Opinions of Obadiah
Devotions for Growing Christians
Opinions of Obadiah
1 Kings 18:1-15 - "After a long time, in the third year, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.” So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria, and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of his palace. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the LORD. While Jezebel was killing off the LORD’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.) Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our animals.” So they divided the land they were to cover, Ahab going in one direction and Obadiah in another.
As Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized him, bowed down to the ground, and said, “Is it really you, my lord Elijah?” “Yes,” he replied. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’ “ “What have I done wrong,” asked Obadiah, “that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to be put to death? As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. And whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not find you. But now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’ I don’t know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you when I leave you. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. Yet I your servant have worshiped the LORD since my youth. 1Haven’t you heard, my lord, what I did while Jezebel was killing the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred of the LORD’s prophets in two caves, fifty in each, and supplied them with food and water. And now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’ He will kill me!” Elijah said, “As the LORD Almighty lives, whom I serve, I will surely present myself to Ahab today.”
Background Notes
What’s your opinion of Obadiah? Was Obadiah a “good guy” or a “bad guy”?
In the first section of 1 Kings 18, the Lord told Elijah to return to Israel to face King Ahab after three years of severe drought in Israel. Elijah had confronted wicked King Ahab three years earlier. Because of Israel’s sin and disobedience to God, Elijah had prophesied: “There will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years, except by my word” (1 Kings 17:1). Why? When Israel entered the Promised Land, God warned that disobedience to Him would result in severe drought: “The Lord will strike you with... scorching heat and drought...The sky over your head will be bronze and the ground beneath you iron” (Deuteronomy 28:22-23).
After giving Ahab this message of judgment from the Lord, Elijah left Samaria, Ahab’s capital city in the northern kingdom of Israel. He went east across the Jordan River to live by the brook Cherith. There the Lord cared for him each day with food delivery by ravens. Eventually the brook dried up because of the drought, and the Lord sent Elijah to Zarephath, where he lived for some time with a poor widow and her son.
After three years of drought, God planned to send rain once again. This was purely the grace of God, because evil King Ahab showed no sign of repentance. Archaeological excavations at Megiddo indicate that Ahab had large stables and many military horses, and it’s apparent that Ahab was more concerned about his horses and mules than about his starving people! Obadiah and Ahab were out of the palace, searching for grass for the king’s horses!
When Elijah returned to Israel, the first person he met was Obadiah, King Ahab’s chief steward. At first glance it seems that Obadiah was a “good guy,” because the Bible declares that Obadiah was “a devout believer in the Lord” (v3). In fact, when Queen Jezebel tried to purge the prophets of the Lord from Israel, Obadiah hid one hundred prophets in caves, and supplied them with food and water.
But on the other hand, when Obadiah greeted Elijah with, “Is that you, Elijah my master?” (v7), Elijah responded, “Yes. Go and tell your master that Elijah is here” (v8). In essence Elijah was saying, “I’m not your master, Obadiah. Your master is wicked King Ahab!” It’s hard to miss that stinging rebuke! So we can readily see why there are a variety of opinions differ about Obadiah.
In the spiritual picture that the Holy Spirit has given us, a good case can be made that Obadiah represents a partially committed believer. In fact, the three main characters of 1 Kings 18 show three levels of commitment. In Ahab we see no commitment, in Elijah we see full commitment, and in Obadiah we see partial commitment.
Doctrinal Points
1. God is looking for fully committed believers.
No commitment: Ahab.
Ahab was a “believer in name only.” Like a “Christian in name only” today, he had no real commitment to the Lord. His belief in the God of Israel didn’t affect his heart or his lifestyle in any way. Ahab knew about the Lord. He could even mouth the name of the Lord when it suited his purposes. However, he promoted idolatry in his kingdom. He worshiped Baal himself, and he built shrines for idol worship (I Kings 16:31-33)! The pagan rites included shrine prostitution and homosexuality. In addition, Ahab allowed his wife, Jezebel, to kill the prophets of the Lord (18:4).
Ahab was a weak-willed, self-centered, self-indulgent man. He cared more for his animals than for his people,
who were suffering during the famine. Ahab showed no repentance throughout the ordeal of drought and famine. In Ahab we see no commitment.
Full commitment: Elijah.
Elijah was fully committed to the Lord. Elijah obeyed the Lord’s command to live outdoors by a brook and receive his food from scavenger birds! Elijah obeyed when he had to live in poverty in Zarephath. Elijah courageously obeyed when the Lord told him to return to King Ahab, even though it could have cost him his life. Elijah was fully committed. Are we? Do we obey the Lord completely? Do we speak up courageously for the Lord?
Partial commitment: Obadiah.
In Obadiah we see partial commitment. How could a man who truly “feared the Lord” remain in King Ahab’s service, as the steward in the palace of the evil king and queen? Why didn’t Obadiah confront Ahab? Ahab had no respect for God, and he allowed idolatry to increase in the land, but Obadiah continued to serve this man. Obadiah was not forced to work in the palace, but apparently he thought it was “too good a deal” to give up that job!
Bible scholars give Obadiah mixed reviews. Some see him as a believer who was “doing the best he could in a bad situation.” After all, they say, he did risk his life to save the prophets of the Lord from Queen Jezebel. And they make the case that Obadiah purposely stayed on the job to do what he could as a secret believer.
Other Bible students see Obadiah as a believer who should have done more. He believed in the God of Israel, but he was only partially committed to Him. He hid the Lord’s prophets at the risk of his own life, and he was one of the 7,000 people who had not worshiped Baal (I Kings19:18) - but he was not a fully committed believer. Hebrews 11 does not say, “By faith Obadiah worked for wicked King Ahab as a secret believer”! Obadiah was not a Joseph or a Daniel. Joseph served the Pharaoh, and Daniel served King Nebuchadnezzar, but they had no choice; they were captives. Obadiah was not a captive. And Joseph and Daniel did not hide their faith, even though they lived in the midst of pagan nations.
Obadiah was similar to David’s friend, Jonathan (1 Samuel 18-20). Jonathan is commended for siding with David when King Saul, Jonathan’s father, was pursuing David and trying to kill him. Jonathan did what he could for David - but Jonathan never joined David in his time of rejection in the wilderness. When David was forced to flee for his life, Jonathan remained in the palace with King Saul.
Obadiah was a secret believer. While he devoutly believed in the Lord God of Israel and even hid the prophets of the Lord, he worked for the evil king nd queen. Serving in the royal courts of an apostate like Ahab, who was promoting idolatry throughout the land of Israel, was certainly not a sign of full commitment. Obadiah was not a captive. He wasn’t forced to work for the wicked king and queen. And the God of the universe didn’t need a compromising believer to protect His prophets!
In Obadiah we see commitment to God, but it was partial commitment. What about us? Are we only partially committed believers?
2. Partial commitment has telltale symptoms.
Partial commitment has telltale symptoms. Signs of Obadiah’s partial commitment are seen in 1 Kings 18.
1. A guilty conscience. Obadiah had a guilty conscience. Notice - after Elijah’s greeting, Obadiah began to make excuses (v9-14). His conscience wasn’t clear. A guilty conscience is a sign of partial commitment.
2. Lack of courage. A second telltale symptom of partial commitment is a lack of courage. Three times Obadiah said, “Ahab will kill me!” (v9-14). Three times! (Notice, by the way, that he didn’t seem to worry about the danger to Elijah’s life!) The apostle Paul was fully committed. In Philippians 1:21 he said, “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Obadiah’s lack of courage indicates that he was partially committed.
3. Recounting past victories. A third symptom of partial commitment is a “rest on your laurels” mentality. Obadiah reminded Elijah that he had saved the prophets of the Lord (v12-13). He seemed to think that if he recounted his record of faithful service Elijah would say, “OK, you’ve done enough for the Lord, Obadiah. You’re off the hook. You don’t have to risk your life any further!”
4. Lack of trust. A fourth symptom of partial commitment is lack of trust. Obadiah didn’t trust Elijah, God’s prophet! Elijah told Obadiah to announce his arrival to Ahab, but Obadiah essentially replied, “How do I know you won’t disappear if I go to tell Ahab you’re here?” (v12). Obadiah didn’t trust the word of God’s chosen spokesman! His lack of trust in his spiritual leader indicates a lack of trust in God Himself.
Obadiah displayed four telltale symptoms of partial commitment. What about us? Let’s examine our lives. Do we exhibit any of these symptoms in the way we live our lives? Are we in the partial commitment category?
Practical Applications
1. Am I a partially committed believer like Obadiah?
I’m sure you’ve heard the question, “If you were arrested and charged with being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” Are we secret, half-hearted believers - or are we willing to let our commitment to Jesus be known? Are our lives separated from entanglements in a culture that does not honor our Lord Jesus Christ? Obadiah was unwilling to risk his prominent job in Ahab’s court, and he was unwilling to risk his life by confronting Ahab about his sinful lifestyle and actions.
Full commitment doesn’t mean that we must all become itinerant preachers or foreign missionaries like Elijah, or the apostle Paul! No! Joseph and Daniel remained in their jobs. They remained fully committed to the God of the Bible while living and working in pagan cultures. They never compromised in their commitment to Him.
Full commitment means letting it be known that we are Christians by our lifestyle, our actions and our speech -in our jobs or careers, in our social circles and our neighborhoods, and in our extended families. (And maintaining a committed Christian testimony within family is sometimes the hardest area.) Are we willing to speak out against sin in our workplace, in our society, or in our families? Are we willing to publicly confront people who are leading our communities and our nation away from God? Will we to continue do this, even when we experience the hatred of this world, as Jesus predicted in John 15:18? Or will we keep quiet, because speaking out for God’s standards may jeopardize our livelihood, or make us unpopular, or harm us financially and socially?
Some time ago I wrote a letter to the editor of TIME magazine about an article they had published on the origins of the universe. God was not mentioned in their article, not even as an option. My letter wasn’t published, but at least the editor was confronted. I recall thinking that if Elijah had read that article, he would not just have written a letter - he would have gone to New York and burst into the editor’s office to confront him! “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours” (James 5:17), but he was a fully committed believer. Are we fully committed - or are we only partially committed believers, like Obadiah?
2. God will allow our commitment to Jesus Christ to be tested.
Why did Elijah meet Obadiah and ask him to announce his arrival to Ahab? Was their meeting just a coincidence? Certainly not! This was a test of Obadiah’s commitment. Elijah could have gone directly to Ahab (as he did the first time), but he asked Obadiah to announce his arrival. Would Obadiah be willing to risk his life by telling King Ahab that Elijah had returned?
God will allow our commitment to Christ to be tested. James 1:2-4 and 1 Peter 1:6-7 teach us that God allows our faith to be tested so that it will be purified and strengthened. But we can be sure that God will not allow us to be tested beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). How thankful we can be for God’s grace!
Obadiah’s test was in a public setting, and we may be tested in the public arena as well. Our workplace is an obvious example, but it may be in a military setting, or a university classroom, or on a high school campus.
On the other hand, our commitment to the Lord may be tested in the hidden areas of our lives. What about the literature we choose, or the websites we check out? Our commitment to the Lord will also be tested in the area of our love and faithfulness to our spouses, and in our behavior with our families at home. We may appear to be “devout believers” in public - but are we impatient, selfish, self-indulgent and sinful in our homes and our private activities? Our commitment to Jesus Christ will be tested, in public and in private.
Sometimes we feel we have failed the tests of commitment that God allows. Our lifestyle doesn’t live up to our profession. Don’t give up! God doesn’t give up on us! He continues to help us grow in our commitment to Christ. He’s the “God of the Second Chance”!
In spite of his initial lack of courage and lack of trust, Obadiah overcame the signs of partial commitment, and was moving in the right direction (v16). Obadiah reminds us of Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a secret believer at first (John 3), but he became more open in his belief (John 7), and finally passed the test of commitment with flying colors at the time of the Lord’s death and burial (John 19).
Recently I met a Christian student who is studying at a state university. Two years ago he took a course with an unbelieving professor. He wanted to share his faith, but he was intimidated by the professor and remained silent. He felt he had failed that test of commitment. But God didn’t give up on him! Later he gained enough courage to share his faith by giving the professor an appropriate Christian book.
Remember - for the purpose of helping us grow in our Christian faith, our commitment to Christ will be tested. May our “opinion of Obadiah” motivate us to be fully committed to the Lord!
- Dave Reid