Title: Life of Peace
Contents
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1. Behold, how good and how beautiful it is for brothers to dwell together in unity.
2. It is like the precious oil on his head, flowing down on his beard, Aaron's beard, down to his collar.
3. As the dew of Hermon falls on the mountains of Zion, where the LORD has commanded the blessing, everlasting life.
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15. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, for you were called in one body to peace, so be thankful.
16. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, praising God with thanksgiving.
17. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Content
Title: A Life of Peace
Text: Psalm 133:1-3, Col 3:15-17
This is the seventh beatitude of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God’ (Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God. Matthew 5:9). The song of the angels' birth that resounded in the night sky of Bethlehem was 'peace' (Luke 2:14), and the story of the tears he shed when he entered Jerusalem was also 'about peace' (Luke 19:42). The blessing you gave to your disciples on your last night on earth was also peace (John 14:27; 16:33). The blessing that appeared to His disciples after the resurrection was also peace (John 20:19,21,26). The core of the blessing given to the chosen people of Israel was this peace (Numbers 6:26). ‘Shalom’ in the Old Testament and ‘Eirene’ (Hee) in the New Testament, the sum total of blessings, have been translated into English as ‘peace’.
The central idea of peace repeated in the Bible is reconciliation with God. Therefore, Jesus Christ, who came as our Savior, is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6; Hebrews 7:2), the Peacegiver (John 14:27), and peace among men (Ephesians 2:14). The days in which Jesus lived were full of malice and hatred. The local colors of the Jews were unusual (Judea and Samaria). Only hostility among the peoples eventually led them to distance themselves from God. This is why peace activists are having difficulties. It is easy to provoke hostility, but it is difficult to calm intensified emotions. It is easy to appeal to prejudice, but difficult to seek understanding. So it seems cowardly to claim peace, but it is actually heroic. Preparing for war for the sake of peace is nothing more than a simple trick of the peacekeepers. Jesus Christ made peace with His life and sacrifice (Ephesians 2:14-16).
Today's Old Testament text (Psalm 133:1-3) is a poem of David, the holy warlord of Israel, which is “a poem about going up to the temple.” This is a song about when the Ark of the Covenant, which had been captured by the Philistines, was left unattended in Kiriath-jearim for 20 years and then moved to the City of David. It is a song about the joy of being reborn as a national community by the 12 tribes of Israel before God, the master of history. Every time I read it, I pray for national peace and unification. We sing of the goodness and beauty of living together through brotherly unity (verse 1). It is reminiscent of a sacred ceremony unique to the chosen people of Israel (verse 2). I am thrilled that the dew of Hermon is falling on the mountains of Zion. It is a beautiful picture in which all the people of Israel are happy in God's grace. ‘There’ is more of a beautiful relationship than a place. In such a beautiful relationship, the blessing to receive is eternal life (verse 3).