Talk (5 mins): w09 5/15 27-28. Title: How We Can Imitate Ittai (2Sa 15:19-22) (th lec. 13).
To begin with, let's read what 2 Samuel 15:19-22 says, when you were reading, did you find a character mentioned here interesting? Who was this Ittai? Well, he was an exiled Philistine, but unlike the other Philistines enemies of Israel, he knew that Jehovah was the living God and that David was his anointed one he saw him as a man of admirable qualities who loved Jehovah. In other words, Ittai was a foreigner who loved Jehovah.
Now, why do we analyze Ittai's life? Well, because we too have to make an effort to see beyond cultural, racial and ethnic differences. We must put aside prejudices and dislikes, and focus on the good qualities of others and that happened with David and Ittai, for example, let's see what 2 Samuel 18:2 says David entrusted to him the command of the third part of the troops, it clearly shows that if we come to know and love Jehovah, it is possible to overcome those barriers.
Also, Ittai's loyalty to Jehovah influenced other people and is also worthy of imitation, for example, householders can also meditate on Ittai's example since the decisions householders make today to support true worship directly impact their families.
After mentioning Ittai's participation in the battle against Absalom, the Bible no longer mentions him. However, this brief glimpse of his life is one more example that Jehovah values and rewards loyalty and that his story is available to us, as Romans 15:4 says, so we should always take time to study the example of the characters of the Bible.
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