Elijah would next learn from God how the Israelites would respond to his ministry as God"s servant. [source][source][source]
Evidently God made the famine especially severe in Samaria ( 1 Kings 18:2) because Ahab and Jezebel were the causes of it and lived there. As a believer in Yahweh, Obadiah had been a blessing to100 of God"s prophets even in the famine ( 1 Kings 18:3-4). Surveyors have counted over2 ,000 caves in the Mount Carmel area. [1][source]
When Obadiah met Elijah, he voiced his submission to the man of God and to Yahweh. He did so by calling Elijah his "master" ( 1 Kings 18:7). However, Obadiah served two masters. Elijah pointed this out by referring to Ahab as Obadiah"s master ( 1 Kings 18:8). To rise as high as he had in Ahab"s government, Obadiah had to have lived a double life of external support for Ahab while internally following Yahweh. [source][source][source]
Obadiah"s confession that Yahweh lived presents him as a genuine believer ( 1 Kings 18:10). This is exactly the same profession that both the widow ( 1 Kings 17:12) and Elijah had made ( 1 Kings 17:1). Obadiah went to great pains to convince Elijah that he was a believer in Yahweh. He must have felt this explanation was necessary because of his position in Ahab"s cabinet ( 1 Kings 18:13). He obviously struggled with whether he could believe Elijah when the prophet told him he would speak to Ahab ( 1 Kings 18:11-12; 1 Kings 18:14). Having received a second promise from Elijah that he would not disappear ( 1 Kings 18:15), Obadiah finally obeyed the prophet"s command ( 1 Kings 18:8) and went to Ahab ( 1 Kings 18:16). [source][source][source]
"Why Obadiah should be so featured Isaiah , at first, puzzling. Yet the episode appears to have two major purposes. First, Obadiah"s speech reveals to Elijah the gravity of the crisis in Samaria during his absence... [source][source][source]
"Second, through the use of irony, Obadiah"s scene establishes the unique authority of Elijah." [2][source]
Obadiah was similar to many believers in Yahweh who were living in Israel then. They had divided allegiances, their faith in God was weak, they were fearful for their own safety, and they were slow to respond to God"s word. What a contrast Obadiah was to the Gentile widow of Zarephath (cf. Matthew 15:21-28)! Elijah saw beforehand, in Obadiah"s response to him, how believers in Israel would respond to what he would soon do on Mount Carmel. Elijah would call on the people to do essentially what he had commanded Obadiah to do: obey the Lord"s word through His prophet. [source][source][source]