The King or the Crowd?

But Ittai answered the king and said, “As the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely in whatever place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also your servant will be.” 2 Samuel 15:21

The Backdrop:
Israel is beginning to unravel politically as David's son Absalom instigates a rebellion against his father's kingdom and throne.  Earlier in this narrative you see Absalom drawing a following unto himself and promoting himself to the place of king, judge, and leader to the people of Israel.  Look at this-   It says of Absalom, in verse 6-
"So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel."  The crowds begin to follow Absalom and cheer and shout and declare their allegiance to this self appointed king.  I can hear the words of the Emperor of Rome in the movie the Gladiator, "the crowds are fickle brother."  The crowds were also there when Jesus was put on trial, beaten to a bloody pulp, mocked, and falsely accused.  The same crowds that just a few days before were shouting His praises in the streets of Jerusalem, Hosanna in the Highest!  You see the crowd will always be there, and the crowd will always go after the popular opinion, the new trend, or what looks celebrity.  But then there is someone like Ittai.  Someone who has the heart to follow the King and ignore the crowd.  Even David is telling him to turn around and throw in with the crowd, but Ittai says, no, "even in death or life I am going to follow my King!"    The meaning of Ittai is "the Lord is with me."  This is so prophetic, because those who know the Lord is with them, are completely secure in themselves and thus, have no need to run with the crowd to seek their identity or security in the Kingdom.  They know that the Lord is with them, and that because the Lord is with them, their allegiance and loyalty are centered on the right authority, because their lives are lived from a place of love and devotion to the right King.  The authority that the Lord Himself has ordained and put in place.  In this case, it was not Absalom that the Lord had established on the throne of Israel as King, but David- a man after God's own heart.  Not a man after the heart of the people.  

The crowds always go after outward appearance, the celebrity status, and the person who always has the coolest hair due.  Check out Absalom's MO-

Now in all Israel there was no one who was praised as much as Absalom for his good looks. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. ²⁶ And when he cut the hair of his head—at the end of every year he cut it because it was heavy on him—when he cut it, he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels according to the king’s standard. 

The Punch Line:
Absalom looked the part.  He even appeared to have what we would call dreadlocks, but I doubt he was rastafari! :)  He had a deep sense of justice, and appeared to have the right heart, but he did not have the heart of Ittai.  I love Ittai because he is one of those unknown characters in the bible that you don't know on a first name basis, and probably forget about because you have a hard time even pronouncing his name to begin with.  But he is mentioned.  And I believe he is mentioned in the story because the God of the scriptures wanted to honor this loyal, devoted, faithful man.  He wanted to show the contrast between the heart of an Absalom, and the heart of an Ittai.  The heart of one who loves the cheer of the crowds or loves the command of the King.  The crowd or the king?  

Prayer: 
Lord, form in me a heart like Ittai's.  A heart that will not go after the fickle crowds, but that will follow my King.  I declare to you my King Yeshua, as Ittai declared to King David "whether in death or life, even there also your servant will be.”