It is always interesting to find something contained in parentheses in a book, especially the Bible. Parentheses are used to clarify something—to make something clear. First Kings 18:3 says that “Obadiah was a devoted follower of the Lord,” and this is contained in parentheses (NLT). That is a great statement made about Obadiah and it was felt necessary to include for a reason.
Obadiah hid a hundred prophets. In 1 Kings 18:12, he says, “Yet I have been a true servant of the LORD all my life” (NLT). As we read 1 Kings, we cannot help but see these words within the parentheses – Obadiah was a DEVOTED follower of the Lord. Devoted. What a wonderful description of a person.
Today consider one line that would describe you. Could it be said that you are a devoted follower of the Lord? Could it even be known that you are a follower of Christ? What would your parentheses say?
“So Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Obadiah was a devoted follower of the LORD.” – 1 Kings 18:3 [NLT]
Tania Gutekunst 