King David is a towering figure in the Old Testament. His story is told in the books of 1 & 2 Samuel. The writers of scripture regarded David as the greatest king in all of Israel’s history. He bears the unique appellation “a man after God’s own heart.” But we ought to sense serious tension in this glowing characterization of David. The scriptures make no attempt to conceal an ignominious episode whereby David committed a horrendous sequence of sins.
Most Bible readers know about Bathsheba, the beautiful woman David saw bathing from the rooftop of his palace. Bathsheba was the wife of Uriah the Hittite. The Hittites composed part of Canaanite peoples who lived in the Promised Land before being (mostly) driven out by Joshua & the Israelites. God sternly commanded the Israelites to wipe out the wicked Canaanites so that the people of Israel wouldn’t be tempted to follow their vile & detestable practices:
“When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations – the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you – and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you.” (Deuteronomy 7:1-4)
Despite his ancestry, Uriah renounced his allegiance to foreign gods & devoted himself to the God of Israel. His Hebrew name (which means “light of Yahweh”) reflects this radical change in loyalty. Uriah rose to become one of David’s most trusted & elite soldiers.
The sordid tale of David & Bathsheba presents a stark contrast. On one hand we repeatedly witness the noble character of Uriah the Hittite. He was completely faithful to God & King David. On the other hand, David showed utter contempt for God by taking Uriah’s wife & then conspiring to murder Uriah by deserting him in battle against the Ammonites.
Despite David’s repentance, his sin had far reaching consequences. Through the prophet Nathan, God told David “I will stir up trouble against you within your own household, and before your own eyes I will take your wives and give them to someone close to you.” (2 Samuel 12:11) Much of the remainder of the book of Samuel demonstrates how this dark prophecy came to pass.
Some years later, David’s own son Absalom rebelled against his father. David was forced to abandon the royal city of Jerusalem and retreat across the Jordan River into the land of Gilead. Upon seizing power, Absalom’s first act was to have sex with David’s concubines in a tent pitched on the roof of the palace, in full view of the Israelites! (In ancient culture, concubines had a status very similar to David’s wives.) Absalom’s behavior was carefully calculated, public display of contempt for his father.
David fled Jerusalem along with his attendants & those fighters who were loyal to him: “The king set out…All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites and Pelithites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied [David] from Gath marched before the king.” (2 Samuel 15:16,18) As the text indicates, a Gittite denotes a person from the city of Gath. This little detail goes unnoticed by most modern readers, but carries great significance. For Gath was one of the major cities of the Philistines, the inveterate enemies of the people of Israel!
The Philistines dwelt along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Israel. They mostly inhabited five city-states: Gath, Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod & Ekron. The Bible depicts the Philistines as expert metallurgists, whose ironwork gave them advantages over Israel in forging weapons & building chariots. This technology allowed the Philistines to command the flat coastlands while the Israelites generally retained control over the inland hills.
All through the book of Samuel there was conflict between Israel & the Philistines. When the Israelites ask for a king, God providentially sent Saul to meet the prophet Samuel: “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him ruler over my people Israel; he will deliver them from the hand of the Philistines.” Although Saul’s first antagonist was Nahash king of the Ammonites, his main task was to free Israel from oppression at the hands of the Philistines. Eventually Saul & his sons were killed in battle against the Philistines on Mount Gilboa.
David’s confrontation with the Goliath is perhaps the best known story in the Old Testament. Goliath hailed from the city of Gath. When David later became king, he would achieve other victories over the Philistines.
Considering these facts, there’s considerable truth to the portrait of the Philistines as the quintessential enemies of God’s people. Yet here in the account of Absalom’s rebellion, we find a group of six hundred Philistines who formed a significant part of David’s special bodyguard. (The Kerethites & Pelethites were likely mercenary soldiers, some of whom might have been Philistines as well.) Fascinatingly, the text informs us that these Philistines had “accompanied [David] from Gath.”
We’re never given the details regarding David’s affiliation with these Gittites. But we do know that David had a complicated history with the Philistines in general & the city of Gath in particular. It wasn’t long after his victory over the giant that David fled from Saul’s violent jealousy. David sought refuge with Achish king of Gath. But the attendants of Achish raised the alarm, noting that David was celebrated in Israel as a mighty warrior who had slain many Philistines. Sensing the danger, David feigned insanity & soon returned to Israelite territory. (2 Samuel 21:10-14)
You might think that such a harrowing experience would prevent any further engagement with the Philistines. But when Saul continued to pursue him, David again sought shelter with Achish. This time David was accompanied by his band of 600 men & their families. We’re told that David spent 16 months in Philistine territory. During this span, David was able to gain the trust of King Achish, who mistakenly believed that David had become despised by the Israelites & thus would be his loyal servant. (1 Samuel 27)
Some have postulated that the six hundred men David brought to Gath are the same Gittites mentioned later during Absalom’s rebellion. But this is unlikely. After David’s first foray in Gath, he hides in “the cave of Adullam.” The cave of Adullam is located about 10 miles east of Gath within the territory of Judah. It’s here that David first began to gather a band of followers: “All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him.” (1 Samuel 22:2)
David soon employed this force to save the Israelite town of Keilah from Philistine attack. (1 Samuel 23:1-5) Just before the fight, David’s men expressed consternation about leaving the (relative) safety of Judah to fight against the Philistines: “Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!” (1 Samuel 23:3) This dialogue makes no sense if David’s men were Philistines themselves. Moreover, it seems that the function of the Keilah episode is to foreshadow David’s role as the king who fights on behalf of Israel & delivers them from the hand of their enemies. We also learn that the number of David’s men at this time had swelled to 600. (1 Samuel 23:13)
Thus, we can have some confidence in concluding that David’s original band of 600 were Israelites. David had accrued these followers while residing in the tribal territory of Judah. It also makes sense that David would gather around himself primarily men from his own kith and kin.
Having gone down that rabbit hole, let’s return to the 600 Gittites who marched out of Jerusalem when David escaped from Absalom. The leader of these Gittites was a man named Ittai. As David departs, he says to Ittai, “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 people with you. May the LORD show you kindness and faithfulness.”
We are given precious little information about Ittai. The text indicates (“You came only yesterday”) that he had recently been exiled from the land of the Philistines & had attached himself to the people of Israel. David gives Ittai the option of remaining in Jerusalem under Absalom’s rule. But Ittai refused to abandon David: “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.” Astonishingly, the Philistine Ittai vows to lay down his life on behalf of the King of Israel and invokes the name of Israel’s God
Ittai the Gittite would make good on his vow. Absalom soon gathered the Army of Israel to attack David and his loyal soldiers. David divided his forces into three companies. Two of these companies were commanded by Joab & Abishai – David’s nephews, the sons of his sister Zeruiah. The commander of the third company? Ittai, the Gittite, the Philistine from Gath who worshiped the God of Israel & displayed remarkable allegiance to God’s anointed king.
In the battle that followed, David’s followers routed the troops of Absalom. Absalom himself was famously captured when the mule he was riding passed under the branches of an oak tree. His long beautiful hair became entangled, leaving Absalom dangling helplessly in the air. Although David had ordered his commanders to spare Absalom’s life, Joab characteristically took matters into his own hands: “[Joab] took three javelins in his hand and plunged them into Absalom’s heart while Absalom was still alive in the oak tree.” (2 Samuel 18:14)
We hear no more about Ittai the Gittite. What might we learn from his story?
Many Bible readers have a starkly black & white conception of Old Testament history. They see the Israelites as God’s chosen people, holy & righteous, while all others are godless, evil foreigners. But a more careful examination of the Biblical narrative challenges this notion.
The scriptures repeatedly introduce us to foreigners who are incorporated into Israel, the people of God. There’s Rahab, the Canaanite prostitute from the city of Jericho, who saved herself & her family by acknowledging to the one true God. Ruth was a young Moabite woman who came to worship the God of Israel. Ittai the Gittite follows this same pattern.
We must never lose sight of fact that God’s covenant with Israel was never for the sake of Israel alone. Yes, Israel was promised life and blessing if she offered God genuine worship & obedience. But God’s purpose was ultimately to use Israel as his instrument to bless all the nations. Whether Hittites or Philistines, God welcomes all people who are willing to humbly submit themselves to his gracious rule. Ittai the Gittite anticipates the future reign of the Messiah, the son of David: “May all kings bow down to him and all nations serve him.” (Psalm 72:11) Or as the Apostle Peter would say, “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.” (Acts 10:34-35)
Finally, the account of Ittai the Gittite provides a model for our own response to Jesus. The Old Testament devotes so much attention to David because he prefigures the Messiah, the future king of Israel who would destroy evil & establish God’s kingdom of justice and righteousness over the whole creation forever. Ittai demonstrated complete allegiance to King David, even in the moment of David’s greatest peril. He had forsaken his Philistine past and devoted himself to the God of Israel and to God’s anointed king. As I have often written, the evangelical notion of Christian “faith” as passive belief is wholly inadequate. Rather, true faith follows the pattern of Ittai the Gittite; it requires complete loyalty in thought, word, and deed.
