Thank you for listening to this sermon from Seven Springs Presbyterian Church. If you want to learn more about us, please find us on Facebook or visit us at sevenspringspresbyterian.com. Like I said, we'll be in First Kings chapter 18. Last week we began chapter 18 and got down all the way to verse 6 as we met the unsung hero, the name which might run over our minds, but Obadiah and mainly who he is and his interactions with Ahab. And we saw Obadiah as a man who feared God greatly even from his youth and yet served in a position of high power. He served underneath the wicked king Ahab and his evil wife Jezebel. And so we saw those interactions with Ahab and how he dealt with him and this week we look at two more interactions. The interactions between Obadiah and Elijah and then the interactions between Elijah and Ahab. So, we'll begin with Obadiah and Elijah. And so, as we saw last week, Ahab and Obadiah go their separate ways. They divide the nation in half and they say, you go this way, you go this way. And then we're not surprised when we read about in verse 7, this interaction that comes to pass. Now, we already know. that we have two men here, two men of God in an unlikely situation in an era where wickedness seems to be able to rule and reign. And yet we know this is going to be an interesting interaction as pointed out last week. We could have skipped a lot of this part and information yet we've been given it in God's Word. So, we see in verse 7 as Obadiah goes, on his way, and behold, not by chance, but by providence, Elijah met him. And Obadiah recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, Is it you, my lord, Elijah? And he answered him, It is I. Go tell the Lord, behold, Elijah is here. So here we see Obadiah going on his way looking for some water and some grass for the king's horses and mules. And along the way, he meets Elijah. Now right at the very beginning Elijah was told to be able to go show yourself to Ahab. So most likely he's left Zarephath and Sidon and come back into Israel. And here Obadiah knows that this is the place where he's going to be. Elijah, now maybe he has a describable face to people as Ahab said, well you should have seen this guy as he came and the nerve as he came and told me that God lives, the Lord lives, there's not going to be any rain for three years or until he says so. And then he just disappears and as he's telling the story he's able to describe who he is but it's more likely that Obadiah was there. In the very beginning when Elijah the Tishbite from Tishbe of Gilead came up to Ahab and said, as the Lord lives, the God of Israel lives before whom I stand. There shall be neither dew nor rain these years except by my word. And so it's most likely that Obadiah there is the chief of staff, the secretary to the king, private secretary to the king, would know what's happening and would have seen Elijah and others, other theories, love to be able to hear yours. But here Obadiah sees Elijah and immediately we see him show Elijah respect. He bows, he probably would have bowed down to Ahab as a servant to him, but here he immediately falls on his face and he says, my Lord Elijah. This understanding here of respect and reverence and honor to Elijah, a man who fears God and shows this man of God this respect. And Elijah then turns to Obadiah and says in verse 8, And he answered him, It is I. Go tell your Lord. Behold, Elijah is here. Now Elijah is doing exactly what the Lord had told him to do in verse 1. After these three years had passed, he is finally now to be able to go confront Ahab once more as he did in verse 1 of chapter 17. And so he's to show himself to Ahab. So again, not only does Obadiah recognize Elijah, but also Elijah recognizes Obadiah to be able to know that he serves there in Ahab's house. And so Elijah is here on a mission. He's not merely just going and walking and wandering. He's seeking to be able to find a way to be able to come before Ahab. Now again we need to pause here and notice something very important, that Obadiah has a lot of respect for Elijah, but he does not obey Elijah right away. He has served in a political role, particularly underneath a wicked king Ahab, for a long time. And he fears God, and yet he has wisdom in this situation. So again, we can understand why Obadiah would serve in this official capacity and be able to do so. That he fears God, but he's also wise to be able to know how to handle himself in a political arena where he seeks to be able to serve God in that role and capacity. And Obadiah turns to Elijah, a simple request, go tell Ahab I'm here. And Obadiah turns and says, how have I sinned that you would give your servant into the hand of Ahab to kill me? So he realizes that here if he tells Ahab where Elijah is that he potentially could be putting himself at risk. Now I think we need to understand something as I kind of see it. I think that that as Obadiah fears God, he would not be afraid to be able to stand in a place where he puts the fear of man over himself, over the fear of God. I would say that Obadiah was willing to die for the sake of being a true believer. As he was serving God, he would have risked his life on numerous occasions. as we even see that he clearly does this later, and he has done this in the past. But Obadiah is not foolish then. There is a difference between dying because of your faith and dying because you're a foolish. And Obadiah, I believe, would have died for his faith, but not because he was being a fool. Obadiah had a hundred prophets in two separate caves that depended on him. Most likely he's the only one who knows where they are hidden to be able to keep them safe. And so if he was to die then it would put these lives of these prophets at risk. Now we know that Ahab really is not the great person who keeps a great good company. He definitely didn't marry good company. And so if Obadiah was to die because he didn't ask the right questions or check and make sure he was doing things correctly, it was most likely that others would die as well. And we need to be able to understand there's wisdom in his question and wisdom in his response, not because of his fear of death, I would say. I think it's a wisdom in he's not merely just going to die for no apparent reason. And Obadiah even explains his reasoning. We'll read verse 9 again, but we see the whole speech. We notice that it's long. Again, we need to pay attention to what is given to us in the Bible. And if there's a speech that takes up numerous verses, then we need to be able to pay attention to what is said in that speech. The Bible was not written to be able to have a certain amount of word count that needs to be able to be met. And the prophet's sitting there going, I've got a deadline, I've got to write this, I've got to add some more, where can I add some more to this story? every single section that spends time on or every single word every single as Jesus said not a dot or a tittle will pass away. So even you think about the marks and the strokes here Jesus says that they're all ordained, there's no feel of pieces. So what we see in verses 9 to 14 is is that here, Obadiah again, he turns to Elijah and says, how have I sinned that you should give your servant into the hand of Ahab to kill me? As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my Lord has not sent to seek you. And when they would say he is not here, he would take an oath of the kingdom or nation and that they had not found you. And now I say, now you say, go tell your Lord, behold, Elijah is here. And as soon as I have gone from you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you, and I know not where. And 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. Has it not been told that my Lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord? how I hid a hundred men from the Lord's prophets by fifties in caves and fed them with bread and water. And now you say, go tell your Lord, behold, Elijah is here and he will kill me." And so we have this speech from Obadiah, he's able to be able to explain to Elijah why he is cautious just to be able to go and to be able to get him. And he begins by saying, as the Lord your God lives, Now this is a formula that is used throughout all the Old Testament. And it is used as a form of oath. We saw this, we've seen this throughout our studies. But here it's how they would swear by the name of the Lord. Now we often think about the third commandment as not saying a cuss word, but it's not using the Lord's name in vain. And so we can go into oaths and vows and things like this, but Leviticus 24 verse 16 says, ìWhoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him, the sojourner as well as the native. When he blasphemes the name he shall be put to death.î So it was a test to be able to say, ìThis is what I say is true. I'm swearing this as an oath. Modern day, even in our courts and systems, you still take an oath, either to go under office, but also specifically when you're bearing witness in a court of law. Now you can take an oath or an affirmation, there's histories behind that between Quakers and old common English law, but a modern day equivalent would be to say that you tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So help me God. It's not merely just a vindication of saying truth that is clearly linked to the third commandment and not to the ninth commandment about bearing false witness. That God in the third commandment says that he will not hold him guiltless who takes the Lord's name in vain. That here you're swearing yourself underneath God, that God is your witness. Not only witnessing the words that you say, but the motives of the heart, the things that are unsearchable within. Now what we see in the Old Testament, it's often on the lips of Old Testament saints. Now it's not always the case. A person like Saul and even Absalom will use this phrase, but I think that it takes a different meaning when it comes from their lips. But here Obadiah turns around and says, as the Lord your God lives. Now it's interesting that Obadiah here says, a man who fears the Lord, even fears the Lord from his youth, a term which is used specifically of someone who understands God and his power and his reverence and normally a sense of worship towards God. But here Obadiah says, as the Lord your God lives. Again, it's interesting, it's not my God, I have no real comment. Normally I think I'd make a big point about this, because I think it's important, but I think within this passage we see that Obadiah is someone who truly fears God. it is not that he is an unbeliever and he is pointing Elijah and says that you've got your God, I've got my God. I think that here we see that he fears God greatly even from his youth, a designation that solely the only person in the whole Bible that we are told an individual says fears God greatly. So what is he to do? As the Lord your God he speaks to Elijah and tells him the truth that he swears underneath God and by God's name that there is no nation or kingdom where my Lord has not sent to seek you. And when he would say, he is not here, he would make them take an oath of the kingdom and nation that they had not found you. And we find out more about what has been happening during these three years when there's this initial meet that happened in chapter, verse one of chapter 17. And Ahab has been on the pursuit of Elijah. We find out about Jezebel seeking to be able to kill the prophets of the Lord. That here they're going out and they're seeking to be able to destroy God's prophets. And up to this point we haven't known what has been happening during these three years. But not only was he looking around Israel, he was also looking around other nations. And yet, again we must laugh at this, that where was Elijah? Elijah was in Sidon where Jezebel is from, where her father is king, Ethbaal is king and he is not sent to Judah, a God fearing man. We made note of that when that particular providence of Elijah had been sent to Zarephath. But here even we can understand God's providence in this that now as King Ahab is making these oaths and making them swear that oath saying that they don't have him in his midst, that it would be causing this King of Judah to swear by God. And if Elijah was in his midst, then he would be breaking his oath that he swears by God. But instead he sends him to the nation underneath where Jezebel is from, where her dad is king. And here Jezebel and Ahab want Elijah dead. Again we see the devastating effects of what is happening during this time. Searching far and wide. And where is he? Jezebel's backyard. And so they're seeking for Elijah, all the people of Israel, and here Ahab is hunting this man. Why this one man? Because, in verse 1, he is praying, it is him who is the reason why there has not been any rain or dew for these three years. He knows that Elijah is the reason it is not raining. You don't look for someone who can't solve your problems. You don't look for something if you don't think it's lost. Now, he might have been able to fool the public and said, well, we're just not making the right sacrifices to Baal, we need to lift our game. More prophets, it's these prophets of Yahweh in our midst that are causing all these issues. Baal is mad at us for some reason, but yet he knows that Elijah is the man, is the reason why there's no rain. And we see this refrain that comes up two times in this speech as Obadiah speaks to Elijah and he says, now you say, go tell your Lord, behold, Elijah's here. His first argument is that Elijah has been looking for you to kill you, making them swear that they haven't seen you. How do you think Ahab will respond when I tell him I know where Elijah is? And yet what happens is I tell him I know where you are, but as soon as I've gone from you, it says that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you and I know not where. Now Obadiah is not doubting Elijah saying Elijah is a liar, Elijah is deceiving. He's saying that Elijah is someone who's gonna obey what God tells him to do. And if the Spirit of the Lord leads him to go, he's gonna go. He understands that Elijah fears God as he fears God. Now Obadiah doesn't know what we know in verse one, that God has told him to go stand before Ahab. That here, again, the wisdom. He fears the Lord. And he's done so since his youth. But he's not going to die for no reason. And in verse 13, we're told about what happened with Jezebel killing the prophets. And he explains to Elijah something that Elijah might not have known. here Elijah finds out that Obadiah has hid a hundred prophets of Yahweh. He said in the 50s in caves he's fed them bread and water during this whole time and Obadiah gives a history lesson. Again this is important for Obadiah's case that here He's not afraid to die for himself, but he is trying to explain to Elijah that here, as he's feared God, he's also sought to be able to protect the prophets. Now there's something that we find out that we didn't know last time. As we found out last week, sorry. The Jezebel is the one that is seeking to be able to execute the prophets. We'll find out in chapter 21 that here Ahab definitely did wicked things, but Jezebel plays a large part in it. Jezebel is responsible for her own actions just as Ahab is, but also Jezebel will play a large part in her two sons, the sons that rule afterwards as well. And Obadiah tells Elijah that Did you read in the newspaper how Jezebel was going around trying to kill all these prophets? The death rates of prophets in Israel of Yahweh. It's a great time to be a prophet of Baal, not a great time to be a prophet of Yahweh. What you didn't read in the newspapers, what I was doing behind everyone's back. I was taking a hundred of them and hiding them. I was saving, not slaughtering prophets. And in verse 14, he ends his argument and says, now you say, go tell your Lord, behold, Elijah's here and he will kill me. Obadiah repeats again what's going to happen. Obadiah is willing to tell Ahab, Elijah will disappear and Obadiah will take it out on Obadiah. Ahab will take it out on Obadiah. But yet we see Elijah's response now. Elijah's response is simply, succinctly and sufficiently for Obadiah. In verse 15, all the concerns that Obadiah had, as Elijah says, as the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today. Obadiah takes an oath, an oath before the Lord, or vows before Elijah, and now Elijah makes an oath and a vow to Obadiah, that here we see these two men who are willing not merely just to be able to put their word to it, but they're willing to swear by God's name that what they're doing and why they're doing it, that here the truth remains. that Elijah and Obadiah both stand before God, both fear God. You see the respect and the honor which both of them have, two servants of Yahweh, the Lord, and Elijah's word is enough for Obadiah. Obadiah has heard enough. That short little sentence that Obadiah says, as the Lord of hosts lives before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today. Then Obadiah goes. He went to meet Ahab and told him, Ahab goes to meet with Elijah in verse 16. Now before we move on to that next interaction between Elijah and Ahab, just as quickly as Obadiah appeared, after doing so much great deeds to be able to save the hundred prophets, we don't hear anything more about Obadiah. He's gone, vanished. Maybe he's gonna save 100 more prophets. Maybe he does great other things that we don't know about. All his inner workings as he was serving in Ahab's house, we have no idea. And this might be the case with us. As we might serve God in the dark corners of the globe, as we seek to be able to serve God, fear God in the capacities we've been placed in, be alone and isolated and yet, Here Obadiah serves God, we don't hear what he does. That we might not be famous, but we can be faithful. That we might not be well known, but what we want our Lord and Master to say in the very end is not well known, but well done, good and faithful servant. And Obadiah's life might be summed up with the mantra, blessed are those who are unnoticed, for the acts of love are seen by the Almighty. That here that unsung hero in these pages of scripture that we probably wouldn't even know, that we're blessed to be able to see and read about it, or to be able to live by the mantra that the world might forget our names, but heaven remembers our deeds. And our hope when we come to meet our Lord and Savior is for Him to be able to echo the words that we read about in Matthew chapter 25, verse 23. As the master says to Him, well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little. That here we see that to be well done, it needs to, you need to do something. Good, you need Christ. Faithful, you need His Spirit. You need to be a servant. This is exactly what Obadiah was. Too many people do not think about these words. People don't want to serve, they want to shine. People don't want to serve, they want to be an influence. They want to be served. They want to be praised. They want to be recognized. They want to be applauded. They want to be admired. They want to be idolized. They want to be revered. They want to be honored. They want to be powerful. They want to be in charge. They want to be in the center of attention. And yet, Christ says, good and faithful servant. But also, notice what Jesus says in the next line. That you've been faithful over a little. that we're not often content with the little God has given us, but the little God has given us is enough for us still to remain faithful. It's important that this is our calling, where God has placed us. Now try not to get too personal or emotional, but many of you in this room are exactly that, good and faithful servants, serving God with the little that God has given you. You always seek to be able to do more, to help more, and you seek to be able to serve as one who is faithful, caring for loved ones, serving others, praying, listening. That we seek to be able to live a life like Obadiah, that we might not feel like we're doing much, yet we're doing exactly what God has called us to do. And the great thing is that you can be faithful even if you have a little. So now we see the next interaction between Elijah and Ahab. So finally after verse 1 where Elijah is told to go and meet Ahab, go show yourself and I will send rain upon the earth. We finally get to that point in verse 17, where Ahab sees Elijah. After Ahab is trying to find Elijah for three years, it is only by God's providence that they meet. In verse 17, when Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, Is it you, troubler of Israel? Let us notice one thing about Ahab and his response to Elijah. Who is to blame for this drought? We know it's Ahab. But who does Ahab blame? It's Elijah. I think it's a great lesson as we think about those who oppose God and his people and his word. They're always looking for someone else to blame. Adam and Eve in the garden, who do they blame? Well, it's the serpent. the woman says. Adam blames Eve and ultimately who's to blame? Adam ends up blaming God. Not only is the woman's fault, it's the woman's fault that you put in the garden. Now often political and emotional they're not things that I seek to be able to do but this has recently come to mind after even going through some foster care training. that there's many reasons why kids are in foster care, drugs and teenage pregnancy, et cetera, and things like this. And yet, when they see the problem, these things that we would not agree with, their solution is often, well, then we need something like abortion to be able to fix it. And they blame Christians for saying that we're the troublers of the society. Yet the issue is not with the Christians and their response. The problem is something else. When you dig deeper, in most cases, it's a downgrade of values such as marriage, family, the body God has given, the ability for us to be able to serve and glorify God, not being placed on this earth just for gratification and desires of human lusts and flesh. Now, there's no perfect time in history Yet often what you look at is, it's always someone else's fault. This is what you see in Acts. Many times, but in Acts chapter 17, the Jews were jealous. Taking some wicked men off the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them to the crowd. And then when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities shouting, these men who have turned the world upside down have come here also. And Jason has received them. And they're all acting against the decrees of Caesar saying that there is another King, Jesus. Who caused the uproar in this city? Well, they did. And now they're blaming Jason and the disciples, the apostles, for this uproar and this turn thing. They're the ones turning the world upside down. Isn't it them, the troublers of the city? It is what we see. Revelation chapter 12, who is it? heard a loud voice in heaven. Now the salvation of the power of the kingdom of God and the authority of Christ have come. For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God." That this is what Satan does and this is all that he practices. Jesus rebukes the Pharisees that he says that your father is the devil. that you do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning. He does not stand in the truth because the truth is not in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character for he is a liar and the father of lies. And here he is accusing them. And the same is today across the whole world. And in this case, Elijah is called the troubler of Israel when Ahab is the one who is to blame. That's exactly what Elijah responds and tells Ahab in verse 18. In verse 18, Elijah answers and says, I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father's household, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals. Two things that he accuses Ahab of doing. The first thing is that he has abandoned the commandments of the Lord. Do you remember back in chapter 9 as Solomon seeks to be able to pray at the temple prayer and he says in verses 6 and 9 The Lord appears to him and says in verses 6 and 9, �But if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statues that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them.� What has Ahab done? Exactly this. Then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them. And the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight. And Israel will become a proverb and a byword among the peoples. And this house will become a heap of ruins. Everyone passing by it will be astonished and will hiss and they will say, why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house? And they will say, Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them. Therefore the Lord has brought all this disaster on them." But here is exactly what Ahab has done. He's turned aside. not keeping the commandments and statues that God had sent, but also to be able to go and serve other gods and to be able to worship them. Zechariah, son of Jehoiada, told the people, thus says God, why do you break the commandments of the Lord? So that you cannot prosper. because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you. It's been more time speaking about the two curses there that we see in Deuteronomy chapter 28. There's no land that's going to come on the ground. In verse 28, verse 22, the Lord will strike you with wasting disease, and with fever, inflammation, and fiery heat, and with drought, and with blight, and with a mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish, and the heavens over your head shall be bronze. and the earth under you shall be iron. And the Lord will make it the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed." This is one of the curses that is found for not obeying, not walking in the commandments of the Lord. And definitely at this time the sky would be bronze and the earth would be iron. Now there is some truth to it. that Ahab is telling the truth. There's trouble that has come. There's no rain that is coming. That's because that's exactly what Elijah said would happen. There shall be neither dune nor rain until the years except by my word. As he stands before the Lord, the God of Israel. But yet the reality is that why does this come? It's because they have not kept the commandments of the Lord. But the second thing is they've followed Baal. That here they've served other gods, false worship, serving and building the house of Baal, going after other gods and idolatry. And so Elijah confronts Ahab and clearly states that it's because what you have done. Now we'll end here with this brief thought. Who's in control of the whole situation? God is obviously, but here that Elijah is standing before Ahab and Ahab has nothing. He can't destroy Elijah. He knows that Elijah is the one why it's not raining. He told him right at the very start that it's except by my word. That Elijah is the one who's commanding the situation as you see in verse 19. As Elijah instructs the king, Ahab, and he tells Ahab, the nobody Elijah tells Ahab to go and do something. And what does the king do? He listens to the nobody Elijah and does something. Now therefore send and gather all of Israel to me at Mount Carmel and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel's table. And we'll see. Next week, the great showdown. 950 prophets versus one prophet. Baal, the Lord, the master, another way to say it, against Yahweh, the Lord, the God of Israel. So you can remember on those TV shows at the end. Tune in next week and we'll see the great epic battle. Thank you for listening to this sermon from Seven Springs Presbyterian Church. If you want to learn more about us, please find us on Facebook or visit us at sevenspringspresbyterian.com. Seven Springs Presbyterian Church began in 1874 and is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America located in Glade Spring, Virginia. Please join us for worship on Sunday at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. for His glory and His gospel.