Calling—Obadiah 45—palace administrator for Ahab AND devout believer
Many of us are familiar with Elijah and his mountaintop experience as detailed in 1 Kings 18, but how many of us have ever heard a sermon preached on Elijah’s compatriot, Obadiah? Why not? In this little vignette, we see a human working a non-religious/anti-God job in a powerful place while trying to be faithful to the Lord. Aren’t most of us living that same sort of life? Not to take anything from Elijah, but let’s learn from Obadiah.
Take a moment to read 1 Kings 18.
Some context: Ahab is king of Israel and is terribly evil: he “did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him,” he worshipped and built a temple to the pagan god Baal, and he “did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him” (1 Kings 16:29-33). 1 Kings 17 describes the beginning of a multi-year God-ordained drought. By the time we read 1 Kings 18, the drought is in its third year, resulting in “severe” famine.
In this moment, Elijah the prophet receives a new word from the Lord—to go tell Ahab that the Lord would send rain.
Obadiah[i] is Ahab’s palace administrator. In addition, the author of Kings tells us “Obadiah was a devout believer in the Lord.” Obadiah himself says “I your servant have worshiped the Lord since my youth.” His name means “servant (or worshiper) of the Lord”—apparently a common Hebrew name in those times. Perhaps Ahab had an inkling every time he said Obadiah’s name aloud that Obadiah was one of the faithful ones. More likely not, given the story we read in the Book of Kings.
As evidence of Obadiah’s deep and abiding faith even in the midst of great peril, we are told that when Ahab’s equally-evil wife, Jezebel, was murdering the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had managed to secret away a hundred of them—hiding them in caves and provisioning them. Can you imagine? Working for two truly evil leaders while trying to remain faithful to God? Doing your palace administrator job well, but likely always looking over your shoulder since the palace culture cannot have been healthy nor safe for a God-worshipper? Doing the right thing in secret—saving lives, perhaps even using the king’s own resources to provide food and water to those Ahab and Jezebel saw as a threat to their idol worship (and to their power and leadership).
Obadiah had already taken great risk to do what was right…managing to get away with it, likely with the Lord’s blessing and help. Ahab trusted Obadiah to do his job—an example of which we see in our text: Ahab took one route to scout out pasture to keep his animals alive and sent Obadiah to do the same in the other direction. This shows how high up in the palace hierarchy Obadiah was as well as how much Ahab trusted Obadiah to carry out his duties.
Elijah meets Obadiah on this mission. Obadiah recognizes and shows great respect to Elijah, but balks at the message Elijah wants him to carry back to Ahab. Obadiah says carrying any Elijah-related message back to the king would carry a death sentence for the messenger, especially since Elijah was known to appear and disappear quite unexpectedly. Elijah promises Obadiah that he will come present himself to Ahab that very day.
So, knowing that the message might still cost him his life, Obadiah seeks out his master/king and delivers the message. He speaks truth to power—no matter the consequences. Here’s where the Obadiah narrative is eclipsed with the triumph of God over Baal on Mt. Carmel and the return of the rains to the land and more on Elijah.
But we can still learn much from this faithful God-servant and God-worshipper. Obadiah’s life and work are reminiscent of that of Daniel and his friends, Esther, Nehemiah, and others—where the calling and purpose of God’s faithful people included administrative, leadership, and influential work in places (and palaces) that were decidedly anti-God.
There is a sense that Obadiah has the Lord’s favor resting on him even in his less-than-perfect circumstances—so that he wins the trust of his employer (echoes of Joseph and Pharaoh, Esther and King Xerxes, Daniel and King Nebucadnezzar). He must also be awfully good at administrating. The King had total power over the land and could choose—or remove—anyone he wished for/from any position, even on a whim.
Do you ever feel like you are working for a supervisor, a company, or in a context that is not just less-than-perfect but perhaps bordering on evil? If you are unable to leave your job for other employment, how do you think the Lord Jesus desires you to use your position and your earned trust to have an influence, to protect others who are at risk, to speak truth to power, and still do your job to the best of the abilities He’s given you?
Perhaps Obadiah had gifts of Administration, Leadership, Faith, and Wisdom. What about your gifts—how do they help define your calling and purpose?
Additional Resources:
• Downloadable Resources--See Sample List of Interest Areas; Your Spiritual Gifts—A Study Guide; Knowing Your Unique Calling and Purpose Study Guide; Whole-Life Ministry: A Form of Worship, Grace-Giving, and Living into Your Calling.
Shirley Giles Davis, author of the God. Gifts. You. Your Unique Calling and Design workbook, Your Unique Design Class Guide, Your Unique Design Facilitator Guide, and Gifts-Calling-Purpose blog, is a consultant, coach, facilitator who has worked with faith-based organizations, nonprofit agencies, and leaders in a diversity of fields for over 30 years. She has also been Equipping Ministries Director at her church since 1999.
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[i] Not the same Obadiah as the prophet/author of the Old Testament Book of Obadiah who came later in history.