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Many people may not like their job, and many people may even have a terrible job. But not too many people have a job that is any worse than Obadiah in I Kings 18:1-16. When Elijah told King Ahab that it would not rain for awhile, he was able to leave the region and find safety away from the angry king and queen. Later, when Ahab and Queen Jezebel began killing God's prophets because of Elijah's pronouncement about it not raining, Elijah was already tucked away in a safe place where his life was not in immediate or continual danger. But such was not the case for Obadiah and many other servants of the Lord. Obadiah was right in the middle of Samaria, he was right where Ahab and Jezebel could find him at any time, and only by the grace of God did he survive from one day to the next. He was in charge of the king's palace, so he was always near the king. But he was also a devout believer, so at any time, he could have been put in mortal danger if his activities had been discovered.

One might wonder what a man like Obadiah would do while living in such a hostile environment, and the answer is that he remained faithful to the Lord. I Kings 18:4 says, "While Jezebel was killing off the LORD's prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water." Being faithful to God is always good and proper even when the circumstances are threatening. In Obadiah's case, he was not anxious to die, but his love and devotion to the Lord demanded his full allegiance. In I Kings 18:7-12, when Ahab sent him out to look for Elijah, he found him, but one can see his obvious nervousness about seeing the prophet. He was afraid that he would be killed, too, if he told the king about seeing Elijah, and then, Elijah disappeared again. However, Obadiah did not let his fears keep him from doing what the Lord wanted him to do. He first protected the prophets of God when they were in danger, and he later brought Ahab and Elijah together when the two men were looking for each other.