Neither his great achievements in war nor his remarkable good fortune
moved David from his pious ways, or in aught changed his mode of life.
Even after he became king he sat at the feet of his teachers, Ira the
Jairite (78) and Mephibosheth. To the latter he always submitted his
decisions on religious questions, to make sure that they were in
accordance with law. (79) Whatever leisure time his royal duties
afforded him, he spent in study and prayer. He contented himself with
"sixty breaths" of sleep. (80) At midnight the strings of his harp,
(81) which were made of the gut of the ram sacrificed by Abraham on
Mount Moriah, (82) began to vibrate. The sound they emitted awakened
David, and he would arise at once to devote himself to the study of the
Torah. (83)
Besides study, the composition of psalms naturally claimed a goodly
portion of his time. Pride filled his heart when he had completed the
Psalter, and he exclaimed: "O Lord of the world, is there another
creature in the universe who like me proclaims thy praise?" A frog came
up to the king, and said: "Be not so proud; I have composed more psalms
than thou, and, besides, every psalm my mouth has uttered I have
accompanied with three thousand parables." (84) And, truly, if David
indulged in conceit, it was only for a moment. As a rule he was the
exemplar of modesty. The coins which were stamped by him bore a
shepherd's crook and pouch on the obverse, and on the reverse the Tower
of David. (85) In other respects, too, his bearing was humble, as
though he were still the shepherd and not the king. (86)
His great piety invested his prayer with such efficacy that he could
bring things in heaven down to earth. (87) It is natural that so godly
a king should have used the first respite granted by his wars to carry
out his design of erecting a house of worship to God. But in the very
night in which David conceived the plan of building the Temple, God
said to Nathan the prophet: "Hasten to David. I know him to be a man
with whom execution follows fast upon the heels of thought, and I
should not like him to hire laborers for the Temple work, and then,
disappointed, complain of me. I furthermore know him to be a man who
obligates himself by vows to do good deeds, and I desire to spare him
the embarrassment of having to apply to the Sanhedrin for absolution
from his vow." (88)
When David heard Nathan's message for him, he began to tremble, and he
said: "Ah, verily, God hath found me unworthy to erect His sanctuary."
But God replied with these words: "Nay, the blood shed by thee I
consider as sacrificial blood, but I do not care to have thee build the
Temple, because then it would be eternal and indestructible." "But that
would be excellent," said David. Whereupon the reply was vouchsafed
him: "I foresee that Israel will commit sins. I shall wreak My wrath
upon the Temple, and Israel will be saved from annihilation. However,
thy good intentions shall receive their due reward. The Temple, though
it be built by Solomon, shall be called thine." (89)
David's thinking and planning were wholly given to what is good and
noble. He is one of the few pious men over whom the evil inclination
had no power. (90) By nature he was not disposed to commit such
evil-doing as his relation to Bath-sheba involved. God Himself brought
him to his crime, that He might say to other sinners: "Go to David and
learn how to repent." (91) Nor, indeed, may David be charged with gross
murder and adultery. There were extenuating circumstances. In those
days it was customary for warriors to give their wives bills of
divorce, which were to have validity only if the soldier husbands did
not return at the end of the campaign. Uriah having fallen in battle,
Bath-sheba was a regularly divorced woman. As for the death of her
husband, it cannot be laid entirely at David's door, for Uriah had
incurred the death penalty by his refusal to take his ease in his own
house, according to the king's bidding. (92) Moreover, from the first,
Bath-sheba had been destined by God for David, but by way of punishment
for having lightly promised Uriah the Hittite an Israelitish woman to
wife, in return for his aid in unfastening the armor of the prostrate
Goliath, the king had to undergo bitter trials before he won her. (93)
Furthermore, the Bath-sheba episode was a punishment for David's
excessive self-consciousness. He had fairly besought God to lead him
into temptation, that he might give proof of his constancy. It came
about thus: He once complained to God: "O Lord of the world, why do
people say God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, and why not God
of David?" The answer came: "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were tried by
me, but thou hast not yet been proved." David entreated: "Then examine
me, O Lord, and try me." And God said: "I shall prove thee, and I shall
even grant thee what I did not grant the Patriarchs. I shall tell thee
beforehand that thou wilt fall into temptation through a woman."
Once Satan appeared to him in the shape of a bird. David threw a dart
at him. Instead of striking Satan, it glanced off and broke a wicker
screen which hid Bath-sheba combing her hair. The sight of her aroused
passion in the king. (94) David realized his transgression, and for
twenty-two years he was a penitent. Daily he wept a whole hour and ate
his "bread with ashes." (95) But he had to undergo still heavier
penance. For a half-year he suffered with leprosy, and even the
Sanhedrin, which usually was in close personal attendance upon him, had
to leave him. He lived not only in physical, but also in spiritual
isolation, for the Shekinah departed from him during that time. (96)