The Prayer Experiment wk 5
Notes
Transcript
Obadiah meets Elijah
Obadiah meets Elijah
Last week we looked at the second part of 1 Kings chapter 17.
We seen that the widow’s son that Elijah was staying with had died.
Elijah has the widow bring the boy to her, and he takes him up to his room.
He lays the boy on his bed and prays three times for the boy.
As Elijah prayed he stretched his body out over top of the boy as he prayed, doing this three times.
His prayer is in verse 20
20 He called to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, have You also brought calamity to the widow with whom I am staying, by causing her son to die?”
Then he said, O Lord my God, I pray You, let this child’s life return to him.
Life returns to the boy, and Elijah takes the boy back to his mother, the widow.
The widow sees her son alive now, and states: Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.
Sometimes we ask, why did God allow this to happen, and we do not always know the answer to that question.
Here God uses the situation to show the widow, and possibly others in the city that was the heart of Baal worship to see that power of God at work.
Tonight we are going to look at when Obadiah meets Elijah and our text prepares us for an encounter Elijah has with Baal prophets.
1 Now it happened after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the face of the earth.”
After many days, in the third year, that is it has been three years since the announcement of the drought in 1 Kings 17:1
1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”
Luke speaks of this drought in Luke 4:25
25 “But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land;
Luke tells us that the drought was three and half years.
James tells about the drought in James 5:17
17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.
Both New Testament accounts tell us three and half years, in our main text we are told in the third year, therefore, it does not mean it was exactly three years, but some time during the third year.
God is speaking to Elijah during this time and tells him to go show yourself, another words go and speak to Ahab.
Elijah was instructed by God to tell Ahab that God would send rain.
2 So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria.
Elijah went to show himself, to see and speak to Ahab.
That is Elijah was being obedient to the instructions of God.
We are told that the famine was severe in Samaria.
After three years the drought which caused a famine, a lack of food which was severe in Samaria.
Ahab was king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and Samaria was the capital city of the northern kingdom.
The famine was severe, and it is believed that Ahab imported corn from possible Egypt, and other surrounding countries to feed the people.
There was some type of food brought in, as life could not have been sustained for three years of famine.
This famine was a punishment for Ahab bring and worshipping Baal into the nation of Israel.
3 Ahab called Obadiah who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly;
4 for when Jezebel destroyed the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water.)
The name Obadiah is a proper name of frequent occurrence in the Old Testament.
Between 1 and 2 Chronicles there is at least six Obadiah’s mentioned.
We are told that this Obadiah feared the Lord greatly.
We are also told that Obadiah was over the household.
That is Obadiah was considered the palace-master or the governor of Ahab’s household.
He had an important position in the country.
We are told in verse 4 that Obadiah took and hid a hundred prophets, because Jezebel slaughtered prophets of the Lord, as she was a big worshipper of Baal.
If Obadiah hid a hundred prophets, the number of prophets in Israel must have been considerable amount.
The prophets who are mentioned were for the most part members of the association of the prophets, which were prophet-scholars.
The prophets were men devoted to the service of God, preaching, praying, and praising God.
Obadiah not only hid them, he made sure they were taken care of, by providing them with food and water.
By providing care to these prophets must have put Obadiah in a dangerous position, seeing that he was part of Ahab’s palace members.
But in putting his life in danger, Obadiah showed strong proof of his commitment and devotion to God, the true religion.
5 Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys; perhaps we will find grass and keep the horses and mules alive, and not have to kill some of the cattle.”
6 So they divided the land between them to survey it; Ahab went one way by himself and Obadiah went another way by himself.
Ahab tells Obadiah that they need to go throughout the country to the areas that have springs and rivers.
The point was to find grass to feed the cattle with.
When there is a water source there generally will be some grass around the banks of the water.
The problem was they were running out of food for the animals, and they were at a desperate point.
If they did not find some grass for the cattle soon, they would have to begin slaughtering some of the cattle.
Obadiah went one way, and Ahab went another way both in search.
7 Now as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him, and he recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is this you, Elijah my master?”
As Ahab and Obadiah go their separate ways, Obadiah meets Elijah on the road.
Obadiah recognizing Elijah, he bows before him, this showing respect and humility to Elijah
Obadiah was a prophet, but Elijah was considered a powerful prophet.
As the whole nation of Israel was, so to speak, at Elijah’s mercy.
He had told Ahab that there would be no rain or dew, and it has been over three years, without any.
8 He said to him, “It is I. Go, say to your master, ‘Behold, Elijah is here.’ ”
Obadiah asked if it was really Elijah, which Elijah responds, it is I.
Then Elijah instructs Obadiah to go to your master, that being Ahab, and deliver a message.
Obadiah was to go to Ahab and inform him that Elijah is here.
That is that Elijah has been found, he is ready to meet with Ahab.
Next we have Obadiah’s response to Elijah’s instructions.
9 He said, “What sin have I committed, that you are giving your servant into the hand of Ahab to put me to death?
10 “As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent to search for you; and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made the kingdom or nation swear that they could not find you.
11 “And now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here.” ’
12 “It will come about when I leave you that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you where I do not know; so when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth.
13 “Has it not been told to my master what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, that I hid a hundred prophets of the Lord by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water?
14 “And now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here” ’; he will then kill me.”
Obadiah was afraid that if he took the information that Elijah was here that Ahab would kill him.
For the last three years, they have been searching for Elijah, as he told Ahab there was going to be this drought.
Obadiah even says there is no where Ahab has not searched for you.
Obadiah is like now you want me to go and tell Ahab that you are here.
Obadiah was afraid that if he leaves Elijah there and goes and gets Ahab that when he got back Elijah would be gone.
Obadiah was like, you want me to go tell Ahab, the king, that I have found you, then come back and you are not here, he will have me killed.
Then Obadiah asks Elijah, did you not hear what I have done when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord.
Obadiah said, I took and hid a hundred prophets, fifty in one cave and fifty in another cave.
Not only did he hid them, he took care of them.
Obadiah was afraid for his life, he even said I have feared the Lord from my youth.
That is he had followed and been committed to God since he was a young man, but he did not want to lose his life over this.
Next we see Elijah’s response.
15 Elijah said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.”
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
Elijah makes a promise to Obadiah that he would be there when he got back.
He says I will show myself to Ahab today.
After Elijah made the promise, Obadiah went and told Ahab, that Elijah was there and ready to speak to him.
17 When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is this you, you troubler of Israel?”
Obadiah gets Ahab and brings him to Elijah.
When Ahab sees Elijah he immediately says to Elijah, Is this you?
Like he did not know who Elijah was, but then he says to Elijah, you troubler of Israel.
What was Ahab referring too, when calling Elijah a troubler of Israel.
Well it was Elijah that had said it would not rain or have dew.
It has been over three years and the drought has caused a severe famine in the land of Israel.
The famine has caused some major problems for the nation of Israel.
After three years, the livestock is starving, the people are starving, and it probably is causing other issues.
When people are starving they will do about anything to get food.
Now it is time for Elijah to respond to Ahab.
18 He said, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and you have followed the Baals.
Ahab has blamed Elijah for the problems happening in Israel.
Elijah says, it is not I, but you and your father’s house.
Ahab and his father had forsaken the commandments of the Lord.
They had not been following God, but were following Baal.
They turned their backs on the One true God, and began to follow pagan gods, that is false gods.
We need to see the importance of following the One true God, when we do not follow Him and His direction, there are consequences.
Ahab and the nation of Israel has learned this the hard way.
They were disobedient to God, and because of that God with held the rain from the land, causing a drought and famine.
Next week we are going to be looking at Elijah take on Baal prophets, and God show Israel that Baal is a false god, and that He is the One true God.
