It’s easy to be eclipsed by greatness, and rightfully so. People like Elijah should receive the light and focus for who they were and what they did. But in doing so, I missed a really cool story about Obadiah. Not the prophet but a different man.
Obadiah was a man who “greatly feared the Lord.” When Jezebel was slaughtering the LORD’s prophets, he took 100 of those prophets and hid them in caves. He then took on the text of finding food and water for them all, not an easy task during a “severe famine” and drought (1 Kings 18:3-4). He must have worked himself night and day making this happen and trying to keep them safe and protected. (Reminds of this WW2 movie based on a true and historically documented story here).
Then Elijah comes with a task that seemingly will ultimately end in his death. He tells Obadiah to go tell evil Ahaz that Elijah wants to speak to him. But Obadiah knows if he tells Ahaz that and the LORD takes Elijah elsewhere, that Ahaz will him. But Elijah reassures him that he will be there. And Obadiah, with great courage, does what the man of God says, unsure if he will live through it or not.
What a righteous man! He worked hard for the Lord, risking his life to take are of the prophets. Risking his life to go talk to Ahaz about Elijah. Risking his life to obey the Lord.
Men like these are unsung heroes, standing in the shadows of the great ones like Elijah, but their heroic deeds are remembered and recorded. We shouldn’t miss them.
