Samson and Delilah

Richard H. Love Samson and Delilah, 2005 Oil on Canvas 36 x 48 Inches Signed Verso

This picture is intended to serve as a story from Judges 16 in the Old Testament in the Bible....by that is intended as a lesson about trust and repaying sin's wages in life: "Then went Samsoto Gaza'.... and it was told the Gazites saying, Samson is come hither.And the story continues: He (Samson) loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek...her name was Delilah. Then the lords of the Philistines came to her and asked her to entice him, but first he would have to learn where and how he had so much strength. So she asked him and he told her that if she bound him with new ropes and pretended to sleep. And if she would shave the seven locks of his hair then he would be powerless. So she did all that he explained and he became weak. Then the enemy consorted with her and took him away and blinded him. But his hair began to grow again and his strength returned so that he was taken out of prison and they were very happy and praised God. Then he asked the Philistines to allow him to stand between the pillars of their building. They did that and he pushed with both arms until the structure collapsed upon his enemies. The perceived weakness of Delilah clashes with the same human frailty, whereby each learn a lesson.