A wonderful example of faithfulness to David personally by a man from an enemy country (Philistine). Read these verses slowly and realize that King David had won Ittai’s heart so much that nothing would stop him from following David totally, including his little children. It is one thing to follow the Lord when we have a lot of people with us, but another when everything opposes and only a few are with us as we follow a Man, Who has been rejected.
V.24-29 A century before this, Israel didn’t have a man like David as their head. In 1st Samuel 4:3-4 the people and the priests panic when they are attacked, and bring the sacred ark out into the battlefield, and lose it to the enemy. In contrast, here David refuses to use such a sacred object and orders the priests to take the ark back to Jerusalem.
V.30-37 Notice what David does (v. 31). He pours out his heart to God. He directs the priests to stay with his rebellious son.