“The whole country wept and wailed as all the people left. When the king crossed Vadi Kidron, all the people crossed, too, heading toward the desert road.”-2 Samuel 15:23
I wanna show you something mind-blowing today.
Take a look at verse 23, which I copied and pasted above.
It says that the grieving procession of those loyal to David crossed the Kidron Valley and headed towards the desert road.
It doesn’t matter which English translation you use.
They all have some variation of this meaning.
For instance, the King James Version says…
“And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness.”
And the NIV says this…
“The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved on toward the wilderness.”
So you’re probably thinking, what’s the big deal, homie?
Well, hold onto your horses, homie, I’m getting to it.
See, here’s the thing.
Scholars re-examined the ancient manuscripts written in other languages.
They also took a second look at the Masoretic Hebrew text of this verse.
The result?
They discovered something verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry interesting!
The Hebrew version has a few spelling mistakes when it comes to describing the exact route the grieving procession took when they traveled over the Mount of Olives.
I mean, you can’t read the Hebrew text exactly as it’s written with spelling errors.
It’ll just come out as gibberish.
So scholars had to play detective to figure out what the verse meant.
They had to piece things together from older versions and extract clues from the misspelled words.
Now pay attention because you’re about to acquire a piece of Scripture knowledge that very few people on planet earth are even aware exists.
So, after putting what was a jumbled jigsaw puzzle together, below is what the scholars came up with.
“The king stayed in the Kidron Valley, watching while his whole army marched past him on the road called the Way of the Wild Olive Trees, heading for the desert.”
Now, don’t lose focus.
Stay with me, man.
This is about to get good.
I promise.
So keep in mind the context is the gentile Ittai is leading a group of gentile mercenaries outta Jerusalem.
And the route they took across the Mount of Olives was a specific road commonly known at that time as the “Way of the Wild Olive Trees.”
What’s that?
Big whoopee frickin’ doo, you say?
Well, true, the Mount of Olives is massive.
And yes, there were multiple routes one could take to cross it, depending on how you wanted to travel to and from the holy city.
So nothing jaw-dropping there.
All of the various routes were given nicknames.
So it might not seem like a big deal until we examine a head-scratching statement that Paul made in the Book of Romans.
Read these verses, and pay special close attention to the parts I bolded.
“Now if the hallah offered as firstfruits is holy,
so is the whole loaf.
And if the root is holy, so are the branches.
But if some of the branches
were broken off, and you — a wild olive —
were grafted in among them and have become
equal sharers in the rich root of the olive tree,
then don’t boast as if you were better than the branches!
However, if you do boast,
remember that you are not supporting the root,
the root is supporting you.
So you will say, “Branches were broken off
so that I might be grafted in.” True, but so what?
They were broken off because of their lack of trust.
However, you keep your place only because of your trust.
So don’t be arrogant; on the contrary, be terrified!
For if God did not spare the natural branches,
he certainly won’t spare you!
So take a good look at God’s kindness and his severity:
on the one hand, severity toward those who fell off;
but, on the other hand, God’s kindness toward you —
provided you maintain yourself in that kindness!
Otherwise, you too will be cut off!
Moreover, the others, if they do not
persist in their lack of trust, will be grafted in;
because God is able to graft them back in.
For if you were cut out of what is by nature
a wild olive tree and grafted, contrary to nature,
into a cultivated olive tree, how much more
will these natural branches be grafted back
into their own olive tree!”
-Romans 11:1-24
Now compare and contrast that with the rendering of 2 Samuel 15:23 after scholars deciphered it correctly.
“The king stayed in the Kidron Valley, watching while his whole army marched past him on the road called the Way of the Wild Olive Trees, heading for the desert.”
Can you see the metaphorical connection Paul is making between “wild olive trees” and Gentiles?
And how that connects to the fact that Ittai was a gentile foreigner leading a group of gentile mercenaries through a route well known in that era as “the Way of the Olive Trees?”
Keep in mind, this story of David fleeing Jerusalem was well known in his day.
The route across the Mount of Olives, known as the “Way of the Wild Olive Trees,” was also well-known.
So, Paul used a simple illustration to show how Gentile foreigners can participate in the covenants God has made only with Israel and yet remain Gentiles.
Are you feeling me here?
This story reveals something profound.
You don’t have to change where you’re from or what nation you were born into to be part of God’s family.
Heck, Ittai was a Palestinian for crying out loud!
A gentile (someone who’s not a Jew) can believe in the God of Israel, follow His chosen Messiah, and be included in God’s saving promise.
Why?
Because of chesed, or God’s loyal love.
Ittai did it.
His men did it.
And if you’re a believer today and not Jewish by birth?
You’ve done it too.
Ya feeling me?
Done!
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Therefore, remember that formerly you
who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised”
by those who call themselves “the circumcision”
(which is done in the body by human hands)—
remember that at that time you were separate from Messiah,
excluded from citizenship in Israel
and foreigners to the covenants of the promise,
without hope and without God in the world.
But now in Messiah Yeshua you who once were
far away have been brought near
by the blood of Messiah.”
–Ephesians 2:11-13
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