About three years earlier the Lord sent Elijah to King Ahab to inform him that there was going to be a drought in the land. Now he sends the prophet Elijah back to King Ahab to tell him the drought is going to be lifted. One can only imagine the courage it must have taken Elijah to return to Samaria and face the king who is very wicked. Samaria is the capitol of the Northern Tribes.

And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria.[1]

On his way to meet the King, Elijah meets Obadiah, a very righteous man and governor to the king.

And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly: For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou that my lord Elijah?[2]

Elijah asks Obadiah to inform the king that he has come to see him. Obadiah’s response is very revealing for it informs us just how much King Ahab hates Elijah and desires his death.

And he answered him, I am: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth. Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the Lord, how I hid an hundred men of the Lord’s prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he shall slay me. And Elijah said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him to day.[3]

Elijah, above all the other prophets, has already established quite a reputation. Obadiah trusts the word of Elijah. Ahab’s response to Elijah reveals a lot about Ahab’s character, for he blames the famine on Elijah rather than on his own sins.

So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet Elijah. And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?[4]

The fearless Elijah has no problem setting King Ahab straight.

And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.[5]

[1] 1 Kings 18:1-2
[2] 1 Kings 18:3-7
[3] 1 Kings 18:8-15
[4] 1 Kings 18:16-17
[5] 1 Kings 18:18
[6] Malachi 3:7-12