He asked Ben Gurion why that particular verse was so special to him. I remembered this story this past week as I reflected on today s psalm. If you really want to make God happy , the Psalmist is saying, then live together in unity . This is a wisdom psalm, which is to say that it was written to provide instruction for young Jewish males in how to be successful. The proverbs are wisdom literature, as is Job and Ecclesiastes.
Wisdom literature is that which gives simple, common-sense advise on how to live in a chaotic world.
Psalm 133 is advise intended to combat a practice which was threatening to destroy the traditional structure of Israelite society - the breakup of the extended family. Many young men were being tempted to sell their share of the inheritance and to go off on their own, as did the older brother in the parable of the prodigal son. Ours is an age of individualism. Everyone thinks what they want to think, does what they want to do, and tries to get what they want to get without any real consideration for others. You see, I believe this Psalm has a powerful word for us today.