1 Kings 18:3

18:1-16 The severest judgments, of themselves, will not humble or change the hearts of sinners; nothing, except the blood of Jesus Christ, can atone for the guilt of sin; nothing, except the sanctifying Spirit of God, can purge away its pollution. The priests and the Levites were gone to Judah and Jerusalem, 2Ch 11:13,14, but instead of them God raised up prophets, who read and expounded the word. They probably were from the schools of the prophets, first set up by Samuel. They had not the spirit of prophecy as Elijah, but taught the people to keep close to the God of Israel. These Jezebel sought to destroy. The few that escaped death were forced to hide themselves. God has his remnant among all sorts, high and low; and that faith, fear, and love of his name, which are the fruits of the Holy Spirit, will be accepted through the Redeemer. See how wonderfully God raises up friends for his ministers and people, for their shelter in difficult times. Bread and water were now scarce, yet Obadiah will find enough for God's prophets, to keep them alive. Ahab's care was not to lose all the beasts; but he took no care about his soul, not to lose that. He took pains to seek grass, but none to seek the favour of God; fencing against the effect, but not inquiring how to remove the cause. But it bodes well with a people, when God calls his ministers to stand forth, and show themselves. And we may the better endure the bread of affliction, while our eyes see our teachers.

And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house,.... Perhaps his steward: the Jews (m) take him to be Obadiah the prophet, who wrote the small prophecy that goes by his name: (now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly:) who, though he did not go up to Jerusalem to worship, which ceremonial service was dispensed with in him, yet he did not worship the calves, nor Baal, but served the Lord in a spiritual manner. (m) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 39. 2.

1 Kings 18:3 . Obadiah, who was governor of his house — Intrusted with the management of the affairs of his family, and highly valued by him on account of his singular prudence and fidelity. Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly — Was a truly pious man, and worshipped Jehovah alone, with sincere and fervent affection to his service. This circumstance, one might have supposed, would have made Ahab discard, if not persecute him; but it is likely he found him so very useful a servant, that for his own advantage, he connived at his not worshipping Baal and the calves. But, it will be said; “How could he and some other Israelites be said to fear the Lord, when they did not go up to Jerusalem to worship, as God had commanded?” Although they seem not to be wholly excusable in this neglect, yet because they worshipped God in spirit and in truth, and performed all moral duties to God and their brethren, and abstained from idolatry, being kept from Jerusalem by violence, God bore with their infirmity herein.

(3) Obadiah. —The name (“servant of Jehovah”) here corresponds to the character of the man. It is curiously significant of the hesitating and temporising attitude of Ahab, that, while Jezebel is suffered to persecute, a high officer in the court is able to profess openly the service of Jehovah, and secretly to thwart the cruelty of the queen. In his heart Ahab always seems to acknowledge the true God, but is overborne by the commanding and ruthless nature of Jezebel.

3 . Obadiah ] The Hebrew word Obadjahu , signifies ‘servant of Jehovah,’ and is a frequent name in the Old Testament, the most conspicuous person so called being the prophet who was contemporary with Jeremiah. See Obadiah 1:1 . which was the governor of his house ] R.V. more literally, which was over the household . See above 1 Kings 16:9 .

Obadiah's name, "servant of Yahweh," indicates his religious character. It corresponds to the modern Arabic name Abdallah. Ahab could scarcely have been ignorant of Obadiah's faithfulness to Yahweh; and it tells in favor of the monarch's tolerance that he should have maintained an adherent of the old religion in so important an office. There seems to be no doubt that the worst deeds of Ahab's reign sprang less from his own free will and natural disposition than from the evil counsels, or rather perhaps the imperious requirements, of his wife.

Which was the governor of his house; being valued by Ahab for his great prudence and fidelity, and therefore indulged as to the worship of the calves and Baal. Obadiah feared the Lord greatly. Quest. How could he and some other Israelites be said to fear the Lord, when they did not go up to Jerusalem to worship, as God had commanded? Answ. Although they seem not to be wholly excusable in this neglect, because they should have preferred God’s service before their worldly commodity, according to the good example of the priests and Levites, and the generality of the godly people who did so, 2 Chronicles 11:13,16 ; yet because they worshipped God in spirit and truth, and performed all moral duties to God and their brethren, and abstained from idolatry, and being kept from Jerusalem by violence, they thought necessity and the apparent hazard of their lives would excuse them from ceremonial services; and God bare with their infirmity herein.

3. Obadiah feared the Lord greatly—Although he did not follow the course taken by the Levites and the majority of pious Israelites at that time of emigration into Judah (2Ch 11:13-16), he was a secret and sincere worshipper. He probably considered the violent character of the government, and his power of doing some good to the persecuted people of God as a sufficient excuse for his not going to worship in Jerusalem.

Verse 3. - And Ahab called [Rather, had called . "The verbs וַיְּהִי וַיּקְרָא etc. (vers. 3, 4, 5, 6), carry on the circumstantial clauses" (Keil).] Obadiah [This name is almost as remarkable as Elijah's, or would be, if it were not more common. It means "servant of Jehovah." Compare the modern Arabic Abdallah . Although borne by one who "feared the Lord greatly" (ver. 3), and "from his youth" (ver. 12), it occurs too frequently ( 1 Chronicles 3:21 ; 1 Chronicles 7:3 ; 1 Chronicles 8:38 ; 1 Chronicles 9:16 ; 2 Chronicles 17:7 ; 2 Chronicles 34:12 ; Ezra 8:9 ; Obadiah 1:1 , etc.) to justify the belief that it was assumed or bestowed as an indication of his character (Rawlinson)], which was the governor of his [Heb. over the ] house . [See note on 1 Kings 4:6, and cf. 1 Kings 16:9 . Rawlinson says it "tells in favour of the monarch's tolerance that he should have maintained an adherent of the old religion in so important an office." But it is just as probable that it was because of his religion that he occupied this post of trust. Ahab could depend on his fidelity and conscientiousness]. ( Now Obadiah [here begins a second parenthesis within the first] feared [Heb. was fearing ] the Lord greatly. 1 Kings 18:3

Elijah's meeting with Ahab. - 1 Kings 18:1 , 1 Kings 18:2 . In the third year of his sojourn at Zarephath the word of the Lord came to Elijah to show himself to Ahab; since God was about to send rain upon the land again. The time given, "the third year," is not to be reckoned, as the Rabbins, Clericus, Thenius, and others assume, from the commencement of the drought, but from the event last mentioned, namely, the sojourn of Elijah at Zarephath. This view merits the preference as the simplest and most natural one, and is shown to be the oldest by Luke 4:25 and James 5:17 , where Christ and James both say, that in the time of Ahab it did not rain for three years and six months. And this length of time can only be obtained by allowing more than two years for Elijah's stay at Zarephath. - From 1 Kings 18:2 to 1 Kings 18:6 we have parenthetical remarks introduced, to explain the circumstances which led to Elijah's meeting with Ahab. The verbs ויּקרא, ויהי, ויּאמר ,ויהי , and ויחלּקוּ ( 1 Kings 18:3 , 1 Kings 18:4 , 1 Kings 18:5 , 1 Kings 18:6 ) carry on the circumstantial clauses: "and the famine was..." ( 1 Kings 18:2 ), and "Obadiah feared..." ( 1 Kings 18:3 ), and are therefore to be expressed by the pluperfect.

When the famine had become very severe in Samaria (the capital), Ahab, with Obadiah the governor of his castle (הבּית על אשׁר, see at 1 Kings 4:6 ), who was a God-fearing man, and on the persecution of the prophets of Jehovah by Jezebel had hidden a hundred prophets in caves and supplied them with food, had arranged for an expedition through the whole land to seek for hay for his horses and mules. And for this purpose they had divided the land between them, so that the one explored one district and the other another. We see from Obadiah 1:4 that Jezebel had resolved upon exterminating the worship of Jehovah, and sought to carry out this intention by destroying the prophets of the true God. The hundred prophets whom Obadiah concealed were probably for the most part pupils ("sons") of the prophets. אישׁ חמשּׁים must signify, according to the context and also according to Obadiah 1:13 , "fifty each," so that חמשּׁים must have fallen out through a copyist's error. מן נכרית ולוא, that we may not be obliged to kill (a portion) of the cattle (מן partitive). The Keri מהבּהמה is no doubt actually correct, but it is not absolutely necessary, as the Chethb בּהמה מן may be taken as an indefinite phrase: "any head of cattle."