“Neutrality In War” Obadiah 10,11

10 “ For violence against your brother Jacob, Shame shall cover you, And you shall be cut off forever. 11 In 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 Obadiah 10,11

Review of Text The book of Obadiah is directed to the nation of Edom. Edomites were related to Israelites through Abraham. When Israel fell, Edom did not make any overt move. They did not support the Israelites. They did not directly attack either, though they did covertly aid the Babylonians. At a time when kin should have stood for kin, when treaties should have been honored, when neighbors should have banded together, the Edomites remained neutral.

14 Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. 16 So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people. [Genesis 14:14-16] 11 Now also many nations have gathered against you,       Who say, “Let her be defiled,       And let our eye look upon Zion.” [Micah 4:11]

II. Violent Crimes Occur With Increasing Frequency Too many people don’t want to get involved. Parable of the good Samaritan - Luke 10:30-37 Friends should be there at times of trouble - Job 6:14-20 No friends aided David while Saul sought his life - Ps. 142 4 Look on my right hand and see,          For there is no one who acknowledges me;          Refuge has failed me;          No one cares for my soul. How can we have God’s love without compassion for our fellow men? - I John 3:16-18

III. The Application Is Greater — “We Are In A Spiritual War” Eph 6:10-12 - We are battling Satan and his followers. Yet, when some are overtaken in a fault, we stand aside in neutrality. Gal. 6:1 says to restore, not avoid.  1 “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.” “I didn’t cause their downfall!”, congratulating ourselves, but neither did we attempt to prevent it. It is not our choice to modify God’s Holy Word

The question that remains is… “On which side are we fighting?” IV. The Idea of Confessing Christ is to… Make A Lifelong Stand With Him. Matthew 12:30 30 “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” The question that remains is… “On which side are we fighting?”