Obadiah had been given a significant place of influence, but
did he fear the king of Israel more than the King of kings? Was he more
concerned for his position and status than in remaining true to his faith? It
is true that his silence and secrecy had preserved the lives of one hundred
prophets but how many had been killed by Jezebel because of that same silence?
Had God placed him in the palace so that he could quietly influence Ahab behind
the scenes or was he there so that he could be a fearless and righteous
witness? There are many instances of men who have been placed in positions of
enormous influence in pagan kingdoms. We may think of Joseph or Daniel, Ezra or
Nehemiah, or even Queen Esther, but in each of these cases it was their
fearless behaviour that provided the opportunity for God’s plans to be put in
place. There is nothing to indicate that Obadiah did anything to turn Ahab from
his sin or to encourage him to seek God’s forgiveness and therefore end the
drought.
What is the appropriate way for Christians in positions of
influence to behave? Should they keep their heads down and do what good they
can without drawing attention to themselves or should they boldly take a stand
for their faith and run the risk of losing their position? There is no question
that there have been times in history when Christians have risen to positions
of influence in tyrannical regimes and because of their status have been able
to do much good, but there are also many instances where Christians have been
so concerned about their own power and prestige that their witness has been
wishy-washy at best.
As Obadiah went on his way looking for grass he met Elijah
coming the other way. He immediately recognized Elijah and fell on his face.
Nothing is mentioned about how well these two knew each other, here was
Obadiah, governor over all of Ahab’s household and on the other hand there was
Elijah a rough shepherd from Tishbe now known as the prophet who had brought
about the drought in Israel. Had they met before, perhaps on the occasion when
Elijah faced Ahab, or were there other encounters? We don’t know, but Obadiah
set aside all the pomp of his royal office and fell at Elijah’s feet addressing
him as Lord.
Elijah didn’t seem too impressed with Obadiah, his status or
the adulation he offered and rather than accept his greeting as Lord, he told
him to go back to the one who was in fact his Lord, Ahab. He was to give him a
simple message – ‘tell him Elijah is here’. Elijah wasn’t fooled, while Obadiah
called him Lord, he knew where his allegiance really lay – back in the palace
with King Ahab. He didn’t offer any recognition to his role as governor and the
text doesn’t even suggest that Elijah bothered to tell him to get up – he may
have of course, but the passage is silent about this. He didn’t engage in conversation,
just gave him a message.
Obadiah wasn’t too impressed with the message that he was
given, he was afraid that when he went to the king Elijah would disappear. He
even suggested that the Spirit of the Lord would mysteriously transport him to
some far off place. Obadiah went so far as to suggest that this was some ploy
of Elijah to punish him for some imagined sin. Was there a touch of guilt in
Obadiah’s argument? Was he embarrassed by his own presence in Ahab’s palace
while Elijah was hiding out in Zarephath? Was he seeking to justify himself? In
fact Obadiah went on remind Elijah of how he had hidden the prophets and now he
was going to be sent to his death. Wasn’t this all a bit unfair?
The exaggerated language and overstatements of Obadiah seem
to suggest a man dealing with a guilty conscience. When we are challenged about
a course of action we have taken or confronted by some questionable moral
behaviour our usual response is to seek some means of justification. We may
refer to some good we have done, or the unreality of the expectations placed on
us, we may even find others to blame for the circumstances we find ourselves
in, but unfortunately too rarely do we accept the censure that is either real
or implied and confess our failure. Obadiah had an opportunity to put right
what seems to be a failure. He had the chance to go to Ahab and announce the
presence of Elijah. Maybe even speak about the righteousness of God and the
possible end to the drought. But he was concerned about his own potential loss,
not only of his status and position but his life. Obadiah had been a silent,
perhaps even secret witness and now his true colours were about to be exposed,
rather than rejoice that the end of the drought may have been coming, he was
afraid.
When Obadiah was confronted by Elijah he reminded him of his
testimony. The only problem is that Obadiah’s testimony was a little old. It
was probably at least three years since this event took place and even if he
was continuing to hide the prophets, and feed them it was the result of an
action taken over three years previously. Like many men and women today,
Obadiah had a reputation for having done a good deed, in fact his actions were
particularly meritorious, but it was some time ago. Was he in danger of living
off his testimony? Was he depending on the fact that the religious community
knew of his former good works and remembered him for this, while there was
nothing in his more recent experience that he could talk about?
We can all recall those great achievements of the past and
regale our hearers with tales of ‘I remember when…’ And if we are talking to
younger people it will be ‘when I was your age’ and so on. Nobody is impressed
with endless accounts of performances that are located in history, we don’t want
to know how good you were. What people want to know is; what are you doing now?
What victories have you achieved this week or at least this year? Too often as
Christians we rely on spiritual victories of years gone by as justification for
the respect we think we deserve in the present.
Obadiah had done a courageous thing and he was known for it.
But that was some time ago, what had he done recently? What about you? You may be able to point to some occasion in
the past when you led someone to the Lord, or prayed for healing and saw it
take place. You may have been involved in some mission or Christian endeavour
and been congratulated on your role in its success, but what have you done
lately? Is it possible that, like Obadiah, when you are challenged or
questioned in some way you are forced to recall an event that took place years
before? Is your testimony current or is it located in the past?
If God commits a message to you to deliver to a person of
influence, perhaps a political or community leader, maybe a pastor or even your
boss or the owner of your company how will you respond? Will your previous
silence be exposed, will the concern you have for your own potential loss
immobilize you or will your testimony stand up as you confidently go in the
power and authority entrusted to you?
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