Chosen, Rejected, and Brought Near - Aaron, Saul, and David

"And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest" etc. (1 Samuel 2:28). "Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest and bringest near" (Psalms 65:5) — happy is he who attaches himself to Him; happy is he who attaches himself to Him, and He brings him near. A noblewoman asked Rabbi Yose. She said to him: Whom does your God desire? — He brings near. He brought before her a basket of figs, and she kept picking out the good ones, picking them and eating them. He said to her: You know how to pick out, yet the Holy One, blessed be He, does not know how to pick out? The one whose deeds He sees to be good, him He chooses and brings near. Rabbi Menachma in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Rav Yitzchak: Not everyone who is near is near, and not everyone who is far is far. There is one who is chosen and rejected and brought near; there is one who is chosen and rejected and not brought near. Aaron was chosen — "And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest" (1 Samuel 2:28); and rejected — "And the LORD was very angry with Aaron" (Deuteronomy 9:20); and brought near — "And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother" (Exodus 28:1). Saul was chosen — "See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen" (1 Samuel 10:24); and rejected — "It repenteth Me that I have set up Saul as king" etc. (ibid. 15:11); and not brought near — "And I have rejected him from reigning over Israel" etc. (ibid. 16:1). David was chosen — "And He chose David His servant" (Psalms 78:70); and rejected — "And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and they stood in a place that was far off" (2 Samuel 15:17). Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: They placed him under a ban, yet even so he accepted his ban upon himself. This is what is written: "And David went up by the ascent of the Mount of Olives, going up and weeping, and his head was covered" (2 Samuel 15:30). And brought near — Rabbi Yudan said: Ira the Jairite was David's teacher, and he brought him near. This is what David says: "Let those that fear Thee return unto me, and those that know Thy testimonies" (Psalms 119:79) — "and they shall know" (vi-yadʿu) is written [the form invites the reading "and they shall know," that they may learn] — this is Ira the Jairite, who was his teacher, and he brought him near.