Better Chaplain Series - Work for the King and the Saints

 At a very difficult time in Israel’s history the prophet Elijah had promised a drought, angering the king and queen, and was in exile for 3 years. The queen had ordered the killing of the prophets of God to establish her religion.

One of the most trusted advisors of the wicked king Ahab was a man named Obadiah (1 Kings 18:3ff), who had served the LORD from his youth, and who in recent days had cared for a hundred prophets out of his own pocket.

Obadiah was a servant of God and of the king, though the two did not always agree. While he certainly was not perfect, scripture says nothing negative of Obadiah, so while it would be tempting to say that he should have opposed Ahab to his face, we see that Obadiah was in a place to bless both the nation and the people of God.

Chaplain, do you always agree with the decisions of your leadership? If you’re a chaplain of the United States, your professed king is the Constitution, and while a wonderful document, it can be interpreted and invoked to accomplish atrocities which God certainly is not happy with. You must choose if your role is that of Obadiah or Elijah, and to fulfill your calling in whichever role God has placed you in. Elijah was not in a position to care for 100 prophets, and Obadiah was not in a place to raise a child from the dead, nor to stop the blessings of Heaven from falling on Israel, but together God was accomplishing great things through both to bring the nation to repentance.

It could be argued that Obadiah’s influence led to great reforms under future leaders and the cutting off of Baal and Asherah worship in Israel. It would have been simple for scripture to leave him out of the story all together, but he’s there, and he’s important, and he teaches us that we can serve both the king of our nation and the King of heaven. Go, and do likewise.

More:

1. Peter and John answered the leaders in their time with, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19) If faced with a law that contradicts the law of God, who will you obey? Which nation will last longer? (cf Hebrews 13:14)

2. Obadiah was paying for ministry out of his own pocket, some chaplains have called this the “Obadiah Fund”, what can you fund that will further the kingdom of God?

3. William Wilberforce, who spent three decades abolishing slavery in the United Kingdom, wanted to quit Parliament for the wickedness he observed there. His mentor, John Newton encouraged him to stay to call England to repentance and abolish the slave trade. Is there something or someone you can reach because of your position that an outsider could not?

4. Further Resources:

Benge, Janet, and Geoff Benge. William Wilberforce: Take Up the Fight. Seattle: YWAM Publishing, 2002.

Astor, David, producer. Amazing Grace. Directed by Michael Apted. Walden Media, 2006. DVD.