Three years had passed in his absence. Hellacious years. Bloody years. Years of starvation and death, turmoil and terror. On the heels of Elijah’s proclamation of drought came Jezebel’s proclamation of death. Every prophet of God had a bullseye on their back. Methodically she hunted them down. Slaughtered them. Made every effort to extinguish the voice of God from every edge of the kingdom. She might have succeeded, too, if it hadn’t been for Obadiah.
Quietly gathering the remaining prophets of God, Obadiah had smuggled them out to the hillside and given them refuge in two secluded caves. It wasn’t exactly comfortable. Fifty men stuck in each cave. No lights at night. No safety in the day. No certainty of how long they would remain undiscovered. As their lives had depended on the quick thinking and actions of Obadiah, their survival now depended on his ability to continually provide them with food and water. It was an enormous responsibility. As the drought dragged on, the rations became even more limited, and Elijah continued to remain elusive, it carried with it an increasing amount of danger.
It had been a wildly risky move from the beginning, hiding those men of God. Risky for anyone. Doubly so for Obadah. He was no ordinary citizen. No run-of-the-mill carpenter or farmer. He was the palace administrator. Daily he spoke with Ahab and Jezebel. Daily he listened to the threats against God’s people. Daily he heard Jezebel rant and rave against God. Daily he endured Ahab’s ceaseless moaning over Elijah’s pronouncement, his disappearance, and his annoying ability to remain undetected. Daily Obadiah guarded his secret, his religious stance, his moral scruples for fear of death. His own death. The prophets’ death. The spiritual death threatened to overtake the land. Knowing only one slip would be their undoing, Obadiah tightly clamped his lips, and did his job.
He’d been keeping the secret for years now. He’d always keep it. But how long was he going to need to do so? He was beginning to wonder the same thing as Ahab, only with different intent. Where, exactly, was Elijah? How long was he going to play this crazy game of hide and seek? Did he not realize their resources were nearly depleted? Had it not occurred to him the loss of life, both human and animal, was growing every day? Had they not suffered long enough? Wasn’t it time to come back and fix the mess, no matter what the fix looked like? Wasn’t it time for God to send Elijah back to do something?!
As he walked the land, searching for grass to hopefully keep the last of the animals alive, Obadiah ruminated over the situation. Each frustrated step reeked with desperation. Every trail led into yet another parched field. Every turn opened into another once-green meadow now yellowed from drought. Not one sound of trickling water fell on his ears. Not one blade of green grass met his eyes. Not one drop of dew dampened his sandals. Not one sight made his hopes soar. Nothing except the sight of Elijah.
Dejectedly rounding yet another bend into another dead-end field, Obadiah found his path blocked by the man topping Ahab and Jezebel’s most wanted list. He hadn’t changed a bit since he’d last been in town. Hadn’t lost a pound. His face wasn’t leaner. He’d barely aged a bit. From the look of Elijah, one could easily deduce he hadn’t suffered in the drought and famine he’d pronounced. It almost seemed as if he’d been somewhere no drought or famine had ever touched!
Obadiah couldn’t imagine where that would be. The king had gone to unimaginable lengths to find Elijah. Searching every conceivable place in the kingdom. Contacting surrounding nations. Forcing them to swear he was not among them. Breathing out threats if he found out they’d lied. Exhaustive efforts had been spent attempting to find Elijah. Incredible angst ensued when it failed. Yet here, plain as day, no efforts or threats required, stood the object of their search. Obadiah had found something better than grass! Elijah was back.
Shocked and awed by the sudden appearance of the man every soldier in the kingdom sought, Obadiah fell to his knees. This had to be it. The answer to their urgent prayers. Elijah could now reinstate rain and get everything back to normal. Perhaps then a truce could be reached. Maybe then the remaining prophets of God could be released from the confinement of the caves. Perhaps the people would turn from their spiritual hijinks and follow the true God. As Obadiah’s mind began to celebrate, the words of Elijah sliced through the air and halted his rejoicing. Elijah wasn’t back to simply speak some words and right the world. He was back for confrontation. He wanted an audience with Ahab. And he wanted Obadiah to arrange it.
Well. That answer was a strong “no.” It was not Obadiah’s first day. He knew the last time Elijah came to town he’d simply spoken down a drought and disappeared for three years. He had watched Ahab’s rage. He’d seen the effects of Jezebel’s tantrum. He had no intention of being the recipient of either. He wasn’t interested in running off to tell Ahab that Elijah had returned, only to come back for Elijah and find him gone again! The answer was “no.” Absolutely not. Unequivocally. Unmistakably. Obadiah had no wish to die, no wish to condemn the hidden prophets to starvation and death. The risk was too great! He was not about to be the one who announced Elijah’s return. Thanks, but no thanks!
Obadiah’s strong answer was lost on Elijah. There was a lot at stake for Obadiah. His career. His family. His life. The lives of the cave-dwelling prophets. Watching Obadiah scratch his head in frustrated contemplation, Elijah laid all his cards on the table. God had sent him. He wasn’t going anywhere. He wasn’t stupid either. He knew Ahab’s reaction could turn out to be deadly. He knew that if Jezebel got wind of it, his life would be worthless. He knew the majority of the residents throughout the kingdom had less than pleasant words for him. Elijah also knew God had sent him to see the king. Today. No matter what.
No matter the possible reaction from Ahab. Regardless of the fallout from Jezebel. No matter the excuses offered up by Obadiah. Elijah was going to talk to Ahab. Today. Obadiah could take it to the bank. He wouldn’t disappear completely. They wouldn’t have to hunt him down. He wouldn’t fail to show up at the established meeting place. He would be there. Rain or shine. Peace or a sword. No excuses. No matter what. (I Kings 17:1; 18:1-15)
How easy would it have been for Elijah to shrug his shoulders, accept Obadiah’s refusal and decide to come back another day? Seriously. It seems doubtful he’d spent the last three years running from pillar to post, begging God to let him go back and talk to Ahab. Not once is there a record that he made any attempt to post a letter, contact a friend, test the waters to see if the people’s hearts were softening. Elijah spent three years in self-preservation mode. By now, he had to be tired of running, tired of trying to keep his identity secret, tired of seeing the damage the drought was causing. His heart had to hurt for the hidden prophets, for the people, for the land. Yet still, not one passage of Scripture indicates he was excited to get back and converse with Ahab. He wasn’t really interested. At all. Until God said, “Go.”
When God sent Elijah back to speak with Ahab, Elijah was all in. Immediately. No matter what. Obedience to God was his first priority. Even if no one thought he should do it. Even if his life was at stake. Even if he had to do it alone. Elijah was going back to speak to Ahab because God said so. No excuse would stand in his way. He would go. He would be obedient. Right then. That very day. Because Elijah understood the concept the Psalmist would later allude to, obedience is a right-now activity. Before you have time to decide it’s uncomfortable. Before your friends can talk you out of it. Before you have time to second guess yourself or find excuses to delay. Obedience to God is something you do now. Today. No matter what. There is nothing more important. (Psalm 119:32,60)
You will find nothing more difficult. In our world of excuses and opinions, social rationales, and lopsided ideals, it is so easy to tell ourselves we need some time to work through actually doing what God has asked us to do. We say we need time to decide if we are really hearing God. We need to determine the proper course of action. What about just obeying God? Stop the excuses. Stop the nonsense. Stop being disobedient. Right now. Today. Even when the thing God has called you to do has your head snapping up, your knees shaking, and a kaleidoscope of butterflies doing gymnastics in your stomach. Go do it! Enter that ministry. Pray with that person. Speak those words. Write that message. Obey God. Right now. Today. No matter what. (I Samuel 15:22)
In the book of Acts, Peter and the other apostles were offered the perfect excuse to take their preaching to another town, tone it down, stop speaking altogether. Jail is a pretty convincing experience. Death threats seem like a good reason. Beatings make for a decent deterrent. Not one of these things worked on these devoted men of God. They were there to obey God. Right then. No matter what. So are you. (Acts 5:17-42)
God has not placed you in this abhorrently dark and evil world to hide in a corner refusing to share His love and grace. He has a plan for you. A purpose for the place He’s put you. He has a job for you to do. Right now. The choice is yours. Will you do it? Will you follow Him? Will you be obedient to His voice when it’s uncomfortable, unpleasant, uncommon? Will you obey God when there are a million seemingly legitimate excuses not to do so? Will you do God’s will, God’s way? Right now. Today. No matter what. (Philippians 2:15; Matthew 5:14-16; Luke 9:23; I John 5:3)
Thank You Naomi. I needed this today. We need to be bold!
XO