Obadiah asks Elijah three questions, “Is it really you…? What have I done wrong…? Haven’t you heard…?”
~ a poem~
The word of the LORD sits up inside me— I turn into a storm — a blind swelling of judgment and hope (your hesed endures forever). The blood of the prophets alive in my ears— though I hear rain and rain and rain, all I can taste is fire. Ahab, they say, is searching, hunting (who hasn’t heard his Jezebel’s threats? Shall I run from Samaria's doom?)— Tell your king it took three years for the springs and valleys, our deepest wells to return to dust— now locusts swarm, now no one sleeps— Obadiah, when prophets hide the word of the LORD retreats into dirt and stone— I am the only one left. Is it really you? he asks— the word of the LORD waits like lightning, while I compose a yes.
*This poem is an imaginative poetic response to 1 Kings 18:1-15. The Obadiah that Elijah meets is not the prophet with the Bible book of the same name. He’s rather a devout Jewish believer who was also the current, wicked king Ahab’s palace administrator. He asks Elijah these three questions (see the text for the full length) and this poem is offered as if it’s in Elijah’s voice, responding to all three questions.
*The picture above, by
(dear sister, incredible artist, one of the most inspiring people I know), was taken while she was painting in the Negev. Those are her paintings being held down by rocks in the windy desert.*I’m planning on quite a few more poems in this Elijah series, y’all, thanks for being into such a niche endeavor. But next week? Next week I will share again the very first poem I shared on Substack. And I will do that because it will be the celebratory day in which I will have shared a poem every single Wednesday morning for a full year! Woohoo! I did it! And many of you are actually coming to my home to celebrate that night. I am seriously looking forward to it!
*Anything else I’m forgetting? Oh yeah, my first book came out this week. You might want to buy it!!
Congrats on the book!
And my spirit is saying a glad YES to these Elijah poems. Thank you!! Can anything but poetry begin to capture the spirit of Elijah??