Does This Old Thing Still Work?

“Does this old thing still work?” We might ask it of a boat that’s been in dry storage for years, or of an old pawn-shop shotgun that’s picked up some rust spots. Your kids might ask it of your old Nintendo they dig out of grandma’s closet. In its day, long ago, it was useful—but what about now, after all this time? Does it still work?

David just received the worst news of his life. After forty years as Israel’s king, he has learned that his son Absalom has conspired to steal the Kingdom, and is marching on Jerusalem. For eleven years, David’s guilt, shame, and bitterness have left him passive, prayer-less, disengaged, and ineffective. But this awful news acts like smelling salts to the 70-year-old king. He jerks awake, and he sees again his desperate need for God. He flees Jerusalem to save the people. He heads, of all places, to the wilderness.

The story should sound familiar to us: David, in the wilderness, running from an enemy, nothing to rely on but God. It’s the experience that formed him so long ago. The question is, will his old wilderness faith still work? After all this time, all his sin, all those years of ignoring God—will God still supply his needs? If he draws near to God, will God still draw near to him? If all he has is God, will David still have all that he needs?

Today, we note the support God still provides (18–23). As he reaches Jerusalem’s city limits, David lets his whole company pass. He wants to be the last man out, like any good shepherd. But he also wants to see exactly who is with him, and who is not. The first group he notices is a band of Gentile immigrants, who recently left their homes to serve him. Now they join David in his exile. He pulls aside their leader, Ittai, and says, “You don’t have to come with me. You didn’t sign up for this when you moved to Israel. You came to worship Israel’s God, not to live as a fugitive. Go back and serve the new king, and may Yahweh bless you.” For the first time in a long time, he sounds like the old David: humble, gracious, God-aware. He knows that he deserves nothing.

This man Ittai is not just any Gentile. He is a Philistine from Gath, hometown of Goliath. This is literally the last place we would expect to find loyalty to David! That is why Ittai’s oath must have brought tears to David’s eyes: “As Yahweh lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king shall be, whether for death or life, there also will your servant be (15:18).” This sounds like Ruth’s famous speech to Naomi (Ruth 1:16)! Ittai is saying. “David, you are God’s anointed one, and you are our king. We will serve you in good times or bad, in Jerusalem or out in the wilderness, in life or in death.” On David’s darkest day, when so many of his friends have fled, here is one who sticks closer than a brother (Prov 18:14). Maybe you have experienced this yourself. In a hard season, maybe even one that you brought on yourself by your own poor choices, you look up to see a faithful friend? It’s hard to describe what support like this means.

As David enters the wilderness, Ittai’s support not only warms his heart, but fuels his faith. How? Because David realizes that behind Ittai stands the Ultimate Friend who has not forsaken him after all these years. God sends Ittai in David’s hour of need, just like he once sent Jonathan when Saul pursued David (1 Sam 20). Both of these human friends remind David of God’s own rugged, covenant commitment to him, no matter what. It’s the kind of truth that sustains a man out in the wilderness.

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Article by Eric Smith
Senior Pastor, Sharon Baptist Church