Day #112 | "No Outsiders in God's Kingdom"

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read 2 Samuel 17-18 and Psalm 17

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Ethnic diversity in the kingdom of God. While this is certainly not the main theme of today's reading -a gripping account of double-agency, espionage, and counter-intelligence, one man's loss of a son, the war-time decision of a general to defy his king, the loyalty of a people to their monarch, complete with a big action scene where "The battle spread over the face of all the country, and the forest devoured more people than the sword" (2 Samuel 18:8), and two more personal stories of a lonely, post-battlefield execution (2 Samuel 18:9-15) and a shamed advisor who takes his own life out of grief (2 Samuel 17:23)- what stood out to me was the names of non-Israelites who take on major roles here. Hushai the Archite is depicted here as one of David's close friends who is a major asset in David's counter-intelligence efforts (2 Samuel 17:14); he is also an "Archite" meaning he is a Canaanite from the territory of Ephraim (see Joshua 6:2,10). We also see that the commander of Israel's armies is a son of Ithra the Ishmaelite--a non-Jew who was able to move up very high in Israel's social circle, even marrying King David's own sister (see 1 Chronicles 2:13-17).* Ittai the Gittite, a foreigner from the Philistines (see 2 Samuel 15:19) also appears here as the commander of one-third of David's forces, seemingly equal with David's own nephews Joab and Abishai (2 Samuel 18:2). When it is time to tell King David about the death of his son, we also see that Joab entrusts this task to the Cushite, meaning a person of African descent (2 Samuel 18:21). This is an important role, because it involves being trustworthy enough to relay information, capable to carry out the task quickly, and the ability to enter into the royal palace and speak to the king. The Kingdom of Israel was incredibly multi-ethnic, and prominent roles were frequently given to non-Israelites. This is not a common feature in ancient societies, except for in far-reaching empires where local populations were taken from their conquered homelands and re-educated for service in the palace, like Daniel was. But that's not what's happening here. The Archites were part of the "cursed" Canaanites who God arranged to endure in the land and even enter into prominent positions. The Ishmaelites and Gittites (from Gath, in Philistia) were representatives of enemy peoples, but they were welcomed in and given big roles. And the Cushites were from a place far away from Israel, though Cushites and Egyptians had ties. And yet representatives of all these peoples, along with Moabites like Ruth and Hittites like Uriah, and others, all found their home and prominence among God's people in Israel. This is a picture, I think, of the ethnic diversity that God values. He loves all the people of the earth. He wants to admit them into his kingdom. And he modeled that all the way back in the history of the people of Israel.

*Though Abigail is identified as the daughter of Nahash here, this is either another name for David's father Jesse (so says Rashi, the classic Jewish Rabbinic commentator). Specifying that Abigail is the sister of Joab and Abishai's mother, and cross-referencing with 1 Chronicles 2:13-17, makes the relation clear.

DO | HOW DO WE RESPOND?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? IN OUR ATTITUDES, I think that people who are very concerned about nationality should feel challenged by this reading. Many people from many different backgrounds -even still today- are overly concerned about diluting their own culture by mixing with people from outside, and yet David -the King of Israel, and the descendant of the Canaanite Rahab and the Moabite Ruth- had no issues with his sister marrying Ithra the Ishmaelite. Or, if nationality is not the issue, we sometimes form conscious circles around who the "in" group is, or who the "out" group is--I think here of an old church I was once part of, where someone was still identified as being "new" there after having already attended that church for seven years! But Ittai the Gittite was part of David's camp for only a few months before he was called into prominent leadership roles. For those who have joined their hearts to the Lord, there are no outsiders in the kingdom of God. There shouldn't be any outsiders in our circles either.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US TO GOD?

Whether in response to anything pointed out here, or to something else in your Bible reading time, take a few moments before you close up your Bible to pray in response to God. If you need a format for prayer, both the ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication), CALL (Confess, Ask, Love, Listen), and PRAY (Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield) methods are helpful ways to stay consistent.

-Sean