This morning my little flip-over calender had this verse on it –
“The king said to Ittai the Gittite, ‘Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland. You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your countrymen. May kindness and faithfulness be with you.'” – 2 Samuel 15:19-20.
This seemed kind of depressing to me. I wanted to know more. I wanted to know if Ittai the Gittite went his merry way or stayed with David.
The note under the verse said this, “David was humiliated, weakened and mocked. Yet in this passage we see the result of David’s decision to look away from the terrible circumstances in his life and shift his attention to God.” I didn’t get that at all from the verse. The verse left me feeling like David was just sad and alone. So I decided to look it up and see what happened.
2 Samuel 15 is the chapter about Absalom leading a revolt against his father, King David. So David was sad, and feeling sorry for himself. However, in the midst of that, God was there to support him! If you read the very next verses, you will see –
“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.’ David said to Ittai, ‘Go ahead, march on.’ So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him.”
God gave David people who believed in him. God strengthened David by surrounding him with a whole troop of people who supported him. Isn’t it amazing that God would care so much to show His love to us through others? When we lost the baby, I was overwhelmed by God’s love. It seemed everywhere I turned, God was showing me He loved me, especially through His body. At times, I felt like His love was like a bubble around me – it emmanted from His people and protected me, and supported me.
