v. 1. And it came to pass after many days, three and one half years after the first announcement of the famine, Luk_4:25; Jam_5:17, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, namely, the third year of his sojourn in Zarephath, saying, Go, show thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. The present punishment, concerning which a number of parenthetical remarks are now inserted, was to be ended presently.
v. 2. And Elijah went to show himself unto Ahab, to present himself to ask for an interview. And there was a sore famine in Samaria, the lack of rain had been especially noticeable in that section of Palestine.
v. 3. And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house, the master of the palace, the majordomo, who had charge of the entire royal household. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly, he was one of the few who still adhered to the worship of Jehovah;
v. 4. for it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, for it had been her aim, from the start, to abolish the worship of Jehovah in Israel, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, members of the prophets' schools or societies which had been in existence since the time of Samuel, and hid them by fifty in a cave, probably in two caverns, in the hills of Ephraim, and fed them with bread and water. )
v. 5. And Ahab said unto Obadiah, this had taken place when the famine had reached its most severe point, Go into the land, making a careful survey of the entire country, unto all fountains, springs, 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, for the lack of water would soon have forced them to kill some of the animals.
v. 6. So they, since the need was so great, divided the land between them to pass throughout it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.
v. 7. And as Obadiah was in the way, engaged in this task of finding water for the royal stables, behold, Elijah met him; and he knew him, the prophet being recognizable anywhere by the garments which he wore, 2Ki_1:7-8, and fell on his face, in reverence and in fear, and said, Art thou that, my lord Elijah?
v. 8. And he answered him, I am. Go, tell thy lord, King Ahab, Behold, Elijah is here.
v. 9. And he said, What have I sinned that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab to slay me? He feared lest Ahab conclude that he had known the hiding-place of Elijah during the past years and would therefore wreak his vengeance on him.
v. 10. As the Lord, thy God, liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, namely, of those in the entire neighborhood, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee, for such was his bitterness against the prophet; and when they said, He is not there, he took an oath of the kingdom and nation that they found thee not. In his great fear Obadiah undoubtedly overemphasized this point and became guilty of exaggeration.
v. 11. And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. Since Ahab had looked for Elijah everywhere in vain, the danger that the sudden announcement of his presence in the immediate neighborhood would rouse him to a quick fury was very great.
v. 12. 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, a possibility which his anxiety caused him to mention; and so when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me, in the supposition that he had willfully misled the king. But I, thy servant, fear the Lord from my youth, this fact being urged to influence Elijah in his behalf.
v. 13. 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? He mentioned this one example in order to impress his sincerity upon Elijah and to show him the danger of his own position.
v. 14. And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here; and he shall slay me, since Ahab was enraged even now on account of his religious convictions.
v. 15. And Elijah said, As the Lord of hosts, he who commands the countless host of the mighty angels, liveth, before whom I stand, as a minister and ambassador, I will surely show myself unto him today.
v. 16. So Obadiah, reassured by the definite promise of the prophet, went to meet Ahab and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
v. 17. And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel, bringing confusion and misfortune upon the people?
v. 18. And he, turning back the accusation upon the king, answered, I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father's house, his whole family,in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, rejected the true religion with which the people had always been happy, and thou hast followed Baalim, the chief heathen god in the various activities ascribed to him.
v. 19. Now, therefore, send and gather to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel, the mountain by the Mediterranean Sea, in the southern part of the territory of Asher, and the prophets of Baal, four hundred and fifty, the priests of the idol, who also acted as soothsayers, and the prophets of the groves, the priests of the female idol Astarte, four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table, receiving their entire sustenance from the queen, who was bound to establish idolatry in Israel.
v. 20. So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, proclaiming a great national assembly, and gathered the prophets together unto Mount Carmel. In spite of Ahab's apparent scorn for Elijah, a superstitious fear caused him to agree to the prophet's words. Thus even the godless are occasionally filled with a terror which causes them to bow under the Word of God, at least outwardly.