Elijah Part Two- Stand Up

Elijah trusted God.

Elijah got a widow and her son to trust God.

Meanwhile, a dude named Obadiah is trying to survive.  He's not starving or dehydrated (I don't think) but he is playing a very dangerous game.  See, while Elijah is 'training' for his heavyweight fight, Obadiah is still covertly trying to protect those loyal to God.  The problem is, Obadiah is Ahab's palace administrator.  Like, Chief of Staff to the wicked king.  He'd hidden one hundred prophets in caves from Jezebel- who we are kinda getting the idea that she wears the pants in the family- and supplied them with food and water.  In 1 Kings 18, Obadiah is doing for others what was done for Elijah in chapter 17.

The drought is bad by now.  Bad enough the king himself is going out looking for any grass they can find for their horses and mules.  He goes one way, Obadiah goes another.  And who does Obadiah run into (actually, it's more like who was Obadiah found by)?

Elijah.

God told him to present himself to Ahab, so Elijah finds Obie.  And Obie is not happy to see the prophet.

See, Ahab was looking for Elijah.  Like send out the CIA, FBI, NSA, Mossad, and Interpol looking for.  Looking under rocks and in caves of every nation, Elijah could not be found.  Now here is Elijah, telling this devout spy for God to go tell Ahab he was there.  Obie is understandably worried.  See, even back then, you could find people.  Sure, they didn't have satellites, or GPS, or Google Street View, but it was hard to hide from the king, especially when the king knew what you looked like.

But not Elijah.  Its as if Elijah was hidden supernaturally.  So Obie brings this up, asking what is keeping the Spirit of God from whisking Elijah away as soon as he tells Ahab where to find him.  Because if that happens, the jokes not on Ahab, its on Obadiah.  And the joke is a noose.

I don't doubt that Obie trusted God- he wouldn't have hidden those prophets at risk to his own life if he didn't.  And its clear Obie knew Elijah, but the question was:  Can I count on this Man of God?

It's  a good question for us today.  Can we trust each other?  Can we trust our spiritual leaders- our pastors, teachers, deacons, writers, etc.?  All of us, regardless of our importance to the world, say things, bold things. But do we back them up?  I  mean, do we honor our commitments?

Most of the time, in the small stuff, sure.  But what about commitments that may cost us- do we honor them and the people they are with- or do we leave them holding the bag?

A prime example is volunteerism in the church.  Churches beg and plead for people to help them.  People that joined the church saying they wanted to further the kingdom of Christ.  If they do help, it is often grudgingly so.  More often than not, the buck gets passed, and our own personal Obadiah is left holding the goods.

Obadiah is afraid Elijah will bolt, because Ahab intends to kill Elijah when he finds him.  And human nature would support Elijah for the self-preserving act.

But Elijah instead does something awesome.  Something not at all supernatural.  Something we all could stand to do from time to time.

He stands up.

He assures Obie that he will, that very day, present himself to Ahab.  He will face the music.  And his actions will keep Obadiah from trouble.  Elijah, in effect, is stepping up to protect Obadiah.  Not just by meeting Ahab, but by putting an end to the whole thing.  See, Obie couldn't hide those prophets forever, Jezebel and Ahab would find them, and Obadiah would die for treason.  But Elijah takes the spotlight, takes the target, and calls out the king.  What comes next is far more famous, far more storied.  But this interlude shows the character of Elijah.

He is a man of his word.  And he respects his brothers and sisters in the Lord, just as he respects the Lord Himself.

He stands up.  Makes a choice.  And follows it through- no waffling.

I know I'd love to be more like that.