THEN after a long time, the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the
third year of the famine, saying to him, "Go, show thyself to Ahab; and
I will send rain upon the earth."
So Elijah went back from Zarephath, and came down to Samaria to show
himself to Ahab; and the famine was very sore there.
Ahab had a trusted servant called Obadiah, who was governor of his
house; and this man "feared the Lord greatly."
That meant, he did that which would please God, and earnestly obeyed
Him in all things. Once, when the wicked queen, Jezebel, tried to kill
all the Prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took fifty of them and hid them
in a cave, and fed them with bread and water, and so saved their lives.
So because the famine was very terrible in Samaria, Ahab called
Obadiah, and told him that they would both go out into the country with
the horses and mules and find all the brooks and streams that were
left, where a little grass might be growing, to save the horses alive.
Ahab went one way and Obadiah another, and as Obadiah was seeking for
water, he met Elijah, who was on his way to Ahab, as the Lord had told
him. When Obadiah saw him, he bowed himself to the earth before God's
Prophet; and then Elijah said, "Go and tell thy lord that Elijah is
here."
Obadiah hesitated very much to carry this message, as he was afraid
that the Spirit of the Lord might carry Elijah away, so that he could
not be found. He reminded Elijah that he had "feared the Lord" since he
was a child, but that Ahab would certainly slay him if he carried such
a message to him as that!
Then Elijah promised him, that he would surely show himself to Ahab
that very day.
So Obadiah went and told Ahab, and the king came out to meet Elijah.