To Be or Not To Be

I Am or To Be? That Is the Question

KEY VERSE:

And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the Lord liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be. (2 Sam 15:21)

  Ittai was a Philistine general from Gath (Goliath’s city) who professed allegiance to King David over his son, Absalom, who was a pretender to the throne of all Israel. Ittai is one of the most common names in Israel to this day, and is a spiritual name given to converts to Judaism. It is to be noted that Ittai was converted from Goliath to David. Ittai means “If I forget thee O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning” (Psalm 137:5).
  As the name suggests, Ittai was devoted to Israel and David as the legitimate King of Israel. From the key verse, look how devoted: Ittai will be David’s servant whether in death or life. He was willing to die for King David.
  David is a type of Jesus Christ. Converted sinners are to be willing to die for Christ, and may be in the end (Rev 20:4). Jesus was also called “the son of David” by the Jews of his time. There are many places in the New Testament wherein Jesus is called “the son of David” but most notably, “Saying, ‘What think ye of Christ? whose son is he?’ They say unto him, ‘The son of David’” (Mat 22:42). In other words, forget Joseph and all the others because Jesus is the antitype to which David is the type! Jesus is the legitimate heir of the Kingdom of David. Absalom was not!
  In typology, then, Ittai was pledging allegiance to the House of David, not Absalom who was a type of Antichrist… “Whether in death or life.” David was alive. In death, the House of David would have a new righteous King. His name was called Jesus and he Is the Christ, as Jesus was heir to the Davidic throne. Ittai announced that he would be David’s servant forever; not only David’s servant but even unto death. It seems that Ittai was pledging servanthood to Jesus as King of the Jews.
  Ittai said as well, “Surely in what place my lord the king shall be… even there also will thy servant be.” Ittai would serve his lord. That implies that Ittai would also serve David’s Lord for at that time allegiance to a king meant allegiance to the king’s God. David was his lord and as such Yahweh was   Ittai’s Lord as well!
  Ittai had been converted from Dagon, likely a fertility god. We know that God toppled Dagon, cut off the palms of his hands, and destroyed him (1 Sam 5). Afterward Dagon was no longer worshiped!
  Yahweh, in Ittai’s eyes, diminished Dagon and elevated Himself, and diminishing himself is what Ittai would do as well. In NT theology, Ittai would have been said to be “born again” (John 3:7). Ittai was not only faithful to David but David’s God who would be called Jesus (Mat 1:16).
  Again, I point out that it is not Jesus and God, but Jesus Is God. Jesus used the Greek phrase ego eimai forty-eight times, meaning “I Am.” That Jesus and God are different “persons” is the Arian heresy. By devotion to David, in typology, Ittai was devoted to Jesus. He may not have realized that, but by his faithfulness to David, he was part of God’s Plan to further the Davidic Kingdom until Jesus would be King.
  Of course, Jesus was not only King of the Jews, but turned out to be King of the Philistines (Gentiles), and the entire world – Jew and Gentile. God so loved David that He wanted him not to perish, and he so loved Ittai with that intensity as well (John 3:16). Ittai appreciated that type of love, and pledged himself to be David’s and by association, God’s servant!
  There is great meaning when Ittai said, “Even there also will thy servant be” – in life and death. Ittai diminished himself and elevated David and his God. In life he would serve David, but in death David’s heir!
  I’ve written before that the root word for sin means “to be.” Ittai was pledging not to be sinful. His pledge transferred his allegiance to David and to his God. He was no longer the focus of “being” but David and God were. Ittai transferred his existence (being) to God as the ultimate Being or Existence. He no longer desired “to be” as God but serve God who Is (I Am).
  Throughout history, there has been a battle of wills. As created, Adam did the Will of God, but when he sinned, Adam did his own will. The Serpent actually hinted at the consequences of eating the forbidden fruit – they would perceive themselves “as gods.” (Gen 3:5). In other words, they were “to be” as gods. God, as “I Am” already Is God. By sinning they elevated themselves “to be” gods, and diminished God who said, “I Am.” Regeneration is a reversal of that… a return to the condition at the creation (generation) of mankind.
  In the beginning there was only God. Let’s make a table of existence:

EXISTENCE: SIN (TO BE) COMPARED TO GOOD (I AM)

Economy/Being	God	Mankind
Pre-creation	I Am the Alpha	You are not, but your soul is.
Creation	I Am in Spirit	You are in the flesh
Original Sin	I Am	You think you Are
In the world	I Am Spirit but generated Myself Flesh	You are flesh but want To Be as God; you are sin.
Jesus Crucifixion	I Am, but am willing To Be you	You cannot Be for I Am in your place
Born Again	I Am but chose To BE for you	You recognize that you are not meant To Be, but God Is
The Resurrection	I Am Alive	You can be
Sanctification	I Am with you	You belong to Me
Glorification	I Am as always	You are as Me because I regenerated you.
Eternity	I Am the Omega	You are with Me to serve Me

  Throughout time, humans are the “To Be’s” but God Is always “I Am.” Life seems to be all about us, unless we are persuaded to serve God as Ittai did when given the option of serving Absalom. As David was a type of Christ, Absalom was a type of Antichrist.  Would Ittai serve the Lamb or the Beast.
  The question is really not “to be or not to be” as Shakespeare questioned, but to whom do we belong: Absalom or David – the Antichrist or Christ?
  The philosopher, Rene Descartes, wrote, “I think, therefore I am.” Thinking does not make us God (I Am), but only in the image of God who is “The Great I Am.” The ability to think merely makes us want “To Be” the great “I Am.”
  Life, therefore, is all about the perception of ourselves relative to God. We will never be God, who Is Always Existence. 
  Sin is a reflection of our self-imposed independence from God, as humans are prone to reject God’s authority. Sin is us play-acting godhood. The penalty for that, as we have seen, is that as the idol Dagan was toppled, the idol ________ (your name here) must also be toppled. Your desire “To Be” will be replaced with “I Was” with the generating of a new nature.