Welcome to the Blog Tour for Defending David by Barbara M Britton, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours! I’m delighted to have Barbara on the blog today to share more about her new novel!
DEFENDING DAVID by Barbara M Britton
SERIES: Tribes of Israel #4
GENRE: Christian Historical Biblical Fiction
PUBLISHER: Pelican Book Group (Harbourlight Books)
RELEASE DATE: February 25, 2022
PAGES: 255
When a quiet journey to Jerusalem turns tragic, newly orphaned Rimona must flee a kinsman set on selling her as a slave. Racing into the rocky hills outside of Hebron, Rimona is rescued by a Philistine commander journeying to Jerusalem with six-hundred warriors.
Exiled commander, Ittai the Gittite, is seeking refuge in the City of David. Protecting a frantic Hebrew woman is not in his leadership plan. Although, having a nobleman’s niece in his caravan might prove useful for finding shelter in a foreign land.
Rimona and Ittai arrive in Jerusalem on the eve of a rebellion. In the chaos of an heir’s betrayal, will they be separated forever, or can they defend King David and help the aging monarch control his rebellious son?
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MORE BOOKS IN THIS SERIES
Separation Un-Anxiety
by Barbara M. Britton, author of Defending David
The Bible is full of “foreigners” who give their hearts to God. We can go back to Rahab, a Canaanite who harbored spies. Or Ruth, a Moabitess who pledged to go with her Hebrew mother-in-law back to Bethlehem. Maybe you’ve heard of the Philistine, Ittai the Gittite who pledged to fight for King David in David’s time of need. Ruth and Rahab are famous in the Bible, but poor Ittai, few Christians know of his valor. He’s an unlikely Bible hero who needs the spotlight.
I first heard of Ittai in a sermon my husband preached, but Ittai’s fame didn’t catch on. I didn’t hear any more about him until I decided to write his story in Defending David.
Ittai arrives in Jerusalem on the eve of Absalom’s rebellion. The Philistine exile didn’t arrive alone. He had six-hundred fighting men with him along with their families. How did this large caravan of foreigners traipse across Israel without starting a war? That’s a mystery only God knows.
Poor King David was befuddled when his son rebelled and sought to takeover the kingdom. When Ittai pledges his loyalty to David, the king seems to dismiss this gift from God. King David says in II Samuel 15:19-20a:
Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland. You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander about with us, (NIV)
I want to shake King David and say, “Yes!”
Doesn’t David recognize the gift of a mighty commander and his fighting men? The King is scared, hurt, running, and weary. David needs a friend. Even if it’s a Philistine friend.
Similar to Ruth who pledges to stay with her Hebrew mother-in-law Naomi, Ittai pledges to stay and fight for David. Ruth vowed to serve Naomi’s God, the One True God, and it looks like Ittai already knows the One True God. Look at his reply to David in II Samuel 15:21:
As surely as the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be. (NIV)
Way to go, Ittai. Did you catch the capitalization? Ittai refers to God as Lord, and King David as lord. This foreigner gets it right.
When chaos ruled in King David’s life and his throne was in peril, God sent David a faithful friend who could wield a sword and had an army ready to fight. Way to go, God. David had to flee Jerusalem, his palace, and flee for his life. But in all that chaos, God watched over David, and sent him a friend from the most unlikeliest of places.
I hope you enjoy the story of Ittai the Gittite.
(It’s interesting that Ruth, who was a faithful daughter-in-law to Naomi, is the great-grandmother of King David.)
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(1) winner will receive a Defending David Book Box with an autographed copy of Defending David, a CD of harp music, a historic-looking journal, colorful pens, a copy of “Lioness,” and a $25 Amazon gift card, swag!
Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight February 28, 2022 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on March 7, 2022. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. (international winner prize: ebook copies of Defending David and Lioness) Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.
This giveaway is hosted by JustRead Tours, not RimSP
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
What about you? What makes you want to read Defending David by Barbara M Britton?
Sounds like a great book.
Thank you for being part of my blog tour, Rita, and for joining us today.
Please enter me in your giveaway.
Unfortunately, the giveaway page was
blocked my Microsoft Edge.
Hi Janet – maybe try entering on a different browser. We cannot enter for you, unfortunately.
I like the description of the character of Ittai and want to know his story.
Hi Roxanne. I wish we knew more about Ittai, but what we do know is inspiring. Thank you for participating in my blog tour. I appreciate it.
Defending David sounds like a brilliant read and I am looking forward to reading it! Thanks for sharing it with me and have a terrific day!
Thank you for joining us and commenting, Eva. I am happy to have discovered such an interesting person in the Bible. I will never look at Absalom’s rebellion the same way.
This sounds like a great read.
Thank you, Shelly. There are so many intriguing people around David and Absalom. Royalty has their friends and foes. I’m glad you joined us.
Thanks for the chance to win!
Hi Amelia. Thank you for joining us. I had a lot of fun putting the book box together.
The gleam giveaway in this post isn’t working. I just entered a another gleam giveaway on another blog with no problem.
Thank you for sharing. I look forward to reading this story
Thank you for commenting, Tracy. I hope you enjoy “Defending David.”
This book sounds like an excellent book. I’m really looking forward to reading it!
Thanks for supporting my blog tour, Debbie. I enjoyed bringing this Scripture to fiction and highlighting Ittai.
I can’t wait to read this book. It really looks exciting!
Thank you, Erin. I’m glad you joined us. I tried to make it fast paced and exciting. God gave me wonderful people to write about.
Sounds like an incredible read.
Thank you, Jodi. I learned so much writing about David’s hardship in II Samuel 15-19:8, and about the faithful friend God sent to David. It really changed how I looked at Absalom’s rebellion. I’m glad you joined us.
I can’t wait to read this book. It really looks thrilling!
Thank you, Erin. The life of King David never gets boring. I enjoyed discovering a new-to-me Bible character in Ittai.
Sounds like a great book! And, this is a nice prize package!
Thank you ms barb! I had fun putting the prize package together and writing about a faithful friend to King David. I’m glad you joined us.