OBADIAH:  GOOD OR BAD?

          There are a dozen different Obadiahs mentioned in the Old Testament.  Everything we know about the Obadiah who delivered Elijah’s meet-me-on-the-mountain message to King Ahab is found exclusively in 1Kgs.18:3-16.  Those who plumb the depths of this chapter will likely encounter two prominent and conflicting portraits of Obadiah.  It is perplexing (and a bit disturbing) to witness how honest and sincere commentators can arrive at two totally differing assessments.  How can two camps gauge one man’s constitution with such a gulf fixed between them?

          One view, held vociferously by C.F. Kiel and Leon Wood is quite negative.  These two noted Old Testament scholars (and others) contend that OBADIAH WAS A COMPROMISER - - a half-hearted believer.  They argue that Obadiah was weak - - that he lacked the spine to stand up against King  Ahab and his Baal-worshipping wife Jezebel.  They assume that Obadiah hid his faith under the comfort and safety of the King’s palace.  They argue that while he claimed Jehovah as Lord, his real master was King Ahab.  He is accused by these critics of being self-serving and self-justifying.  The other position, perhaps the more common view, is articulated by C. H. Spurgeon, a giant among Biblical expositors.  He holds that OBADIAH WAS A FAITHFUL SERVANT of Jehovah God.  This position, the one I hold, flows forth from a plain reading of Scripture.  For what it’s worth, his name meant “servant of Jehovah”.  While 1Kgs.18:3 states that Obadiah was over the (king’s) household, it also notes parenthetically that Obadiah  feared (reverenced) the Lord greatly.  Evidence of this is noted in 1Kgs.18:4-5 - - it came about when Jezebel destroyed the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water.  How does one read such and conclude that he lacked courage?  Obadiah greeted Elijah respectfully (1Kgs.18:7); He declared, I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth (1Kgs.18:12b); and finally, although nervous because of Elijah’s proclivity for “vanishing”, he delivered Elijah’s message to the king (1Kgs.18:8-16).

          Perhaps part of the tension (problem) comes in comparing Obadiah to Elijah.  The Scriptures are clear that God can use men and women of all backgrounds with varying personalities and vocations.  Joseph served in Pharaoh’s court (Gen.41:40), as did Daniel in King Darius’s court (Dan.6:1).  Might this be a lesson for us all to tread gently in tolerating views that may differ from our own.  In Rom.14, the apostle Paul warns against pas-sing judgment too harshly.  Things are not always as black and white as you or I might perceive them to be.  According to Paul (who was inspired), two believers can hold differing views on matters of importance and still both be Christians.  One man regards one day above another, another re-gards each day alike (Rom.14:5).  In the first century some Jewish Christians clung to the Old (festival days, the Sabbath, dietary prohibitions, etc.), while some others realized that in Christ and the New Covenant such were optional.  Paul admonished both groups, why do you judge your brother (and) why do you regard your brother with contempt?  (Rom.14:4 & 10).  God’s aim remains:  let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another (Rom.14:19).    

                                                                                         Terry Siverd / Cortland Church of Christ