“My Faith Has Found A Resting Place”
Scripture references: 2 Samuel 8:1a, 8:15, 15:18-21, Ruth 1:8-10, 14-18, 4:18-22 and Isaiah 55:8-9.
Introduction:
Loyalty can come from unexpected places. Professions of faith can come from unexpected people.
As we approach another Baptism Sunday, I am often challenged with the question that Pastor Chuck asks at the end of each Baptism service: “Who will be in these waters next because of your witness?”
When I think about this question, I often think about the people in my life who seem the least likely to profess faith in Jesus. Maybe some of us can relate. Are there people in our lives about whom we think: “I just have a hard time seeing them making a decision to accept Christ”? We may foolishly include or exclude certain people when sharing our faith because of faulty assumptions like this…this ultimately shows lack of faith on our part and casts doubt on what we believe God is capable of.
Praise God that Scripture gives us some amazing examples to fight these assumptions. Let’s look at a couple…
Devotional:
A couple weeks ago, we looked at a familiar story from the life of David. We saw examples of David’s concern being to proclaim The Name of the Lord before his own name. This was demonstrated in his faceoff with a certain Philistine from Gath (Goliath) in 1 Samuel 17.
What we often gloss over when we discuss the life of David…is that this is not the only time he has a documented encounter with a Philistine from Gath. If we turn the pages to the next book (2 Samuel), we find another interaction with a Philistine from Gath…but it is very different from the first one.
To set the scene, David is King over Israel at this point in his life and had defeated many of Israel’s arch enemies. 2 Samuel 8:1 leads off with: “After this, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them…”. After listing the nations that David subdued, we also read:
So David reigned over all Israel. And David administered justice and equity to all his people. -2 Samuel 8:15. ESV
Things seem to be going well, but later we see that there is a ‘snake in the garden’…in the form of his son Absalom. Absalom turns the people against David, to the point where David must flee from Jerusalem. Who followed David as he fled Jerusalem?
And all his servants passed by him, and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the six hundred Gittites who had followed him from Gath, passed on before the king. – 2 Samuel 15:18 ESV
600 Gittites from Gath…former arch enemies of Israel now follow David. We then see this exchange between David and Ittai the Gittite…a Philistine from Gath…
Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why do you also go with us? Go back and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner and also an exile from your home. 20 You came only yesterday, and shall I today make you wander about with us, since I go I know not where? Go back and take your brothers with you, and may the Lord show[d] steadfast love and faithfulness to you.” 21 But Ittai answered the king, “As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, there also will your servant be.” – 2 Samuel 15:19-21 ESV
Ittai…a defeated former adversary. Exiled from his home. In a new land. To follow David is not the advantageous choice in this situation. David knows this and would not blame Ittai for going back to the king. In fact, he gives his blessing and wishes him well…
Ittai instead shows unexpected loyalty to David! “As the Lord (Yahweh) lives, and as my lord the king (David) lives, wherever my lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, there also will your servant be.”
Here we go again…I’m asking that question to myself: “Where have I heard this before??”. A person belonging to one of Israel’s enemies, away from their home and now being given the opportunity to return. Tell me if this sounds familiar…
But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. -Ruth 1:8-10 ESV
Ruth and Orpah. Moabites. Arch enemies of Israel. Staying with Naomi would not at all be advantageous for them…but who do we see make a profession of unexpected loyalty?
Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 15 And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” 18 And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more. -Ruth 1:14-18 ESV
What do we see in the genealogy at the end of Ruth after Boaz redeems her?
18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, 19 Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, 20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, 21 Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, 22 Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David. -Ruth 4:18-22 ESV
Ittai…a Philistine from Gath…a foreigner from a nation who were generational enemies of Israel, echoes to David the unexpected loyalty of David’s own great-grandmother Ruth…a foreigner from an enemy of Israel. The story of Scripture is truly awe-inspiring!
You have to wonder if David is hearing Ittai’s words and thinking about his great-grandmother in this moment. It’s so fascinating to consider!
The Berean Study Bible commentary summarizes Ittai’s profession in this way:
But Ittai answered the king
Ittai the Gittite was a foreigner from Gath, a Philistine city, yet he showed remarkable loyalty to King David. This highlights the theme of loyalty and faithfulness, even from unexpected sources. Ittai’s response to David’s suggestion that he stay behind demonstrates his commitment, contrasting with the betrayal of Absalom, David’s son. This loyalty from a foreigner underscores the universal appeal of David’s leadership and foreshadows the inclusion of Gentiles in God’s plan.
As surely as the LORD lives
This oath invokes the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel, indicating Ittai’s recognition of the God of Israel as the true God. It reflects the seriousness of his commitment and aligns with the biblical tradition of making solemn vows before God. This phrase also connects to the covenantal faithfulness of God, who is often described as the living God, emphasizing His active presence and involvement in the lives of His people.1
Naomi’s blessing to Ruth… “The Lord grant that you may find rest…”, brought my mind to a hymn that we are singing this Sunday. The title of the hymn is also the first line of the first verse…
“My faith has found a resting place”
For Ruth and Ittai, that resting place was not their physical home. It was in the presence of the God of Israel!
What do we take away from this?
Going back to where this devotional started…the very people in our lives that we may think: “I can’t see that person ever coming to Christ” …they may be the very people who God will reach out to and change their hearts in a truly unexpected way. Praise God that ‘my thoughts are not His thoughts’ and ‘my ways are not His ways’ (Isaiah 55:8-9)
God uses people all throughout Scripture…like Ruth, like Ittai in unexpected ways to advance His plan and His Kingdom.
Maybe those very people in our own lives will be ‘The next ones in that water because of our witness and testimony’.
Sean Wagner
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