Thoughts on David. Rabbi Yehuda said in the name of Rabbi Levi that three things came out of David's mouth regarding Saul, and all three were fulfilled. As it is said (1 Samuel 26:10), "As the Lord lives, the Lord shall strike him." And so it was.
Either his day will come and he will die, and so it was. Or he will go down in battle and perish, and so it was, as it is said (1 Samuel 31:6), "So Saul died, and his three sons." Rabbi Elazar said, "By the life of the Lord, I swear to the evil inclination that I will not do this thing." Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said to Avishai ben Tzeruya, "By the life of the Lord, if you touch the blood of the righteous, I will mix your blood with his."
And Saul had a concubine, as it is written (2 Samuel 3:7), "And David took more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem." And you compare yourself to Saul. Saul's feet were as swift as eagles; Rabbi Levi said he could travel sixty miles in one day. Rabbi Simon said "One hundred and twenty," and the rabbis say "One hundred and eighty."
And when was this? When the Ark was captured. This is as it is written (1 Samuel 4:10-11), "And a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair by the side of the road, watching, because his heart feared for the ark of God.
When the man entered the city and told what had happened, the whole city sent up a cry." Just as Saul was compared to the man of Benjamin who ran to Shiloh, so too, a person who goes to a party should not bring his children with him because of appearances. But Saul went to war, and he knew that the judgment of the law would fall upon him, and he brought his children with him. And you say (2 Samuel 21:17), "You shall go out no more with us to battle."
Saul ate non-sacred food in purity, as it is stated (1 Samuel 9:23-24), "The cook took up the thigh and what was attached to it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, 'This is what has been kept for you. Eat, because it was set aside for you for this occasion, from the time I said, "I have invited guests."' And Saul ate with Samuel that day."
Rabbi Yochanan says the thigh and the tail. Rabbi says the thigh and the breast. He ate non-sacred food in purity, and you compare yourself to Saul. This is what the Scripture says (Job 12:16), "With Him is strength and wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are His."
Strength refers to Torah, as it is stated (Psalms 29:11), "The Lord will give strength to His people." Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said, "Why is it called wisdom? Because it gives strength to the body and the eyes." [Alternative: Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Why is it called "Toshiyah" (wisdom or Torah)? Because it weakens (wears down) the strength, the body, and the eyes.]
What is meant by (Job 12:16), "The deceived and the deceiver are His"? Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said, "Prophets and prophetesses." Rabbi Shimon said "Shetia" and the Rabbis said "Sega". If a person makes a mistake in Torah study, the words of Torah correct him.
This is what the verse means when it says, "Even though I have erred, the teaching has not strayed from me" (Job 6:10). It is not enough that the Torah waits for a person during his lifetime, it also waits for him at the moment of his death. David requested "Let my soul be redeemed from distress" (Psalms 25:17). Regarding the words of Kush the Benjamite, Rabbi Chanina bar Papa said, "Just as Joseph's mistress summoned him, as it says, 'Lie with me' (Genesis 39:7), so too did the Holy One, blessed be He, summon him, as it says, 'Come to me, the Hebrew slave' (Genesis 39:17).
Similarly, Saul said, 'My sons have stirred up my servants against me to ambush me' (1 Samuel 22:8). Rabbi Acha said, "But isn't it true that someone who commits an abomination is not punished? So why did David say this about Saul?" It is because he sang a song to God, as it is written, "In the falling of your enemy, do not rejoice" (Proverbs 24:17).