SCRIPTURE:
But Ittai replied to the king, “As surely as the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be.”
2 Samuel 15:21
OBSERVATION:
Ittai was only with David for one day, yet he was willing to die just for the opportunity to be with his king. He was willing to follow David, although it appeared at the time that David could offer him nothing but hardship as they fled the Absalom’s onslaught. Because of Ittai’s devotion to David, David will eventually make him a commander of the armies of Israel along with Joab and Joab’s brother. While we know how the story will play out, Ittai’s testimony of loyalty and servanthood displayed at this very moment are incredible.
APPLICATION:
What made Ittai loyal? Was it David? Or was it his own character.
I think it’s a combination of the two. Yes Ittai’s character must’ve been off the charts, but likewise, so was David’s. The common thread being that neither would question God’s anointed no matter the outcome, no matter life or death.
David earned the loyalty and respect of his men and thus they were loyal to him…in this case it didn’t matter how long he was their leader, but how good of a leader he was. Ittai recognized this and was willing to do as the 12 would do later…drop everything and follow. Ittai was just there a day, 24 hours, but trust trumped time. It didn’t matter how long he was being led by the king, but how obedient he could be to the king.
Ittai also examples what it means to serve the King. Not David, but the King of kings. I think of all the hands raised to the King Jesus, who at that moment proclaim Him as Lord and Savior of their lives. How many of these will have the fortitude to commit to the King as Ittai commited to David? How many will risk their lives against a real and dangerous enemy to ensure that the Kingdom of God will be made to endure and be made known? Ittai was there a single day, yet that’s all he needed to commit for a lifetime
Ittai speaks to those Christians who are willing to lose what Absalom sought to gain. Absalom desired a life outside of the king’s presence, where his ambition and agendas were heard and executed, whereas Ittai was driven to be in the presence of the king, to be obedient and faithful, fully trusting in God’s anointed, serving him whether it be “life or death”. This in itself summarizes it all for me. One sought the king as a source, the other as an object.
PRAYER:
May I long to be in the presence of God, not for my advance but His advance. May my loyalty be rooted in obedience and servanthood, willing to abandon it all for the sake of my King and His covering. As song lyric goes, “empty me of the selfishness inside…every vain ambition and the poison of my pride.” In Jesus name, Amen.
