Those two words can mean different things. Think of two people or two groups arguing with each other about an issue, a proposal, an issue, a law, or just about anything. Someone or some group that is not aligned with any of these different people or groups could be a compromise, a peacemaker, or could distract them by introducing some point or argument different from the two options that are being discussed.
In politics, the compromise is usually proposed by a politician from one or the other of the two sides. But, that situation does not fit my article. An outsider might, but within the outsider’s core principles, does he or she really have no allegiance to one side or the other? Hard to say.
During war, an opposing nation sometimes switches sides to become the other side’s ally (to survive, to be favored by the stronger side as the war unfolds, or to punish its original ally for not being the other side). faithful to an important promise he made to her). to them). That situation also does not fit my article. “Neither side” is an absolute position statement (not related, not qualified, not diminished). It literally means that “I or we will not support you”, and is said on each side. Can you think of an example of that? Can you understand how either (or both) sides can work with a third party who claims that he, she or they have their own side of it?
Even writing or saying that presents a difficulty. By definition, a side is to the left or right of center. One side of a house is a wall, and a wall only makes sense if there are at least 3 (usually four) complementary walls that complete the building, along with a floor and a roof. One side starts at the edge of something in the middle. One side opposes another side. Look at the title again. The fact that the person or group does not belong to either side does not necessarily mean that he, she or they are a side at all. I have found a clear example of who is the object of “Neither side”. Web search Joshua 5:13-15.
Joshua, Moses’ second in command, was in charge when this happened because Moses was dead. Moses had brought the Hebrew people out of slavery in Egypt, as God had commanded him. God had stayed close, had regularly communicated with Moses, and through Moses had worked tirelessly to shape the Hebrew people. to be the nation promised to Abraham. For forty years, this people did not become worthy to receive God’s promise of a land to inhabit as a nation of God’s people. They literally wandered, unable to serve, until they all died. Joshua was of the next generation, born to experience wandering as it happened. Joshua’s generation was all about listening to God and doing what he commanded.
So, imagine you are Joshua, leading an armed Hebrew force into Canaan (the land that was promised), full of faith in God, ready to take the city of Jericho, and you meet this mighty warrior who draws his sword against you and tells him that his allegiance as Commander of the God’s Angel Army is active, “Neither side, moreover, take off your shoes because God is here.” Now, think about today, in your country. Have you ever heard someone say, “God is on our side?” Do you see what an arrogant and wrong thing it is to say that?
Joshua wrote the Book of Joshua, a summary of his 20 years of leadership of the Hebrew people. The Book became available (many copies) after Joshua’s death, around 1399 BC. He understood how important it was for the Hebrew people to always be on God’s side. Had he lived to see it, Joshua would have deeply repented that the Hebrews were once again behaving contrary to God’s purpose, and that their suffering would be greater than that of their enslaved ancestors. However, God would send prophets to tell them that a Messiah would come one day to show them the way back to him. He considers reading the entire Book of Joshua to understand the beginning of the time when the Hebrew people became God’s chosen people. This was the Alpha of that nation that links to the Omega of the Nation of Israel today.