron the modern-day Chris Tomlin, most likely to the fact he has translated many of Chris Tomlin’s songs to his native Hebrew tongue. More importantly, Joshua Aaron has put many psalms to music, using a combination of classic Hebrew music and modern Hebrew music because, honestly, discovering the original music may never happen. Indeed, Joshua Aaron has put Psalm 133 to music, and he did an excellent job, for the upbeat music captures the joy of the psalm. May the music also put you in a joyful mood to commune with your fellow believers.
Bibliography
Allen, Leslie C. Psalms 101–150 (Revised). Vol. 21. Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002.
DeClaissé-Walford, Nancy, Rolf A. Jacobson, and Beth LaNeel Tanner. “The Songs of the Ascents: Psalms.” The Book of Psalms. Edited by E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, and Robert L. Hubbard Jr. The New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014.
Garrett, Duane A. “The Poetic and Wisdom Books.” Holman Concise Bible Commentary. Edited by David S. Dockery. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998.
Motyer, J. A. “The Psalms.” Pages 485–583 in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. Edited by D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, and G. J. Wenham. 4th ed. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.
Ross, Allen P. “Psalms.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Edited by J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985.
Spence-Jones, H. D. M., ed. Psalms. Vol. 3. The
Pulpit Commentary. London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1909.
