IN A CAVE!

Monday, November 9, 2020

 

IN A CAVE!

 

1 Kings 18:3-5

3 And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly: 4 For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) 5 And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts.

 

           Obedience to God has consequences. When Elijah told Ahab that it would not rain, there was a general drought and famine. The righteous are often caught in the same cycle of punishment aimed at the wicked. When 400 prophets of Baal died after a contest with Jehovah, Jezebel vowed to kill Elijah and a general persecution began against those, like Obadiah, who feared the Lord.

 

           Our current political climate may demand that believers worship in secret places. Yes, I’m serious. Shall we consign political oppression of religion to an historical time? Should we pretend that it does not and could not happen here and now? Human nature hasn’t changed that much!

 

           Obadiah did what he could. As governor of the palace, Obadiah, whose name literally means “servant of Jah or Jehovah,” had access to the king while serving the King of Kings. He hid one hundred prophets of God in a cave while Elijah was drinking from a brook and eating that which the ravens brought.

 

           Persecution purifies and redefines the church. According to some researchers, some 30 percent of church goers have used the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to abandon church. One must wonder if they were ever a part of the church.

 

           The daily stress of serving both God and Ahab made Obadiah a bit edgy. When he is met by Elijah, Obadiah begins to complain that he has been fighting his battle alone. Later, even Elijah makes that same complaint to God. That, of course, was not and is never the case. It is God who fights the battle and wins the victory. Let us be faithful in feeding our handful of prophets.

 

Rom 11:2-4

2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, 3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.

4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.

 

Dear Lord, my foxhole may seem small, and my part in the battle may seem insignificant, but let me fight the good fight of faith. AMEN