DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- UNDERCOVER AGENTS

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – UNDERCOVER AGENTS

"And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly." (I Kings 18:3)

Much of this part of the book of I Kings is devoted to the story of Elijah. He was a great man, wonderfully used by God to speak truth to an ungodly people.

But today, I want to focus on another man, Obadiah, who was also used by God but in a different way. Elijah was an "in your face" kind of guy, while Obadiah operated behind the scenes.

Obadiah was trusted part of King Ahab's government. He was in charge of King Ahab's house. But unlike wicked Ahab, Obadiah was a God-fearing man. He was an undercover agent for God in Satan's territory.

Ahab's wife, Jezebel, who was as ungodly as Ahab or maybe even more so, wanted to get rid of God's prophets – to cleanse the land from godly influence. But Obadiah, at his own peril and expense, hid 100 prophets in a cave and supplied food and water for them. Right under Ahab's nose.

God has always had godly people in places of influence, whether it was Joseph or Daniel, or people like Nehemiah – the kings cup-bearer (Nehemiah 2:1), or Joanna, the wife of King Herod's steward, who supported Jesus' ministry (Luke 8:3), or the Christians who were a part of Caesar's household (Philippians 4:22). They did not necessarily make a big splash, in their commitment to God but they were serving the Lord in places of influence.

Thank God that He has people in our governmental structure who are quietly serving God. They may be teachers. They may be legislators. They may be school board members. They may be judges. They may be governors. They do not necessarily wear their Christian faith on the shirt-sleeves. But they are god-fearing people who are in positions of influence. God uses people like that.

This is not to say that we should not boldly declare our faith in the Lord Jesus. It is only to say that God can use secret agents to do His work. If anything, we need more Obadiahs who are willing to do what is right in the face of tremendous pressure to conform to ungodly worldviews. May God bless them.

Love, Dad