Dare to Be an Ittai the Gittite

Daily Scripture Threshing for Today, Saturday, October 10, 2026

Today's Text: 2 Samuel 15:13-23

Key Verse: 2 Samuel 15:21 (KJV) — “And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the LORD liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be.”

Before David ever regained his throne, before Joab ever recovered the city, before Absalom ever fell in the wood of Ephraim, God had already placed a loyal heart beside a broken king—something that has become a near impossible dedication of our generation. Absalom had stolen the hearts of Israel, and David was weeping as he climbed the Mount of Olives, barefoot, his head covered, fleeing from his own son. His kingdom was shaking. His trusted counselor Ahithophel had defected. Shimei was waiting on the roadside to curse him. And in that hour of loss, pain and exile, a foreigner from Gath—a Philistinian from Gittite, a former enemy, a man who had only arrived the day before—proved more loyal than many sons of Judah. His name was Ittai.

David looked at Ittai and said, Why goest thou also with us? Return to thy place, and abide with the king: for thou art a stranger, and also an exile. Whereas thou camest but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us? Return thou, and take back thy brethren: mercy and truth be with thee (2 Samuel 15:19-20). David gave him a perfect excuse. You are new. You owe me nothing. Go back, make peace with the new king, save your six hundred men, save yourself. It was a safe out, wrapped in kindness.

But Ittai answered the king, and said, As the LORD liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be (2 Samuel 15:21). Dare to be an Ittai the Gittite: dare to be loyal when loyalty is costly, to stay when staying looks like losing, and to pledge yourself to God’s anointed even when the throne is in the valley and not in the palace.

Ittai was a Gittite from Gath — the city of Goliath. He was not born in Israel, not raised under the covenant, not entitled to the promises of Judah. Yet he feared Jehovah, and he loved David. His loyalty was not tribal, it was covenantal. He had seen something in David worth dying for. Many in Israel who had eaten at David’s table followed Absalom for political gain, but this stranger who had no gain to get, chose to share David’s rejection. Dare to be an Ittai the Gittite: dare to love beyond tribe, beyond profit, beyond convenience, and let your loyalty be proven not when the king is enthroned in Jerusalem, but when the king is weeping on Olivet.

David did not recruit Ittai; Ittai recruited himself to David’s pain. And David answered him, Go and pass over. And Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones that were with him (2 Samuel 15:22). He crossed the brook Kidron with David. He did not just send his soldiers; he brought his little ones. That means he burned the bridge. He brought his family into exile because he believed David would return. True loyalty never sends others to suffer while it stays safe; it carries its household into the same crossing. Dare to be an Ittai the Gittite: dare to cross Kidron when others are crossing over to Absalom, to bring your household into the fellowship of a rejected king, believing that the God who anointed him in Bethlehem will restore him in Jerusalem.

At a time when Israel was choosing sides, a Philistine chose David. When sons betrayed, a stranger stayed. God used Ittai’s six hundred Gittites as David’s first shield in his darkest hour. Ittai teaches us that God can raise loyal hearts from unexpected places, and that loyalty in the valley is the seed of honor in the restoration. In our day, when many follow Absalom because he is popular, eloquent, and promises change, God is still looking for Ittaian hearts who will say, As the LORD liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be.

That loyalty is not ultimately to a man, but to the Son of David, Jesus Christ, who Himself was rejected, who went over Kidron (John 18:1), and who asks who will follow Him outside the camp. David regained his throne, and we can be sure Ittai regained his place. For those who stand with the king in exile will stand with the king in glory. Dare to be an Ittai. Dare to be unshakably loyal when it costs you everything.

Action Steps: Identify one place where God is testing your loyalty — your pastor in a difficult season, your covenant friend in trouble, your marriage under pressure, your commitment to Christ when the crowd is moving to Absalom. Refuse the safe out David offered. Do not go back to Gath. Say with your mouth and your life, Where you go, I will go, whether in death or life. Take one concrete step today to cross Kidron with the one God has called you to stand with — a call, a visit, a public defense, a sacrifice of time or money — and bring your little ones with you into that loyalty.

Quote for the Day: “When sons defect and crowds chase Absalom, it takes a Gittite who fears God to show Israel what loyalty looks like — The man who dares to stand with the king in the valley, stands with him in glory.” — (Simon Olatunji #quotablequotes)

Let Us Pray: Heavenly Father, give me the heart of Ittai the Gittite. Deliver me from fair-weather loyalty that follows only when the throne is secure. I fear You, I honor Your anointed, and I choose today to be faithful in the valley as well as on the mountain. As the LORD liveth, and as my Lord Jesus liveth, surely in what place my Lord shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will I be. Teach my feet to cross Kidron, to not return to Gath, and to bring my household into covenant faithfulness. Let my loyalty be counted to me as righteousness, and bring restoration to every throne You have ordained — in Jesus’ most glorious name. Amen.

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Thank you for threshing the Word with me today. For further study on this topic, please read: 2 Samuel 15:13-23; Ruth 1:16-17; Proverbs 17:17; Proverbs 18:24; John 15:13; 2 Timothy 2:12.

With all my love and prayers,

Simon Wale Olatunji, Ph.D.

Your Darling Bishop (DaBishop)

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