FAITHFUL ALLIANCES

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In Christ, Mark

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So the king set out with all the people following him and they halted at a place some distance away. All his men marched past him along with all the Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king.

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."

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.

2 Samuel 15:17-22

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As chapter 15 of 2nd Samuel opened, we saw David’s son, Absalom, turn on his father, conspiring to draw Israel’s favor from him in order to take his place on the throne. His rise to power at Hebron resulted in David sensing the impending danger and so he quickly fled the city “with all the people following him”, traveling awhile before halting “at a place some distance away”.

Well, as they stood pat, we read where all of David’s men “marched past him, along with all the Kerethites, …Pelethites and…six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath”. All these forces “marched before the king”.

Note the number of Gittites that composed David’s group. What made these six hundred men unique is that they weren’t Israelites but rather Philistines who were in exile from their homeland, having just joined David the day prior.

Given this, we read where David spoke with their leader, Ittai, asking:

"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."

Here we find David being unselfish and showing concern for the Gittites. He could have only been concerned with his own safety and kept quiet. After all, he would need all the support he could get if he was attacked by Absalom.

But David wasn’t like that.

We get a sense that he genuinely cared for the Gittites and felt it was a lot to ask of them to journey along when he had no idea about where they would be heading and what might happen along the way. And so we see where David urged Ittai and his men to depart and go back to their homeland where they could be comfortable and safe among their own people, not doing so out of resentment but rather with blessing, wishing kindness and faithfulness on them all.

Now, Ittai could have accepted this offer and left with his men after David, the king, had granted him permission to go but that didn’t happen. For the very kindness and faithfulness that David had wished for the Gittites ended up being shown to him as Ittai replied:

"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."

And with this vow from Ittai, David tells him to, “Go ahead, march on"…which is exactly what he did…advancing forward with “all his men and the families that were with him”.

In Ittai, we get a glimpse of what true loyalty, support, and fellowship look like as he formed a faithful alliance with the Israelite king David who he had just encountered a day prior. Through his actions, we are shown the kind of relationship that the Lord expects us to have with one another.

You see, Ittai knew that staying with David wouldn’t lead to easy times for the king and all who were with him were fleeing a legitimate and dangerous threat. Indeed, there was a lot of uncertainty ahead and yet, Ittai refused to turn away from David and allow him to go forward without his support, vowing to remain steadfastly devoted “as surely as the Lord lives”.

The latter part of what Ittai promised was critical for he invoked the name of the Lord in a way that showed how he understood the importance of standing by someone in need because that’s exactly what God does for His people…every second of every minute of every hour of every day. Indeed, the Lord doesn’t abandon anyone just because the times get tough. Rather, it’s during those times that He draws ever nearer out of love…and we need to do likewise as we support each other.

The Apostle Paul had something to say about faithful alliances as he wrote this in his epistle to the Romans:

“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” 12:10

Here, the Word of God makes it clear that we’re expected to stand by one another out of a sense of brotherly (and sisterly) love…a love that leads us to a sense of devotion and caring that is selfless and honors another person or persons above ourselves. It was this kind of special agape love that led our Savior Jesus to willingly be crucified on Calvary’s cross and so to bear our sins and purchase our pardon, desiring to be in fellowship with us now and forever.

He expects us, as Christians, to live likewise. Consider these words from John’s first letter:

But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another… 1 John 1:7a

The scriptures teach us that true fellowship with one another can only happen through first having true fellowship with Jesus as He comes to live and abide in our hearts, minds, and souls. For when He dwells within us, then and only then are we walking in the light…and not just any light but His light…the light of the One who is The Way and The Truth and The Life (John 14:6).

Given this, why do we see so much conflict within the Christian church today among believers?

Perhaps the answer is found in people claiming to be in Christ but yet refusing to completely die to self so that Jesus might fully live within. We can’t just give our lives to Him in part. He expects us to fully surrender, allowing Him to take over our lives completely. This would lead us to be totally led by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God into obedience and a place where loving, faithful alliances with one another would be as natural as breathing. It’s the place Jesus called us to when he said this in John’s Gospel:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35

“Love one another as I have loved you”.

Jesus commanded it and it’s up to every Christian to carry it out.

Let’s make sure we do it in every situation within every day the Lord provides.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.