The meaning of Obadiah is “serving Jah” or “servant of Jah”. Obadiah truly lived out the meaning of his name. He served God in an unusual way. In our call to serve God, it may be as simple as just taking a stand in the face of a contrary word or action. It is obvious that while the wicked house of Ahab was slaughtering the prophets of God, Obadiah took a stand. The stand he took was not necessarily confrontational. That would have been disadvantageous to his life and to the cause of God which he represented. Simply, he did not join hands in killing innocent people. In addition to this, he hid and fed the prophets of God, preserving future generation of the work of God in the land.

“To be a true servant of Jehovah will often require boldness in the face of daunting challenges of men, nature and Satan.”

The story of Obadiah resonates with the likes of Daniel and his three colleagues in Babylon. These men took a stand at various times and for different reasons. First, they refused to eat the king’s delicacies. They also refused to bow to the king’s image of gold. Finally, Daniel shrugged aside the order that no one should make request of any god except of the king. Daniel prayed anyway. Although some of the stands taken were at the risk of their lives, God came through for them. In 1876, a Chicago Sunday School teacher named Philip Paul Bliss wrote the hymn DARE TO BE A DANIEL. The hymn is an encouragement to believers to emulate the bravery of Daniel of old. To be a true servant of Jehovah will often require boldness in the face of daunting challenges of men, nature and Satan.