Elijah and Obadiah

18 After a long time, in the third(A) year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Go and present(B) yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain(C) on the land.” So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.

Now the famine was severe(D) in Samaria, and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, his palace administrator.(E) (Obadiah was a devout believer(F) in the Lord. While Jezebel(G) was killing off the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden(H) them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied(I) them with food and water.) Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs(J) and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our animals.”(K) So they divided the land they were to cover, Ahab going in one direction and Obadiah in another.

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Elijah Rebukes Ahab

18 Quite some time later—three years later!—this message from the Lord came to Elijah: “Go visit Ahab, and I’ll send some rain to the surface of the ground.” So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab, right when the famine in Samaria was most severe.

Ahab called for Obadiah, his household supervisor. This man, who feared the Lord very much, had taken 100 prophets and had hidden them by fifties in a cave, providing them with food and water when Jezebel was trying to destroy the Lord’s prophets.

Ahab had instructed Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to all of the water springs and to all of the valleys. Maybe we’ll find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive. Also, maybe we won’t have to kill some of our cattle.” So they divided the land between them so they could conduct their survey. Ahab went off by himself in one direction and Obadiah went off by himself in the other.

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