“Then Nathan said to David: ‘You are the man!’ ” Thus the prophet Nathan rebuked David for his adultery with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:7).
When Bill and Hillary Clinton visited Florence in the days before he was president, they naturally went to see Michelangelo’s David, probably the most famous statue in the world.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ed Yoder and his psychotherapist wife, Jane, were among those with them. (Ed and Bill had both been Rhodes Scholars at Oxford.) The Yoders recently recalled their visit to Florence and shared some “intimate memories.”1 Jane remembered that Bill had told her that he had been “profoundly affected” by the statue of David.
Clinton, she observed, seemed to have knowledge and enthusiasm for Bible stories. She and Clinton agreed that David might be viewed as an archetype of the “Flawed King”—“a Hebrew man-god who, despite his flaws, became a great leader of his people.” They talked about Bathsheba and the prophet Nathan, who became David’s accuser.
When he was running for president, Clinton revealed to Ed that Jennifer Flowers had called him, demanding money to keep quiet. Jane describes Clinton as a risk taker who was “occasionally overzealous with the opposite sex … Brains are sometimes wired this way.” But today Clinton is “perhaps the most admired political figure in the country.”
When Kenneth Starr was investigating the Monica Lewinsky affair, Jane Yoder wrote Clinton a note:
“You and Hillary have been much on our minds in recent months. Ed and I remember the time … in Florence … We talked about our first impressions of Michelangelo’s David. We said tears sprang to our eyes, and the statue seemed like such a perfect symbol of kingship. King David was not perfect. Ask the prophet Nathan. Nevertheless, after a period of contrition, and mourning, David continued to serve his country, and to serve it well.”
The president responded: “I have thought often of David and Nathan.”
“Then Nathan said to David: ‘You are the man!’ ” Thus the prophet Nathan rebuked David for his adultery with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:7).
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