Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: 1 Kings 18 and Psalm 118

Ahab was so corrupted by his allegiance to the false god Baal that he had allowed his wife, Jezebel, to initiate the wholesale eradication of Yahweh’s prophets from the land. Yet somehow, one of his most trusted administrators was Obadiah, a devout believer in Yahweh, hidden in plain sight in his court. Obadiah’s name means “Worshipper of Yahweh” or “Servant of Yahweh.”

It was certainly an act of God’s grace that Obadiah was able to serve and worship Him despite the wickedness of the court in which he served. It was also a surprising miracle of God’s grace that he managed to remain alive. Could it be that while Obadiah was faithful to Yahweh in private, he was successfully hiding the light of his faithfulness from Ahab? From his reluctance to go and tell Ahab that Elijah had appeared, it seems that he was extremely cautious and discerning in what he revealed to Ahab. Could that be why Elijah tells him to, “Go and tell your master (lord) that Elijah is here.” Elijah was about to put a choice before all the Israelites to choose whom they would serve – Yahweh or Baal – but Obadiah would also have a choice to make. Was he willing to come out of the shadows and publicly align himself with Yahweh and His prophet Elijah?

This may be the more important part of 1 Kings 18 for our everyday lives as Jesus’ disciples. Most days we won’t be calling down fire from heaven! But every day we are faced with the choice to be openly faithful to our Lord, or to hide in the shadows and keep our faith a secret. We are faced with the calling to stop being chameleon-like in our faith, and to start standing out from the crowd as faithful followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Lord Jesus, please grant us the grace and the power of Your Spirit, to shine the light of our faith in You brightly today! Amen.