上帝正在獎賞你的隱秘工作
海倫-考爾德 Helen Calder
日期:2022年4月28日
翻譯:Kate
原文:以利亞名單
轉載/轉寄 請註明出處:國度禱告網
獻給那些付出服事和餵養他人的人。神正在更新你的能力,彰顯你的意義!你的順服和服事將影響未來的幾代人。你們的順服和服事將影響到未來的幾代人。你們的犧牲,甚至你們所冒的風險,可能對別人來說是隱藏的,但卻被神看到了。而有一天,你的產業的永恆性質將被揭示。
"因為神並非不公義,竟忘記你們所做的工和你們為他名所顯的愛心,就是先前伺候聖徒,如今還是伺候。" (希伯來書6:10)
一次意想不到的會面
在以利亞在迦密山上取得勝利之前,這位先知在宣佈神要發大旱之後,被神隱藏了好幾年。在那段時間裡,亞哈王一直在追捕以利亞。他找遍了所有的地方,甚至向每一個王國和國家派出了使者,但都無濟於事......直到在列王記上18章,我們讀到了一次意外的會面:
亞哈王和他的宮廷管理人俄巴底亞分頭去尋找王國裡最後剩下的草,以便能夠牧養馬匹。以色列的乾旱非常嚴重,國王的牲畜已經沒有食物了。他面臨著不得不殺死一些牲畜的局面,所以這是他拯救牲畜的最後努力。同時,上帝指示以利亞:"......你去見亞哈吧,我必降雨......" (列王記上18:1)。
在不尋常的時刻的神聖任命
這是一個提醒,你會在不尋常的時刻得到神的任務,就像俄巴底亞和以利亞的道路相交時一樣
"俄巴底在路上恰與以利亞相遇,俄巴底認出他來,就俯伏在地,說:你是我主以利亞不是?回答說:是。你去告訴你主人說,以利亞在這裡。(列王記上18:7-8)。
俄巴底亞需要大量的保證,即以利亞會跟他走並見亞哈王!因為俄巴底亞要冒著生命危險,而且所面臨的風險比以利亞所知道的還要大。
你的事蹟是有能力的
俄巴底亞向以利亞報告,當耶洗別殺害上帝的先知時,他秘密地在國王的背後拯救他們。他將100位先知藏在兩個山洞裡,並從皇宮裡提供麵包和水給他們!
俄巴底亞的故事再次提醒我們--即使在不敬虔的政府或系統內工作,神的僕人也可以站在公義的立場上。如果你認同這一點,要知道你是神的國度團隊中的一個重要成員!你有神聖的地位,你是神的僕人。你的位置是神聖的,你的事蹟是強大的。
供應的器皿:俄巴底亞和以利亞的夥伴關係
以利亞在他們分手時向俄巴底亞保證。"…..我指著所事奉永生的萬軍之耶和華起誓,我今日必使亞哈得見我。"。(列王記上18:15)。而他確實做到了。
這是一次轉瞬即逝的邂逅,也突顯了一種不尋常的國度合作關係 以利亞是神對亞哈、耶洗別和他們的假先知進行審判的器皿,而俄巴底亞是神對真先知進行憐憫的器皿。他為他們提供了庇護、食物和培養!這提醒我們,神總是會照顧祂自己的人,有時祂會興起人來做祂的供應器皿。但如果沒有人可用,你的天父仍然有祂的方法來供應你。因為當神利用俄巴底亞為先知提供食物的時,祂也通過烏鴉向先知以利亞送去麵包和肉!
俄巴底亞的事蹟
儘管以利亞確信他作為上帝的先知是孤獨的,但俄巴底亞,在以利亞不知道的情況下,祂正在拯救和服事許多先知。以利亞好像不斷地唱一首歌--"我是孤獨的"(見列王記上18:22;列王記上19:10,14)。
我們知道以利亞的觀點被扭曲了,因為神告訴他:"但我在以色列人中為自己留下七千人,是未曾向巴力屈膝的,未曾與巴力親嘴的。"(列王記上19:18)。
儘管我們沒有再見到俄巴底亞,但他的事蹟就在那裡,在背景中。我們後來在列王記上20:13讀到,"有一個先知來找亞哈"--一個沒有名字的先知!他來自哪裡?他是從哪裡來的?
宣揚神的話語的一代人
我們發現,有一代先知是為了宣揚神的話語而活著。想一想,當以利亞去世的時候,就有一群先知存在。
"住伯特利的先知門徒出來見以利沙,對他說:耶和華今日要接你的師傅離開你,你知道不知道?他說:我知道,你們不要作聲。'" (列王記下2:3)
難道沒有可能,或者說很可能,他們中的一些人在那裡是因為一位叫俄巴底亞的人敬拜上帝,愛他的先知嗎?俄巴底亞餵養了先知們,後來,以利沙領導了先知們。
先知的復興
那麼,我們看到,在以利沙時代,有一個先知學校--一群先知。他們在公開場合,他們的團體在成長。在列王記下6:1,他們基本上說:"我們需要更多的空間!" 你可以說這是一次先知的復興......這只是因為那些對上一代有信心的人而得以實現。其中就有以利亞和俄巴底亞。我們將在我們自己的時代看到這樣的先知性復興。
俄巴底亞的故事提醒我們,你可能不知道因為你的忠心和順服而存在的果子,但神看到了,天堂也在歡呼。上帝正在獎勵你的隱秘工作。
俄巴底亞是聖經中的一個無名英雄。也許今天你覺得自己默默無聞,或不被人看見,但神正在為你唱歌;你的服事成果將是永恆的。
God Is Rewarding Your Hidden Work
2022.428
Helen Calder
To those who give out to serve and feed others: God is renewing your strength and highlighting your significance! Generations to come will be impacted by your obedience and service. Your sacrifices and even the risks you took may have been hidden from others, but they have been seen by God. And one day, the eternal nature of your legacy will be revealed.
"For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister." (Hebrews 6:10 NKJV)
An Unexpected Meeting
Before Elijah's victory on Mount Carmel, the prophet had been hidden by God for several years after announcing that God was sending a drought. During that time, King Ahab had been on a mission to hunt out Elijah. He had searched high and low—he'd even sent out messengers into every kingdom and nation, but to no avail...until, in 1 Kings 18, we read about an unexpected meeting:
King Ahab and his palace administrator, Obadiah, split up to look for the last remaining grass in the kingdom, so they could pasture the horses. The drought in Israel was so bad the king had run out of food for his livestock. He faced having to kill some off, so this was his last effort to save them. Meanwhile, God had directed Elijah, "...'Go, present yourself to Ahab; I will send rain...'" (1 Kings 18:1).
Divine Appointments in Unusual Moments
This is a reminder that you will have divine appointments in unusual moments, just like when Obadiah and Elijah intersected paths!
"Now as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him; and he recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, 'Is that you, my lord Elijah?' And he answered him, 'It is I. Go, tell your master, "Elijah is here."'" (1 Kings 18:7-8) (Photo via Piqsels)
Obadiah needed a lot of reassurance that Elijah was going to follow through and present himself to Ahab! For he was risking his life, and much more was at stake than Elijah was even aware of.
Your Legacy Is Powerful
Obadiah reported to Elijah that when Jezebel was murdering God's prophets, he secretly went behind the king's back to rescue them. He hid 100 prophets in two caves, and supplied them with bread and water from the palace!
Obadiah's story reminds us of this yet again—that even while serving within an ungodly government or system, a servant of God can stand for righteousness. If you identify with this, know that you are a valuable member of God's Kingdom team! You are divinely positioned and your legacy is powerful.
Instruments of Provision: The Partnership of Obadiah and Elijah
Elijah assured Obadiah as they parted ways: "...'As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely present myself to him today'" (1 Kings 18:15). And he did.
It was a fleeting encounter, and highlights an unusual Kingdom partnership! Elijah was a vessel of God's judgment on Ahab, Jezebel, and their counterfeit prophets, while Obadiah was a vessel of God's mercy to the true prophets. He sheltered, fed, and nurtured them! This is a reminder to us that God will always look after His own, and sometimes He will raise up people to be His instruments of provision. But if no one is available, your Father still has His ways to provide for you. For while God was using Obadiah to provide food for prophets, He was also sending bread and meat to the prophet Elijah via a raven!
The Legacy of Obadiah
In spite of Elijah being certain that he was alone as God's prophet, there was Obadiah who was, unbeknownst to Elijah, rescuing and serving many prophets. It's like a song that Elijah continually sings—"I am alone" (see 1 Kings 18:22; 1 Kings 19:10, 14).
We know Elijah's perspective was distorted because God told him, "Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him" (1 Kings 19:18).
Even though we don't see Obadiah again, his legacy is there, sitting in the background. We read later, in 1 Kings 20:13, that "a prophet approached Ahab"—an unnamed prophet! Where did he come from?
A Generation Lived to Declare God's Word
We discover that a generation of prophets lived to declare God's word. Think about it—a body of prophets existed when Elijah passed on.
"Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, 'Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from over you today?' And he said, 'Yes, I know; keep silent!'" (2 Kings 2:3 NKJV)
Is it not possible, or likely, that some of them were there because a man named Obadiah worshiped God and loved His prophets? Obadiah fed the prophets and, later, Elisha led the prophets.
A Prophetic Revival
We see, then, in Elisha's day, there was a school of prophets—a company of prophets. They were out in the open and their group was growing. In 2 Kings 6:1, they essentially said, "We need more room!" You could say that was a prophetic revival...one that was only made possible because of those who had faith in the previous generation. Among them was Elijah and Obadiah. We will see such a prophetic revival in our own day.
Obadiah's story is a reminder that you may have no idea the fruit that exists because of your faithfulness and obedience, but God sees, and Heaven rejoices. God is rewarding your hidden work.
Obadiah is an unsung hero of the Bible. Maybe today you feel unsung, or unseen, but God is singing over you; the fruit of your service will be eternal.