Haven’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.” 1 Kings 18:13-15
“Obadiah is ‘over the house’ and is responsible for the king’s household and estates, including livestock. Although he serves the apostate king, he is true to his name (‘servant of YHWH’) for he rescue’s YHWH’s prophets from Jezebel. Despite further personal risk he sustains, them with bread and water — as the ravens and the widow earlier provided for Elijah…
Obadiah’s obeisance and submissive ‘my lord’ cannot disguise his reluctance to obey Elijah. His reluctance is communicated by his twice repeated, incredulous, ‘Go; say… Elijah is here’ and his fear of death should he, like the surrounding nations, be unable to produce Elijah. His fear is emphasized as he says Ahab may kill him, and then repeats his concern.”
Lissa Wray Beal in 1 & 2 Kings (Apollos Old Testament Commentary Series; Downers Grove: IVP, 2014) 242.
Yesterday, we saw two groups of fifty soldiers consumed with fire. Today we see God use a Obadiah to deliver two groups of fifty prophets by hiding them in caves.
Let us ponder how we are like Obadiah. God blesses us with a role that positions us to serve many. In his case, he was steward over the king’s household. Not a small task. He not only demonstrated responsible behavior in sustaining the prophets. He did this at great risk. He and the others could have been killed.
We are like this. God may bless us with a role. There, we may have responsibilities which shape many lives, often at great risk. But our tendency is to celebrate victories of the past rather than embrace bigger challenges in our future. Even as Obadiah was reluctant, we too can hesitate to take risks that God might want us to take.
The message today linked to generosity is to be responsible and not reluctant. Don’t let fear slow you down or hinder you. 2 Corinthians 9:7 reminds us, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
We get to live, give, serve, and love generously with no fear. It is easier said than done. Though God cared for Obadiah and Elijah, they still battled with fear. In this chapter, Obadiah was afraid. In the next chapter, Elijah will be afraid. God help us exhibit responsible stewardship with no fear or reluctance linked to our generosity.