As the king and all his men were leaving the city, they stopped at the last house. All his officials stood next to him as the royal bodyguards passed by in front of him. The six hundred soldiers who had followed him from Gath also passed by, and the king said to Ittai, their leader, “Why are you going with us? Go back… You are a foreigner, a refugee away from your own country. …Go back and take all your people with you—and may the Lord be kind and faithful to you.”
But Ittai answered, “Your Majesty, I swear to you in the Lord’s name that I will always go with you wherever you go, even if it means death.”
Very much like Ruth’s response to Noémi (Ruth 1:16-17). Remember that Gath was at war with David’s kingdom! How did David inspire such loyalty (Proverbs 16:7)? May I inspire such a loyalty in others, Lord!
The people cried loudly as David’s followers left. The king crossed Kidron Brook, followed by his men, and together they went out toward the wilderness.
All this as a result of David’s sin (2 Samuel 12:7-12). That is frightening (please continue to protect and watch over me, Father). This is a return to the wilderness for David (1 Samuel 23:14). And as for me, Lord (Lamentations 3:25-33)?
Zadok the priest was there, …carrying the sacred Covenant Box. …the king said to Zadok, “Take the Covenant Box back to the city. If the Lord is pleased with me, some day he will let me come back to see it and the place where it stays. But if he isn’t pleased with me—well, then, let him do to me what he wishes.”
Unlike David, the people saw in the Covenant Box a kind of security blanket / a ticket to success (1 Samuel 4:3). May I never take refuge in anything other than you, Father (Jeremiah 7:1-4). And while David’s resignation may appear to look like Eli’s on the surface (1 Samuel 3:18), it was entirely different as the outcome was entirely out of his hands. May I discern the difference – and respond accordingly.
David went on up the Mount of Olives crying; he was barefoot and had his head covered as a sign of grief.
Another many years later would trod that same path (Luke 22:39).