1 Kings 18:1-15 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 1 Kings 18:1-15. As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first. See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
1 Kings 18:1-2 (NIV)
1 After a long time, in the third year, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.”
2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab…
On verses 1-2a: God used Elijah to perform some of the most incredible miracles you will read about in the Bible. Why Elijah? I believe Elijah’s secret is not just that he was gifted, but that he was obedient. Whenever God told him to do something, in faith he would obey. As verse 2 says, “So Elijah went…”. Remember that in this case God is telling Elijah to present himself to King Ahab, the very person who had been trying to kill Elijah for years. Yet Elijah goes in faith and obeys God’s Word. If you want God to move powerfully in your life, obey God’s Word and move courageously in faith.
1 Kings 18:2b-6 (NIV)
2 …Now the famine was severe in Samaria,
3 and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of his palace. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the LORD.
4 While Jezebel was killing off the LORD’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.)
5 Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our animals.”
6 So they divided the land they were to cover, Ahab going in one direction and Obadiah in another.
On verses 2b-6: Jesus once said of his followers that they are in the world, but not of the world (John 17:14-18). We see a good illustration of what that means here. Obadiah served as King Ahab’s palace administrator, but while King Ahab and his wife Jezebel were killing off prophets of the LORD, Obadiah was a devout believer in the LORD and would secretly hide the LORD’s prophets in caves to protect them (v3). Much like how Oskar Schindler and Corrie Ten Boom protected Jews from extermination by the Nazis, Obadiah protected the Elijahs of his generation, caring for their needs and providing for them. It’s no wonder Obadiah’s name means “servant of God”. That’s how Obadiah showed his faith. Though he lived in a world that was ruled by King Ahab, Obadiah knew that he belonged to a kingdom that is not of this world.
What can we learn from this? We all live in environments where the systems, policies and underlying ideologies do not always please God. When to follow those systems and policies means to go against God’s Word, we must humbly choose to obey God’s Word instead of those systems and polices. As Peter would say in Acts 5:29, “We must obey God rather than people!” In choosing to obey God in these situations, we show that we belong to a kingdom that is not of this world.
1 Kings 18:7-15 (NIV)
7 As Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized him, bowed down to the ground, and said, “Is it really you, my lord Elijah?”
8 “Yes,” he replied. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.'”
9 “What have I done wrong,” asked Obadiah, “that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to be put to death?
10 As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. And whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not find you.
11 But now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’
12 I don’t know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you when I leave you. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. Yet I your servant have worshiped the LORD since my youth.
13 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.
14 And now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’ He will kill me!”
15 Elijah said, “As the LORD Almighty lives, whom I serve, I will surely present myself to Ahab today.”
On verses 7-15: While Obadiah is looking for grass to feed what is left of the livestock, Elijah appears to Obadiah. Elijah tells Obadiah to pass on the message to his boss King Ahab that Elijah has arrived. Obadiah is worried that if he tells King Ahab that Elijah is here and God then takes Elijah away, Obadiah’s own life will be in danger. Elijah reassures Obadiah that Elijah will definitely appear before Ahab. In verse 15 Elijah promises, “As the LORD Almighty lives, whom I serve, I will surely present myself to Ahab today.”
Here was one servant of God (Elijah) telling another servant of God (“Obadiah” means “servant of God”), “Don’t worry. We’re on the same team, serving the same LORD, and I promise that I’ll definitely be there.”
Likewise, when we’re tempted to worry and be anxious, we need to hear and remember God’s Word and in particular God’s promises. What promise do you need to hear and hang onto today?
Maybe it’s the promise that God will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). Maybe it’s the promise that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). Maybe it’s the promise that God’s grace is sufficient for you (2 Corinthians 12:9). For any worry you might have, God has a promise to quell that worry. There are hundreds upon hundreds of promises in God’s Word for you to hear and remember. So hang onto God’s promises today.
Father, because I am in this world but not of this world, may I courageously trust and obey You today. Thank You that for every pain and every worry I experience, You have a promise that I can hang onto. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
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