The Hidden Man of God
Not all of God’s faithful people confront evil directly. Some are undercover, quietly serving the Lord beneath the enemy’s radar. But it may be equally stressful, because this type of believer is hiding in plain sight. Obadiah was God’s secret agent within the palace of the evil Queen Jezebel and King Ahab.
Yet few Christians have ever read about his story
A Unique Point in Israel’s History
The woman a king chooses to marry matters. When King Ahab married Jezebel, the daughter of a pagan king, things in Israel went bad. Because Ahab’s subjects suddenly gained a ruthless, idol-worshipping queen, 100% determined make the worship of Baal Israel’s new religion.
The Scriptures list her crimes against God:
- Instituting Baal and Asherah worship throughout the country.
- Bringing in 850 pagan priests.
- Tearing down Yahweh’s altars.
- Executing God’s true prophets.
- Pressuring the Jews to bow down and kiss Baal’s statue as an act of worship.
Of course, flooding Israel with idol worship also brought in demons and triggered the righteous judgment of God. He raised up a new prophet, Elijah, to stand in Ahab’s presence and announce a drought. Rain would only fall in Israel again when Elijah said so. Then God’s prophet stalked out of the king’s presence and hid himself.
It’s funny, isn’t it? Jezebel and Ahab sought to silence all the other prophets of Yahweh. Now they desperately needed to force one of them to speak.
But they couldn’t find him.
A Powerful Prophet of God Arises
We all know about the deeds of the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 17:1-18:46).
- Remember God miraculously supplying bread and meat when Elijah lay hidden, using a “raven-catering service?”
- Staying with the poor widow in Zarephath whose small store of oil and flour never ran out?
- Standing alone against several 100 priests serving Baal and the goddess Asherah?
- Calling down God’s divine fire from Heaven to consume his sacrifice?
Elijah confronted evil and won. Fearful or not, he obeyed God and saw the Lord respond with miracle after miracle. He also turned the hearts of the Israelites back to their God.
Most Christians have heard Elijah’s story. But there’s another effective agent of God, hidden in plain sight.
Hidden in the King’s Palace
In 1 Kings 18, we hear a different believer’s story. This man is the trusted servant of an evil King and Queen. His name is Obadiah.
Unlike the prophet, he works in the shadows. Elijah boldly confronted the evil king about his sinful ways. Obadiah quietly served the same evil ruler faithfully for years. He was in charge of Ahab’s palace. With the level of idolatry Queen Jezebel kept pushing on Israel, that doesn’t seem like a very comfortable place for a God-loving Jew to be.
Rescuing the True Prophets of God
Why serve an evil king? I think the Lord chose to have one of his trusted servants strategically placed in the palace, close to unique resources with good insider information. Obadiah is only mentioned in a handful of verses, but he’s one of my favorite characters in the Bible.
I Kings 18:4 reveals his major accomplishment;
While Jezebel was killing off the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a 100 prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.
Obadiah’s task required secrecy and stealth. Imagine smuggling enough food and water into two caves to keep 100 men alive over several months or even years! You could perhaps drop off enough food once every three or four weeks, but enough water? In a desert region, the men would have to be supplied with water every week or they’d die.
An Unusual Gift
I think Obadiah manifests a spiritual gifting listed in I Cor 12:28, called the gift of administration. People with this gift are detail-oriented problem solvers. I don’t know how much food and water 100 men consume in a week, but Obadiah did. How did he transport it all secretly? If he’s hiding people in the desert, wouldn’t his camels leave tracks in the sand every time he brings fresh supplies?
How come nobody noticed? Food and water keep getting scarcer and scarcer. Yet Obadiah continues to tend his cave-dwelling “guests” week after week, and no one uncovers his secret.
What would have happened if Ahab or Jezebel discovered his secret activities?
Certain imprisonment. Perhaps a slow, painful death.
For years, Obadiah acted in silent defiance of Queen Jezebel’s decree and preserved the lives of 100 prophets who spoke for God.
In 1 Kings 18 we see two godly men fulfilling the will of their Heavenly Master. One boldly confronts his country’s evil rulers and performs miracles. He’s in the spotlight. The other secretly rescues godly men under a certain death sentence. He works in the shadows.
That’s why, in the Scriptures Obadiah is my favorite “undercover brother.” I look forward to hearing his stories of God’s faithfulness when I get to Heaven
Centuries later, Harriet Tubman smuggled slaves to freedom and Brother Andrew smuggled Bibles to persecuted believers behind the Iron Curtain.
Sometimes God calls His people to serve Him in secret.
All these images came from Pixabay.com. I didn’t have an image of Baal, so I used an image of the Hindu god Ganesha instead.
Resources:
One of the Minor Prophets is named “Obadiah” too, but it’s a different man.
Harriet Tubman never lost a passenger on the Underground Railroad. She was a Christian who trusted in the Lord. Her nickname was “Moses” because Moses too led his people to freedom.
