Elijah’s Message to Ahab
Obadiah was afraid to do as Elijah had requested because he knew Ahab would have him killed if Elijah did not show up. There are times in our lives when we become afraid to do things we are ask to do by our parents or teachers. Maybe we are afraid of being hurt or laughed at. It takes trust and obedience to accomplish the task we are told to do. 1 Kings 18:1-20
It was in the third year of the drought when the word of the LORD came to Elijah telling him to present himself to Ahab the king of Israel and husband of Jezebel. Elijah was to tell him the LORD would send rain on the earth. Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria.
Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Now Obadiah respected the LORD greatly; when Jezebel was killing off the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah took a hundred prophets, hid those fifty to a cave, and provided them with bread and water.
And Ahab said unto Obadiah; Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.
And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, are you my lord Elijah? And he answered him, I am: go, tell your lord, Behold, Elijah is here. And Obadiah said what have I sinned, that you would deliver your servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me?
Obadiah said As the LORD your God lives; there is no nation or kingdom, where my lord, Ahab, has not sent to seek you: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation that they found you not. And now you say, go, tells your lord, Behold, Elijah is here.
And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry you where I do not know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he shall slay me: but I your servant fear the LORD from my youth.
Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD, how I hid an hundred men of the LORDíS prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? And now you say, go, tell your lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he shall slay me.
And Elijah said, As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand; I will surely show myself unto him to day. So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Are you he that troubles Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but you, and your fatherís house, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and you have followed Baalim.
Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table. Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.
What Can This Story Teach Us?
Obadiah was the chief of the household of king Ahab of Israel. He was a devout worshipper of the LORD God who at risk to his own life and hid over 100 prophets during the persecution of Jezebel, the wife of Ahab. Obadiah was afraid to do as Elijah had requested because he knew Ahab would have him killed if Elijah did not show up.
There are times in our lives when we become afraid to do things we are ask to do by our parents or teachers. Maybe we are afraid of being hurt or laughed at. It takes trust and obedience to accomplish the task we are told to do.
Even Jesus was told to do things His Father told Him to do. It was the will of the Father for Jesus to die for our sins. Just before His crucifixion Jesus prayed to His Father, asking if He would be willing to remove this cup from Him: Jesus ended His prayer by saying not my will, but your will, be done. (Luke 22:42).
Jesus Who gave Himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: (Galatians 1:4). We need to have assurance that the Will of the LORD cannot hurt us. We have to have trust and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Cite Article Source
MLA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne “Elijah’s Message to Ahab:.” Becker Bible Studies Library Feb 2015.< https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2218,>.
APA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2015, February) “Elijah’s Message to Ahab:.” Becker Bible Studies Library. Retrieved from https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2218,.
Chicago Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2015) “Elijah’s Message to Ahab:.” Becker Bible Studies Library (February), https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2218, (accessed).
