Defending David, page 22
part #1 of Tribes of Israel Series
Lana uncovered the food in their basket. “You choose first.”
“Hmm.” The girl’s words weren’t registering in Rimona’s brain. Ittai was here, under a tree, alive and hungry. Hungry to spend time with her.
“Rimona,” Lana said, her tone becoming more forceful.
Lana’s wide eyes beseeched Rimona to eat. Yes, she should choose something.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Rimona glanced into the basket and noticed a square box made of cedar. The box was strategically placed on top of the flatbread. The cedar’s sweet, soothing scent tempered the bread’s aroma.
“What is this?” She held the lightweight box in her hand.
“Open it,” Lana said, her head covering tugged close to her chin.
“I agree with Lana’s wisdom.” Ittai leaned closer. His eyes were aflame with a tease. “It’s my secret.”
He knew what was in the box.
Her fingers trembled as she opened the cedarwood. She gasped. Sparkling on top of the plain-colored wood was her earring. The one she had given to Lana. The one she held dear as a reminder of her family. The one that comforted her when her mother slipped away. Her three emeralds weren’t alone. Alongside her earring was a mate as perfectly beautiful as her cherished earring. Her cheeks blazed as tingles of emotion throbbed behind her eyes. “Oh, Ittai. You…how did…why?” A wavy tide of tears obscured Ittai’s handsomeness. “But I gave Lana my earring.” She glanced at Lana who was holding her head covering wide for all to see her ears. Two replicas of Rimona’s earrings, smaller, but equally as beautiful, hung from the girl’s lobes.
“I wouldn’t steal from my commander’s daughter.” Ittai winked at Lana, smiled, and then tempered his exuberance. “I’ve missed you, Rimona. I prayed to God to give David victory and to spare my life so I could spend time with you. To sit on a blanket and talk about childhoods and children. To have a future together.” His eyes were twinkling again and causing a flutter she couldn’t contain.
He reached for her, grazing the dirt at the edge of her mat with his fingertips.
“Ittai, you cannot touch me for four more days. And then…”
His brooding eyebrows quirked. “I touched you on a hill outside of Hebron?”
“You were saving my life.”
“And now it is time for you to save mine.” His intensity deepened causing her spirit to soar toward faded stars. “I believe God’s boundary lines have brought us together. More than once. I’d like to start a family of my own and...”
“With me?” Truly? Praise be. Right now?
Ittai’s boisterous laugh was a harp song to her soul. “Only with you, Rimona. Only with you.”
32
Fifteen Months Later
Jerusalem, the City of David
“Rimona, the cart is ready.” Ittai’s lighthearted summons echoed through the window of their home. A home not far from the palace that had belonged to a nobleman who had aligned with Absalom. The homeowner had vanished before the rightful king regained his throne. Living close to the palace had its benefits. Ittai visited David often, and when he and Rimona weren’t in the city, they managed land near the valley with Ittai’s men and their families. Parveda and Lana were a constant treasure in her life. Parveda was an accomplished midwife and the first one to glimpse Ittai’s heir.
Rimona swaddled her baby boy and hurried out the door.
“We could walk down the street,” Rimona offered. “The fresh air would be good for Nathaniel.”
“The boy gets enough air. He is growing so fast. You won’t be able to hold him soon.” Ittai’s chest swelled broader than the length of the cart. Donkeys and all.
“Did you pack the basket of food?” Rimona sniffed the breeze. The faint aroma of garlic scented the cart bed.
“There may be a few stuffed olives missing.” Ittai grinned and helped her into the cart before sitting beside his family. “My wife is beautiful and a revered cook.”
“Revered only by you.”
Her husband glanced down the street and discreetly placed a kiss on her temple. The seat in the cart made her closer to Ittai’s height. Tilting her chin, she didn’t allow him to retreat without a kiss on the lips.
She and Ittai traveled past the palace and turned west to visit a large two-story house. Guards were stationed outside the door day and night. The men nodded to Ittai. Her husband’s fighting prowess had gained him notoriety throughout the kingdom.
The door flew open.
Gihon danced on tiptoe to glimpse Nathaniel. “You are late. Did the giant eat all of my food?”
“The baby was fussing.” Rimona handed Ittai his son while she slipped from the cart.
“Give him to me. He calms when I sing.” Gihon cradled Nathaniel in her arms. “This child needs more family. I cannot leave this house because of that rebel’s heinous sin, but your uncle has no reason to shut himself in his music room. You and Nathaniel should be more important to him than instruments and singing.”
“I can think of one reason Shamar hides in his music room.” Ittai’s dark brows rose high on his forehead.
“Do not hurry back, Gittite.” Gihon fluttered her hand. “I have stored a bushel of words for your wife.”
Rimona retrieved the basket of delicacies and followed Gihon into her home, one she shared with the nine other concubines who had been left to secure the palace when David fled. Because of Absalom’s defilement and death, they lived as widows. Rimona had banished the images of that night from her mind. All she would remember about that day was God’s protection of ten women, two sons of priests, and a musician’s niece. In His time, God had brought her a loving husband, new friends, and a healthy child.
Gihon entered her home and lounged on an oakwood bench covered with cloth pillows. She sputtered her lips and smiled at her youngest visitor. Nathaniel giggled at the beauty’s affection.
Rimona laughed as her eyes fought back tears.
Toda raba, Adonai. The boundary lines You drew for two orphans, one from Beersheba and one from Gath, have fallen in delightfully pleasant places.
A Devotional Moment
* * *
MY COMMAND IS THIS: LOVE EACH OTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU. GREATER LOVE HAS NO ONE THAN THIS: TO LAY DOWN ONE’S LIFE FOR ONE’S FRIENDS. ~ JOHN 15:12-13
* * *
The world likes to draw lines between people: them and us. “Them” are people of a different race, economic status, job description, religion, gender, geographic location…you name it, and the world can create a dividing line. And those divisions can sometimes make Jesus’ command for us to love each other sometimes seem difficult. But, we are to love one another…as Christ loved each of us—sacrificially, unconditionally. There are supposed to be no divisions when it comes to love. And the greatest love, as Jesus tells us, is to be willing to sacrifice one’s own life for another. This can be done in big ways—mortal ways—or it can be done in day-to-day choices where we sacrifice our wants for the good of another’s needs. Good parents do it daily for their children. Good spouses do it daily for their spouses. Good friends do it for the sake of friendship, and strangers do it for strangers for the sake of justice, righteousness and mercy.
In Defending David: Ittai’s Journey, the protagonist has made a choice that many think is foolish. He’s chosen to follow a God that is not the god of his people, and he’s chosen allegiance to a King of an opposing nation. But in being willing to lay down his life for what he believes is right, he finds peace and purpose for himself and those around him.
Have you ever wondered what the world would be like if there were no wars or prejudices? It seems almost unrealistic to think “world peace” could be anything but a cliché wished for by contest participants, but your choices can lead to world peace. Yes, one person can make a difference. When you love another person—either by open support or gentle correction, when you treat others with equity and respect; mercy and grace, you truly do take a step towards world peace. (Just think about if everybody did it!) So, the next time you’re in a hurry and want to be rude to a cashier, stop and think about how tired he or she may be. The next time you want to spend your money on your frills when your children are hungry, forget the frills and feed your kids. The next time you witness an injustice, a person being harassed because of his race or one child bullying another, for example, make a stand. Love the downtrodden…and love the bigot and the bully, too. (Remember: love can be support, sacrifice or gentle correction). Your decisions have great impact—to those around you, to the world at large, and especially to God.
LORD, WHEN I CAN’T SEEM TO LOVE OTHERS THE WAY YOU LOVE ME, HELP ME TO SEE THEM AS YOU SEE THEM. HELP ME TO SHOW COMPASSION AND PATIENCE. HELP ME TO OFFER MERCY AND GRACE TO OTHERS, JUST AS YOU’VE SHOWN THEM TO ME. HELP ME ALWAYS TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT THING EVEN WHEN IT IS UNPOPULAR, AND GIVE ME PEACE AND PURPOSE IN ALL ASPECTS OF MY LIFE. IN JESUS’ NAME I PRAY, AMEN.
A Note from Barbara
Thank you for spending time with Ittai and Rimona. I hope you enjoyed their story. You can find the story of Absalom’s rebellion in the book of II Samuel in the Bible. I cover Chapters 15 through 19:8 in what would be relevant to Ittai the Gittite. Ittai is a historical person noted in God’s Word.
Rimona is not mentioned in the Bible, but there is Scripture on Ittai’s friendship with King David. Second Samuel, Chapter 15, tells of Ittai’s arrival in Jerusalem and gives us his passionate speech of friendship and allegiance to David. Ittai arrives at a crucial time for King David, and I do not believe his arrival was a coincidence. God had a plan for Ittai and his exiled fighting men.
David must have had a bold trust in Ittai to place the Philistine over one-third of his army, an act that more than likely annoyed the king’s nephews Joab and Abishai. Ittai is given his command in II Samuel 18:2.
We don’t know what happened to Ittai after the battle against Absalom. Some commentators think he may have died, but since Scripture is silent, I believe Ittai survived. There is no mention of this faithful friend’s death, and I believe such a loss would have been mourned in the text.
Scripture does not tell us how long David’s flight from Jerusalem took or how long the battle against Absalom’s forces raged. You’ll find my story moves along at a quick pace.
How did Ittai come to have such a strong faith in God and a strong allegiance to King David? We will never know this side of heaven. I make David’s time in the Philistine territory of Ziklag the beginning of their friendship.
There is no Biblical record of Absalom meeting Ittai and his Philistine soldiers. How the two did not see each other when they traveled opposite directions to and from Jerusalem will remain a mystery.
Ittai and Rimona are fond of David’s songs. Ittai and Lana recite Psalm 121 to Rimona’s uncle. The talk of boundary lines is found in Psalm 16. David’s song of praise about God being his rock is found in II Samuel 22.
Is King David playing matchmaker between Ittai and Rimona? David and his great-grandmother Ruth are in the lineage of Jesus Christ, and you can find them listed in the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. Ittai and Rimona have a son in the epilogue. Nathaniel means “Gift of God” in Hebrew.
With all the books on the market, I am blessed that you chose to read mine. I always say, God has the best storylines.
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
Barbara
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Barbara M. Britton, Defending David
