Scripture
11In the day that you stood on the other side— In the day that strangers carried captive his forces,
When foreigners entered his gates And cast lots for Jerusalem— Even you were as one of them.
12“But you should not have gazed on the day of your brother In the day of his captivity;
Nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah In the day of their destruction;
Nor should you have spoken proudlyIn the day of distress.13You should not have entered the gate of My people In the day of their calamity. Indeed, you should not have gazed on their affliction
In the day of their calamity, Nor laid hands on their substance In the day of their calamity.
14You should not have stood at the crossroads To cut off those among them who escaped;
Nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained In the day of distress.
Obadiah 1:11-14
Observation
The danger of taking sides against our brothers and sisters is that bitterness instead of blessing gets passed to the next generation. Why would Edom stand by and eventually take part in the destruction of Judah when they followed the same God? It goes all the way back to Isaac and Rebekah and their two sons Esau and Jacob (Genesis 25). Esau was rejected by God and Jacob was accepted. They never forgot how Jacob stole the birthright and it was their right to avenge this. You can see Edom taking sides against Judah and Israel throughout the Old Testament. One example is when Israel came out of Egypt and wanted to pass through the land of the Edomites to enter into the Promised Land, the Edomites wouldn’t let them (Numbers 20:14–21). By taking sides against their brothers they were taking sides against their God. Here’s the crazy thing about bitterness and unforgiveness- it has no expiration date. The division between Edom and Judah can be traced back even further to the division between Isaac and Ishmael (Genesis 16) which can be traced back even further to the first two brothers Cane and Abel (Genesis 3). Cane killed Abel because God rejected his offering and accepted his brother’s. This division between brothers became a division between nations because bitterness spreads like an unstoppable virus who’s only cure is repentance and forgiveness through Christ. You want to know the scary thing? We are seeing the sin of taking sins born out today between the nations of Islam and Israel in the Middle East. Islam, in fact, looks to Ishamael and Esau as fathers in their faith.
Application
We often make the mistake of thinking that our choice to take sides against a brother in sister in the faith only effects us. The history above would prove otherwise. The problem with taking sides against others in the Christian faith is not only its far reaching negative effects but also its tendency to escalate. Let’s take a quick look at the verses above to see what I’m talking about:
• First they did nothing to help when Judah was attacked by Babylon
• Then they rejoiced in their distress and calamity as proof that Edom was right all along
• Then they took advantage of their vulnerable state and stole what didn’t belong to them
• Then they joined in the violence against God’s people actually partnering with their own
enemy Babylon
Trapp once wrote, “Sin proceeds by degrees; neither is any man at his worst at first.” The first degree is taking sides against someone in the faith. It doesn’t matter what that side is and today we have many: Vax or no vax, mask or nor mask, Democrat or Republican. I’ve seen people rejoicing when someone with no vaccination get’s Covid as proof they were right all along. Then, I see someone who has chosen not to get the vaccination rejoice when someone with it get’s Covid. We are so intent on proving our point all we are really proving is that we don’t love each other. Love isn’t synonymous with agreement. God isn’t asking me to always agree with my bother or sister but He has command me to love them and lift a helping a hand when I see they are in trouble.
Prayer
The words of Paul in Romans 12 are my prayer this morning. Please forgive me the sin of taking sides. Jesus, You came and gave Your life for everyone and I must do the same. I want to pass on blessing not bitterness to my boys and my church.
“9Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. 14Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! 17Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. 19Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the LORD. 20Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.” 21Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.”
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