1 Kings 18 (Part 1) Bible Study (Elijah Confronts Ahab) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

First Kings 18. We're starting in verse one, so place your finger there. Lord, we are grateful that we have access to the truth. We are so thankful, Lord, that we live in a time where we have the full revelation needed for us to know how to be saved and how to walk as the saved. Lord, we pray tonight, please, let this be more than just words and thoughts transmitted to our ears.

Let there be a powerful transmission through the energizing work of the Holy Spirit that would bring our hearts to greater life and strength and devotion to the person of Jesus Christ. We do pray, oh, Lord, that all men would disappear at this time except for the God man, Jesus Christ, that we would see him. We would see his wisdom. We would see his love. We would see his power, and that we would fall deeper in love with him.

So, Lord, tonight, we pray that as the word goes forth and as we study together as brains, that we would experience the life giving, life sustaining power of your word. Please, Lord, let this be a powerful time together. We can't do it apart from the Holy Spirit. And so we petition and plead that this would be a moment where we can look back and say, God, touch me on that Friday night. We ask for that, Lord.

We trust that only you can provide that, lest this become just a lecture, lest this become just a time where we look at some words on on white pages. Lord, no. We need your power, and we look to you and trust that you will provide it because we are hungry and thirsty for righteousness. We long to know you in a closer way. Meet us now as we look at the man, Elijah, and his story, and what it is that you've preserved for us to know for our own walk with you.

In Jesus' mighty name we pray. Amen. First Kings 18. Let's begin in verse one, and let's read the first six verses together before we pause and unpack these truths. After many days, the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year saying, go show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.

So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria, and Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly. And when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a 100 prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water. And Ahab said to Obadiah, go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys.

Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive and not lose some of the animals. So they divided the land between them to pass through it. Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself. For three years, Elijah obeyed the Lord who instructed him to be removed from the public eye, first to remain by the brook in Kareth, and then following that through the concealed care of a widow in Zarephath. But after many days, we are told, the one who said in first Kings seventeen three, depart and hide yourself, now says, go show yourself.

And what we see here by Elijah's example in his connection and walk with the Lord is a wonderful illustration of the spheres of our obedience to the Lord. Meaning, our obedience to the Lord looks just like this. We are called, like Elijah, to obey God in private, and we are called to obey God in public. We are called to obey and honor the Lord in seclusion, and we are also called to obey the Lord when everyone's watching. Whether we have an audience or not, we are called to honor God as our supreme goal.

And that is precisely what Elijah does without any hesitation. When he was called to hide himself, he did not question. He did not present reservation. He immediately obeyed. And now we see the same attitude.

When he was called to now make an appearance on a nationwide platform, he obeyed with the same sincerity and earnestness. And this is important to learn and know because for some, serving God in obscurity, serving God while you are hidden is frustrating and it's discouraging. Because we tend to measure our success or our fruitfulness based on the people that we are touching or observable measures and metrics. But there are also people who in serving God before a crowd or on a platform is daunting and absolutely undesirable for different reasons. Fear of criticism, fear of failure on a larger scale, fear of the temptation of pride creeping in and intensifying as they receive more recognition or acknowledgement or praise.

Whether it's hiddenness or whether it is publicity, regardless, you and I must learn contentment and confidence in the Lord no matter where he calls us, no matter what the setting is. Because you know why the ultimate aim is to please him. The ultimate aim is to honor him. And this is what Elijah is modeling here. For years, no one saw him, and yet he trusted the Lord, and he allowed God to mold him and to stretch faith from him.

And now as he's arriving to a place where it's gonna be a lot different than it was in the past three years, he's going to show the same level of obedience and trust in God. So that's what we can learn already from verse one. But now we come to verse two and we get a description of how severe the famine was in these past few years. We're told here, now the famine was severe in Samaria. The severity of the famine is important to note in connection to the appearance of Elijah on the scene.

Elijah appears when the temperature was just right. After God initiated and controlled this drought, bringing it to this point, this was the right time now for Elijah to appear as a prophet, to declare his message, and to manifest the power of God. Why? Because like this time, devastation, deprivation is often needed for the spiritual posture of others to take heed to the word of the Lord. In other words, it often takes severe situations before a people or a person take heed to what God has to say.

It's unfortunate but that is human nature. And so in a sense here, the Lord knowing what was going to take place in the land sees and permits really this to happen, and now says, Elijah it's time to go. The people will be more open to hearing what you have to say than when this whole thing started. But understanding the severity of this famine is also important when we link it to the character of another individual in this testimony. And that character is Ahab.

We're gonna see why the severity of this famine sheds light on just how depraved Ahab was as a king and as a person altogether. But before we examine Ahab, we are introduced to this interesting character. You read his name, Obadiah. Obadiah appears now, and there are many Obadiahs in the Bible, but this is a unique Obadiah. And the first thing that we are told about Obadiah is what?

Verse three, and Ahab called Obadiah who was over the household. Over whose household? Ahab's. In other words, he was the chief manager. He was the administrator, the lead administrator over the palace.

And right there, knowing Ahab, knowing what his regime was like, we might have our guards up. We might have flags concerning this Obadiah. But it's as though the Holy Spirit wants us to swat away any suspicions because in the same verse, we are told by the author was ultimately God, what? Yes, he was over the household. But look, now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly.

Look, there are people in the Bible who are told fear the Lord. But if you are attributed with fearing the Lord greatly, that is worthy of further meditation. In fact, there's something obviously that the Lord wants us to learn about Obadiah because not just of this description, but the dialogue that has been preserved between Obadiah and Elijah. There's something that God wants you and I to pull out of this man's story. The situation that he's in, the things that he says, And so we're going to look at that.

But see, we hear that he he feared the lord greatly. He feared the lord greatly, and we are told how this reverential awe for god manifested through Obadiah's life. What did he do? Well, he feared the Lord greatly, verse four. And when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a 100 prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.

So this Obadiah had these skills, these managerial skills if you will, and he used those skills to what? Honor God by preserving the lives of a remnant of prophets and by providing for them regularly. Can I remind you that this is more than just a nice gesture? This is a life and death occupation. This is a major operation.

Can you imagine what would have happened to Obadiah if Ahab found out that during a famine, out of all the people that he was taking care of, it was the enemies of Baal. And this is what this man endeavored to do. He risked his life and right there by way of principle, you and I learned something about what it means to fear the Lord greatly. Here's what it means. To pursue and secure honoring God as your chief ambition, even more than life itself.

You know, there are some people who are hesitant to honor God for the fear of potential embarrassment, and then you have guys like Obadiah who are willing to honor God with the potential price tag of death itself. And that's what it means to fear God, where you are willing to love him, obey him, worship him, even if in pursuit of that your life is at risk. And so this man had a great love for God, a great awe of God. And this is something to keep in mind because you have some who are critical of Obadiah. There's a lot of debate around this character.

Like, people are trying to figure out what kind of label do we give him. And what do you think the major criticism is concerning Obadiah? Any idea? It's pretty simple, but I'm asking I'm actually asking, what do you think it is that would cause us to hesitate to believe that he was a man who completely feared the Lord? Yes.

Lying to Ahab in what way? And I know exactly what you're saying, so just confirm if this is what you mean by that. How is it that Obadiah can work for Ahab? Is that what you're saying? Exactly.

That is the major criticism that Obadiah receives. How is it that with such hostility against the true and living God, can you have a man who feared the Lord greatly, but was able to adapt in the atmosphere of Ahab's kingdom? How is it that you can have a man who was tolerated and accepted and even given the responsibility to manage the kingdom if he was a man who truly revered the Lord. And so you have many people who think differently about Obadiah. They can't deny the fact that we're told by the spirit of God that he feared the Lord greatly, but they're more convinced that there is something compromising about him.

Now some would say, well, look. How can you say that about Obadiah when there are other instances in the scriptures of people who are working for terrible evil anti god governments, administrations, and we don't give them equal criticism. Give me some of the names of the people that we praise who worked in similar settings as Obadiah. Tell me. Moses.

Okay. Any other ones? Joseph is a strong one. Daniel is a strong one. Come on ladies, there's one that you should know.

Esther. Esther. So you have these different figures in the scripture who worked in the political sphere, and for some reason, we are not so quick to give them the same criticism that we give to Obadiah. And here's the counterargument. What do Daniel, Joseph, and Esau have in common?

There are many things, but exactly. They were captives. They were all captives. So in other words, the counterargument is they didn't really have a choice. They didn't really have a choice.

And the other argument that you can make too about them is that they did not keep their faith private. Did they? But you can also say this, that those kings that they served were not as hostile and aggressive against God like Ahab was. So pharaoh respected the fact that Joseph served another god. He couldn't deny it.

He couldn't deny those dreams and those prophecies. He he was fine with with Joseph doing what he wanted to do with his relationship with the Lord. And you think of Daniel and Esther, yes, they were obviously worshiping idols, but whenever at any point there was any kind of attack against the truth or a call to disobey the true and living God, there was protests, were there not? Daniel protested. Esther protested.

Yes, that's true. And so you can see the contention here. You can see the difficult in trying to label Obadiah here. How how is it that he was able to not just camouflage these prophets, but it seems like he's hiding his own witness? Seems like he's adapting and and that's concerning.

So is he completely right? Is he totally wrong? Is he like a lot who when you read his account in Genesis, you're like, this guy can't be saved. And then you go to Peter and you realize he's called righteous three times. So he he's he's a compromising worldly believer.

Is that what Obadiah is? So after the service not now. After you guys can debate. All the people who are on this side and that side, you can go out of there. Okay?

But let me give the reasons why I believe Obadiah is more in the right than he is in the wrong. I believe that there are two internal clues that indicate that he should not receive the criticism that he often gets. The first indication is the tribute that the scriptures give him. He feared the Lord greatly. Full stop.

Plain and simple. The second one is something that is often overlooked, and it is Elijah's conversation with Obadiah. How Elijah approaches and responds to Obadiah when they meet one on one. And we're gonna explore that in a moment, but look quickly at verse 15 and get a hint of the final words that Elijah gives to a very fearful and hesitant Obadiah to obey the word of the Lord. Verse 15.

And Elijah said, as the Lord of hosts lives before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today. He says that in light of Obadiah being afraid, that if he goes and tells Ahab I found Elijah, that Elijah would have disappeared. And Elijah comforts and reassures him. Now compare that tone with Elijah's words to the nation of Israel when they gathered together at Mount Carmel in verse 21. Look what he says to them.

And Elijah came near to all the people and said, how long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the lord is God, follow him, but if Baal, then follow him. You don't you don't get that kind of aggression and that rebuke toward Obadiah. He he tells it to the people, but he doesn't say it to this man. I wonder if Elijah himself recognized and honor the fact that Obadiah did fear the Lord.

Who's to say that Obadiah recognized that in occupying the position that he had, he could have done greater service to the Lord And protecting these prophets, and having insight and intel knowing their moves, and their whereabouts, and their plans, and being able to maneuver this remnant of messengers. Who's to say that that's not possible? And so based on I mean, you can disagree with me if you'd like, but based on what I see here, I think Obadiah leans more towards being in the right than being in error. And that's an encouragement to me because then if that is the case, then Obadiah teaches us something about what it means to fear the Lord. He teaches us that it's possible to fear the Lord greatly.

Despising the compromising, spiritually senseless, and even hostile environments we find ourselves in. Does anybody know what the name Obadiah means? Servant of the Lord. You're right. And that man lived up to his name.

Servant of the Lord showing us that, listen, despite the antichrist atmospheres you find yourself in, whether that be your workplace, whether that be your home, or anywhere else, being a living sacrifice unto god is achievable. And listen, this man who feared God even teaches us something else about how and the depth of how one can fear the Lord. Look at verse 12 quickly and notice what he mentions about himself in verse 12. The second part in verse 12, look at it quickly. Although I'm looking at the last part of verse 12.

Although I, your servant, have feared the lord from when? From my youth. So this is a, this is a plea of sincerity. Obadiah, who the scripture says objectively, fear the Lord greatly, says of himself, look, I fear the Lord since my young days. That encouraged me so much.

You know why? Because it gives you and I hope that our children do not have to fit into the common narrative of drifting away from God when they become teenagers or young adults. They don't have to. They don't have to. Obadiah proves to you and I that they can stand in sincere reverential awe of God in their youth.

We should believe God for that. We should disciple with that goal in mind, our children, our siblings. We should trust that even in their youth, you can have men like Obadiah, who have history with God who have history with God. It's almost like people, are expecting that their children who grew up in the church, who grew up with the truth are are are are gonna drift away from God, and just brace yourself for impact and hope that they come back sooner than later. Who says that has to be their story?

Who says that has to be the case? Why don't believe God for more? Why don't believe and trust God that they can actually serve him and love him without skipping a beat? And let me speak to those who grew up in the house of God, who feel as though well, let me stop and ask this. When you read a man like Obadiah who says, I fear the Lord since my youth.

Does that encourage you? Does that warm your heart? Does that move you? Does that inspire you? It should.

It did to me. Okay. So why do you discount your testimony because you didn't drift from God? Why do you discount your testimony because you, as long as you can remember, love the Lord Jesus, serve the Lord Jesus, You look at your arms and your heart, you look at your mind, and you say, we're I don't have scars from sin that I can show people so I can have a more dramatic response to my testimony. I'm just a plain old boring Christian that just grew up in the church and stayed put and loved the Lord and didn't have any dramatic roller coaster to my testimony.

Don't ever discount that testimony. The fact that you feared the Lord all those years is a testimony. You should praise God for it, and you should rejoice in it. The same way that you're moved by over that being able to say, I fear the Lord. You know, some people and and I I I'm excited to hear the testimonies of those who are getting baptized this Sunday.

I hope not one person in writing their testimony feels any hesitation, feels any embarrassment, feels as though they can't be as impactful as they stand up here and say, you know what? I fear the Lord since my youth, and I'm ready to now make a public declaration that I wanna honor him. Praise god. If your testimony is that long, ten seconds, we're gonna rejoice just as much as the one who came from the mud in the mire. So this man, fear the lord, he shows us that it's possible to be young and fear the lord.

He shows us that we should believe the same for those that we know that are young as well. Let's come back to first Kings 18 verse five. And Ahab said to Obadiah, go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive and not lose some of the animals. How bad was this drought?

You know how bad it was? That the king had to get up from his throne and look for grass himself. That's bad. And so he brings Obadiah on this trip with them, and he says, look. We gotta find something.

And we've heard of Ahab before, but this is the first time that we read of Ahab speaking. And what he says in this passage says a lot about him. You can't read quickly through these things. You gotta pause and and contemplate. Based on what Ahab says in assessing the situation in the land, what does it reveal about him?

Let me make this even more, clear. What is Ahab's main concern? The animals. The animals. So in a crippling famine, the one thing that Ahab is concerned about is his horses and mules.

So you have a man who is so darkened in his heart, not only listen. The indication of him having horses is what? That as a king, he's defying God's law for kings that you should not acquire many horses. One. Two, you are more concerned about beast than you are about those who are created in the image of God?

That's what this man reveals about himself. He's more concerned about his economy. He's more concerned about his military might than he is about the families and the children and the parents that are starving. And more concerning than that is the omission of God in this whole plan of action. You know what Ahab should have been concerned about?

Not seeking grass, seeking God. What do we see here? Plain ignorance of how what's happening around him, the afflictions he and his people are experiencing is being orchestrated by divine intervention. He could not interpret that, or he was willing to at least be ignorant of that and be content in his ignorance. I'm reminded of another time in Israel's kingdom where there was a three year famine and how the king of that time responded completely differently from Ahab.

Can you think of the king and the time that I'm thinking of? If you were here during our study of first and second Samuel, you'll remember. I kinda gave it away, did I not? There was another time where there was a three year famine. Okay.

Fine. You have to go there, though. I'm not gonna give you the answer. It's in second Samuel chapter 21, and you're gonna get your answer in verse one. Second Samuel 21 verse one.

Are you there? Here's what it says. Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David, what did he do? Do you think he sought for grass?

And David sought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, there is blood guilt on Saul and on his house because he put the Gibeonites to death. And that that's a fascinating study. You can always go back to second Samuel 21 because we explored that in greater detail. But here you have a three year famine.

You have a king, and notice the contrast. You have king Ahab looking for grass, and you have king David looking for God. Here's what we learned from Ahab. Supernatural judgments do not automatically promise softened hearts, Do not automatically promise spiritual awakening. And I think that's a timely word for us in the day that we're living in because we are witnessing the collapse of Western society.

And we hope that with the increase of perversion and calamities and disasters and evil, something would click and we would stop grasping for temporary relief and pause and say, we need to seek God. And though these judgments that are given by God, these permissions, where when God in his passive wrath lets go of his preserving grace, are designed to cause us to seek the Lord, they don't automatically guarantee it. So I wanna just throw out a couple references to make that case. I think of two passages in one in one book in Isaiah. In Isaiah chapter nine verse 13.

You don't have to turn there, but listen. You can write this down and look for it look for it yourself later. Listen to the words of Isaiah nine thirteen. The people did not turn to him who struck him. The people did not turn to him who struck him nor inquire of the Lord of hosts.

What was the intent of striking the people that they would turn to the Lord of hosts? That they would inquire of him like David did. The prophets repeat this in so many ways. I'm just staying with Isaiah. You think of Isaiah 42 verse 25.

Isaiah forty two twenty five. Just listen carefully to these words. So he poured on him, being Israel, he poured on him the heat of his anger and the might of battle. It set him on fire all around, but he did not understand. It burned him up, but he did not take it to heart.

So it's possible for God to stretch forth his hand and wound a person, wound a nation, and they still don't get the hint. And they harden themselves in their sin, and they remain in unbelief, and they don't even have an iota of humility to pause and say, maybe God is trying to get my attention. Maybe God wants to say something to me. So what do you have here in verse five of first Kings 18? You have Ahab's pursuit of grass symbolizing what the wicked often do in their pain and misery.

They go searching for temporary relief. See, if he would have found grass, he might have fed his mules and his horses for a few days. But what was God intending in this? That he would instead of looking for trivial things, he could look to the permanent relief in the redeemer's grace. And he doesn't.

And it's a shame. He's looking for grass when he should be looking for God. Let's come back to verse six of first Kings 18. So they divided the land between them, that is Ahab and Obadiah, to pass through it. Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself.

Now look what happens in verse seven. And as Obadiah was on the way, behold, 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 your Lord, behold, Elijah is here.

Now, up to this point in our study of Elijah, we've been inspired by this man's obedience, by this man's growth in his faith, that even in those years of seclusion, the Lord challenged him to not depend upon natural resources, to even believe in him for when a person even dies that God can raise him from the dead. Elijah was being taught and trained and prepared. And what I find so interesting is that God told Elijah, go show yourself to who? Obadiah? No.

He said go show yourself to who? Ahab. Go to Ahab. And what's so interesting is that you have Ahab and Obadiah splitting ways and going on different paths in different directions. And you would think that Elijah would have been steered towards Ahab and to meet with him directly.

Right? I mean, he was told, go and show yourself to Ahab. But he doesn't. Instead, he has to meet with Obadiah. And it's gonna be through Obadiah's participation that Elijah and Ahab are gonna have a confrontation.

Why? Because God is not just concerned with prophets. God is equally invested in all of his servants, no matter how or where they serve him. And so in the same way God was, doing a work in Elijah's heart and stretching his faith and hoping that he would graduate from glory to glory, God now is showing that he wants to work in Obadiah's life to a greater degree. He feared the Lord greatly, but now he's giving Obadiah a chance to trust him more and to witness more of his power and his might and his mercy.

And it's gonna take a trial. It's gonna take an invitation to step out on obedience for that to take place. And so remember that as a beautiful picture here, we often think that God is more concerned with those who have mighty ministries, who have incredible gifts. No. No.

No. He he's just as concerned with the Obadiahs than he is with the Elijahs. And so he has Elijah meet with Obadiah. And Obadiah here is gonna be commanded to do something. But unfortunately, unlike Elijah who showed who showed quick obedience, swift compliance, and submission to the will of God, Obadiah is not.

Obadiah is gonna have some reservations. Obadiah is going to hesitate greatly to step out in the way that God's gonna call him to step out. And what I want us to do at this portion of our bible study is to examine three three reservations that Obadiah has in obeying the Lord. And get this, it applies to common temptations that you and I have when we know what God's word says about something and we fail to apply it to that certain situation. Are you ready for that?

Well, let's do it. We come here to verse eight, and I want you to look at the first point. Verse nine says, and he said in response to Elijah saying, go and tell your lord Elijah is here. Verse nine, and he said, how have I sinned that you would 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 that they had not found you. I before anything, I always want to pause and rejoice in the protective care of God. Can you imagine the leader of a nation investigating other nations and the kings to try to find you? You're talking about an international investigation, and God was able to preserve his servant Elijah. Listen, when you're walking with the Lord, you're at greater advantage than even if the nations collaborate against you.

I hope you really believe that. You know what bothers me sometimes about how people look at the Old Testament? They treat it like Sunday school stories to get children excited and to open up their imagination and hopefully their faith in God. These are not children's stories, and they're not just meant for Sunday school. They're meant for you, and they're meant for me until we see him face to face.

So Elijah here was protected, but notice what the reasoning is for Obadiah to not step out. Here it is. Some people do not obey God, number one, because we wrongly excuse ourselves from certain tasks. We wrongly excuse ourselves from certain tasks. What do I mean by that?

Obadiah felt as though this command was more of a punishment than it was an honor. And what we see here is that he sought to absolve himself from such a dangerous mandate seeing that look. I didn't sin or do anything to deserve such such a miserable job. And so he he almost excuses himself based on his own righteousness. Why are you picking me to do this?

I don't see anything in my history. I can't think of anything in my conscience that would that would call me to be a candidate for such a thing. And so he presents himself as one who is worthy to be excused. You know, when God calls us to obey him in certain ways, you have some who hesitate, number one, because they think they're not good enough. That's Moses to lead a nation out of captivity, and he gave a catalog of excuses why he was not the man for the job.

So you have some who reserve their faith and their trust because they feel as though as they look at themselves, I don't know if I'm the guy. I don't know if I'm the gal for the mission. And you have others, when it comes to certain tasks and obedience, who think they're too good and think they should be excused. The latter part is more relatable than you might think. Because again, we look at this in a very dim one dimensional way.

This is Obadiah asked to stand before an unpredictable king, and so he's fearful of even mentioning the name Elijah in his presence. And really, okay. That's that's cool. No. No.

Dig deeper and look at the principle. You know, there are some people who, when called to do something by providence or by invitation, feel as though they're too qualified. They feel this surge of self righteousness or they overestimate their value. And not necessarily for dangerous tasks like this, but I'm thinking more for humble chores. I don't I don't know if I'm part of the praise team.

You can't ask me to do that. Right? A lot of people in Christendom today, wanna be celebrities, especially in the singing world. I'm a preacher. I speak before people.

You can't ask me to do this. And I was meditating on this today, and I thought of one of the mightiest men of God that the world will ever know, Paul, and all the mighty things that God did through his words and did through his hands. And I and I and my mind went to a place in Acts, in Acts 28, where he was abandoned and there was shipwrecked on an island called Malta. And in Providence, God uses Paul to lay hands on someone and it brought healing, and it brought many hearts to be awakened. I want I want you to hear these words in Acts 28 verse eight.

Just listen. It says, it happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever in the century, and Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him healed him. Can you imagine that? A major figure in a foreign land, and God uses your hands to be laid upon him, and for him to be healed miraculously, and for that entire neighborhood to hear about it, and for that news to spread. And I thought about Paul's hands, how he was used to do the miraculous.

And with those same hands in the same chapter, you read Paul doing this. Just listen to this. You heard him laying hands on the sick and then recovering. You know what he did earlier with those same hands? Let me read it to you in Acts 28 verse three when they came to this island initially.

When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. I don't know if that moves you. It moves me. The very same hands that God used to raise the sick were used to humbly pick up sticks and to feed a fire. There are hundreds of other people on that beach that day, but Paul saw it necessary to just be a servant in that setting and to just pick up sticks and put them in the fire.

You know what Paul could have said? I'm not sure if I wanna damage these hands. God's used them to touch many people's lives. I wonder if these prisoners and these citizens of Malta know who I am. Maybe I should let them know they'll be more eager to feed this fire so that I don't come down with a cold and you know, because God needs me to bring revival to this island.

You think that's how Paul thought? Absolutely not. Here you have this man without question, still dripping wet, skin wrinkly from the ocean water, picking up sticks, demonstrating humility. And so you have Obadiah here who is hesitant to obey God because he wrongly excused himself from this task, and some people do that for many reasons. But we have a second reason why Obadiah hesitated to obey God.

Let's read it together in verse 11. Says here, and 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. 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. So you you see how this man is thinking. Right? It's faulty, but he's working off something. Factoring in how the Lord caused Elijah to vanish and disappear for three years, he now has this suspicion that if he goes to Ahab and says, look, I found Elijah.

The spirit of the Lord at any moment can just rapture Elijah and cause him to be gone for an undisclosed amount of time, putting Obadiah in a dangerous position, for an unmet expectation. And so knowing what Elijah has been doing these past few years, namely being hidden, thinks, what what makes me think that you're not able to do that again? I'm I'm not sure if I'm up for that task knowing that at any moment, god can pull a trick and and I'm more in trouble than anything else. Here here's some people and another reason why they are hesitant to obey the Lord. Number two, people are hesitant to obey the Lord because they assume that obedience will set them up for harm more than good.

So here you have Obadiah saying, the Lord has told me to do this and it's gonna rob me. It's gonna endanger me. And there is a wide spectrum of risk when you and I contemplate consecration in a certain circumstance. It's not uncommon for believers to think of the worst possible outcome when they want to obey the Lord, or when they're called to obey the Lord. No no matter what that call of obedience is.

So So here the Lord is nudging on your heart to ask somebody for forgiveness. And what goes through your mind? Well, I'm gonna look vulnerable. I'm gonna look weak. I'm gonna look like I'm in the wrong here.

They're the ones who should be asking me for forgiveness, not me asking them for forgiveness. And here you are called in a moment where you can be dishonest, and in being dishonest, you can preserve a little bit more money in your bank account. But if you're honest, you're gonna have to add a little bit more figures to the report, and that's gonna cost you more. And you're in a very tight place, so maybe I can just god will understand. Because if I'm if I'm true to this, then it might rob me.

Or then here you are in a moment where you can defend the truth, stand up for righteousness, but now all these crashing thoughts come in because if you do stand up for this, you might come off as a self righteous, out of touch Puritan. Not sure I wanna stand out for this when everybody else seems to be okay with it, when I know the word of God says else elsewhere and otherwise. So there are times in those moments where we feel like this is if I do this, I think it's gonna hurt me more than anything else. And in this case, he thought he was gonna be killed. Listen.

You can never go wrong with obeying God. Never. You will never lose. And no matter what losses you may gain, they are temporary losses, and they will always, always, always be outweighed by the rewards. Always.

Always remember that. No matter what that call is, and no matter what the hesitations are, trust and obey for there's no other way. So Obadiah here is worried. If I do this, I'm gonna be in a more perilous position. But that's not the only hesitation he has in obeying the Lord.

There's a third and final one. It's found in verse 13. Let's read it together. Has it not been told, my lord, what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord? How I hid a 100 men of the Lord's prophets by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.

And now you say, go tell your lord, behold Elijah is here and he will kill me. Like, he can't he can't stop thinking about it. He's like, I can't believe you're asking me to go and say, Elijah is here, and you just think everything's gonna be okay. He keeps saying that. It's so human.

I love it. It's like, you keep saying that. No. What's the third excuse here? What's the third reservation?

Hesitation. There are some people who are hesitant to obey because they wrongly excuse themselves from certain tasks. There are some who are hesitant to obey because they think obedience will harm them more than bless them. And lastly, there are some people today who are in current disobedience because of their justification of past obedience. So what does he tell Elijah?

He's like, hey. Do you know what I did for the Lord? I hid these men. Like your guys, like prophets, I hid them. I risked my life for them.

And he's rehearsing history. He's rehearsing what he's done in the past. And he's allowed that to soothe him to the degree where now he is paralyzed in further obedience. This is far too common among Christians, who currently, presently are not as zealous as they should be, are not as committed as they should be, and not as willing as they should be. And part of the reason why is because they recall and they even retell of a time where they were devoted to the Lord.

And they did this and that for the Lord, and they did give this amount, and they did go there, and they did step away, and they did step in. And they just look back at that and use that as a means as though nothing else is required of them anymore. That one time deal is enough. And that's a dangerous way of thinking because your recollection and testifying of what God has done in and through you is important. It's wonderful, but it should never encourage idleness.

If anything, it should stimulate you to be further expectant that God would do greater things in and through you. You know, if Obadiah was in the right frame of mind when he heard this instruction from Elijah, he should have felt, okay, the same God who protected me while I protected those men is gonna be the same God who's gonna walk with me now. And the same God who has shown me his wisdom and care and love in the season of hiding these men, surely now he's ready to demonstrate greater power, wisdom, and mercy as I'm about to face Ahab. But that's not how he's thinking. And listen, you have unfortunately too many people in the church who are indifferent or inactive in the things of God, because once upon a time they were, and they're happy to just live in memory lane.

I've talked to people like that. And it's a sad thing to see because God has so much more for you and I. One of my favorite passages that reignites my faith, it's in the Old Testament. And it's about Moses when he so desperately wanted to go into the promised land. This is after he disobeyed God.

This is after God had given him the verdict, you are not going into the promised land. You dishonor me before the dishonor me before the people, and because you are a leader, there's greater accountability for you than the average person. And so he so wanted he's you could just feel his pain and saying, Lord please let me go in. And in one of the please in Deuteronomy three, I often go to that place whenever I feel as though my faith or my expectation begins to get stale. Notice what Moses says in Deuteronomy three twenty four.

He tells the Lord, oh Lord God, you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your mighty hand. Wow. Did you hear the reference? Here it is so you never forget it. Deuteronomy three twenty four.

Oh Lord God, you have only begun to show your servant. Are you kidding me? Do you know what Moses witnessed up to this point? The miracles, the interventions, the suspension of natural things, judgments and provisions, all that Moses experienced, and he dares to say in a form of a prayer, you only started. You only started to show me your greatness and your might.

Well, hold on. If that's what Moses says in his experience of God, what makes you and I think that we have the right to get bored with our walk with the Lord? What makes you what what makes you and I feel as though we can just go into cruise control mode and and limit our Christian experience to making sure we get to church on time? There's so much more. And the only reason why you and I are not seeing more or at least positioning ourselves to do so is because we don't take the commands of God seriously.

If you position yourself and frame your life just with this, just with the great commission, whether you are the sent out one or you are helping those to be sent out, that alone frames your life to see God do mighty and wonderful things. Never mind a prayer life. Never mind being part of a local church. Never mind all the micro ministries that you and I are invited to. Never mind all of those things.

But see, if you and I position ourselves in a way the bible calls us to, we go from glory to glory. And, unfortunately, Obadiah was satisfied to remain in what he has done at one time and was hesitant to now see what God wanted him to do in his today and his tomorrow. How does Elijah respond to this? Look at verse 14 again. He says, and now you say, go tell your Lord, behold Elijah is here and he will kill me.

And Elijah said, as the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today. Again, Elijah is known as a fire breathing prophet. Is he not? You're gonna read that as we move on. But here you have Elijah in the presence of a co laborer, and it's so clear that Obadiah loves God.

Right? It's so clear. But this man who loved God was in a moment of weak faith. And Elijah teaches you and I how we deal with such people who are standing at the threshold of obedience, but can't seem to make that first step. What are you and I called to do?

Build them up with the truth. Out of all the things that Elijah could have said to Obadiah to reassure him, how does he address him? In what name? The name of the Lord of what? Of hosts.

That is an appropriate title to resurface in the mind of Obadiah's foggy faith. The Lord of host. You know what the translation of that is? The Lord of angel armies. The Lord who has innumerable spiritual agents at his disposal.

I'm talking to you and I'm admonishing admonishing you in that name. What a truth that Obadiah would need to hear as he stands before a king. The one who is by you has angel armies by him and by you, Obadiah. So it's with a specific tailor made truth that Elijah deposits in the heart of Obadiah that gives him the grace and the strength to actually do it. But there's something else that I'm inspired by concerning Elijah's words here.

Look again with me. Look at verse 15. And Elijah said, as the Lord of hosts lives before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today. Is there a phrase in that verse that stands out to you? Yes.

Good. You are careful students of the Bible. Notice that Elijah says, before whom I stand. Is that the first time that Elijah says that? Go back to verse one of chapter 17.

What do we read? Now Elijah the Tishbite of Tishbe in Gilead said to Ahab, as the Lord, the God of Israel is, before whom I stand. It's the very first statement that Elijah makes when he is introduced to us in the word of God. And when he says before whom I stand, this is what it means. Let me remind you.

The Lord before who before whom whose presence I live in and before whom I am standing ready to be at his service no matter what he asks of me. To be standing means I am ready to be called upon to perform anything that you desire. And to say before whom I stand also means that you are in the very presence of the one who is superior to you, namely the Lord. Here's what blesses me about this. He says in the first Kings seventeen one, three years later in first Kings 18, he's able to still say the same thing.

You know what my prayer is for you, each and every single one of us? Is that three years from now, you can say, I live before the presence of the Lord, and I stand ready to do whatever he asks of me. And my prayer is not that you would only be able to say that three years from now. I pray that you'd be able to say that thirteen years from now. Not just thirteen, thirty years from now.

That you would be able to say, the lord before whom I stand. The lord Jesus Christ, the one that I worship, love, and adore. I still live for him. I still love him. I still serve him.

We say, well, Elijah is a unique case, my friend. It's easy for you to say in an inspirational message like this, but Elijah had experiences that all of us combined cannot even come close to. And Elijah had unique dispositions. Maybe he was a very disciplined man to begin with, and yet James comes to say, hold on. Let me remind you that Elijah was a man with a nature like ours.

And so what is the excuse? Yeah. Sure. He is unique in his prophetic ministry and office, but the heart posture towards the Lord can be shared. And we have to believe that if we wanna experience it.

So now let's come because it's not since first king seventeen one where Ahab and Elijah meet face to face. Here's where we're wrapping up. Verse 16. So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told them, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. See, nobody died.

Why were you afraid of Obadiah? God was with you. Verse 17. When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, is it you, you troubler of Israel? You thought he was messed up when he was looking for grass.

And Elijah is not slow to respond. Verse 18, and he answered, I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father's house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the bills. I love Elijah. So gentle with Obadiahs, but when he came to Ahabs, straight to the point. Cutthroat.

Contrast the greeting that Ahab gives with Obadiahs. What does he say? Look at verse 17. Is it you, you troubler of Israel? Now scroll back to verse seven.

And Obadiah recognized him and fell on his face and said, is it you, my lord Elijah? What a difference, Is it you, my lord Elijah? And then Ahab, is it you, you troubler of Israel? And looking at this, you're supposed to understand that one offered respect while the other one spewed disdain. And if you are going to serve the Lord to the degree that Elijah did, then you must be ready to expect.

You may not get the admiration of Obadiahs, but you should definitely expect the false accusations of Ahabs. We we think that if we serve the Lord and live holy and are good and charitable and bless our neighbors and give the truth, the truth that sets people through that everybody's gonna love us or at least tolerate us. Yeah. You might get some of the flowering compliments of Obadiahs, the respect of some who recognize the hand of God on your life, but don't expect everybody. Expect some Ahabs to arrive and blame you and accuse you and slander you.

Is it you, you troubler of Israel? It's it's amazing how shortsighted this man is. It's amazing how this man can't recognize what this famine is about and can't even recognize the reason for it. And Elijah is quick to remind him, you're the reason for the trouble in this land. And he gives the significance of this moment by reminding him that it's not because of Ahab's anything other than his abandonment of the commandments of the Lord.

Here's where I wanna end off. Trouble. Trouble with your conscience, trouble with your relationships, trouble in your marriage, trouble in the streets, trouble in society can all stem from one thing, abandoning the commitments of the Lord. And when you and I experience trouble while we're obeying God, we can take comfort to know that this is a trial that's going to purify us. But I'm not talking about that kind of trouble.

I'm talking about the trouble that could have been avoided if you had just obeyed, if you had just elevated the word of God and submitted to it. If not, trouble is on its way. And for the rest of this chapter, we will pause and wait till we recollect next week to see how this man will usher in revival in a troubled land. Let's pray and thank God for our time tonight. Father, we thank you for giving us the grace to not just be attentive to the word, but to absorb the personal applications of it.

Yet once again, we we are amazed at the depth of the wisdom of your word. We are moved by how these truths are undoubtedly authored by a perfect, holy, loving God. Lord, tonight we believe that what's been installed in our hearts would give us the fuel to be just like Elijah, whether in hiddenness or out in the open, being able to say with confidence, I stand before the Lord. I worship the Lord. I love the Lord.

Lord, may it not be true of any person here that they walk away from the Lord in the years to come, but may it be said that we walk closer with thee, And we know that you will help us do that as we hunger for it day after day. Lord, if there is any hesitation in any person's heart to obey you for the reasons that we gave or for the reasons that were not mentioned, may this bible study serve as a reminder that we can never go wrong in trust obeying you. Lord, if there's anyone here who is frustrated because they feel as though no one sees them, they're overlooked, they're hidden, they love you, they serve you, but they they want to see more, may they rest with contentment. It's all about you anyway. And for the one who might be fearful because they feel as though more attention is being given to them than they desire, may they trust you in that as well.

Lord, we thank you that you know all things. We thank you that you're not just concerned with the Elijah's, you're concerned with the Obadiah's. And every person in here, you are committed to completing the work that you began in us. And there is not one accident in our lives. Not one surprise to us that is a surprise to you.

We bless you for that Lord and we want to worship you now, oh God. We want to give you thanks and song and glorify you, for you have spoken to our hearts today. We bless the name that has saved us. We bless the name that will preserve us. We bless the name that has provided for us, protected us, and will go before us forever and ever.

That precious name, that sweet name, that lovely name, that that name that calms and soothes and heals and redeems the name of Jesus. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Precious saints, let's stand and worship the Lord together. Give him glory and honor for this time in his word.

I wouldn't wanna be anywhere else on a Friday night. To be with God's people and God's word is my delight.