Hello everyone, I hope that you are all doing good, despite the difficult times we’re living in!
I’m deeply grateful to my Lord, Maker and Savior, Jesus-Christ of Nazareth to share with you a new piece of work called « Samson’s Final Triumph ». More than a month ago, I was reading in The Bible, the book of Judges. Within that book, you find the story of a Hero called Samson, known to have an immense physical strength. His life is extremely powerful and contrasted, and ends with a triumphal tragedy.
To resume you the story briefly. God delivered the Hebrews from Egyptians Bondage through Moses. Later, God — after having established His Covenant (The Law) with the people — established them in the land of Israel. Sadly, after living in the Promised Land for some years, they quickly abandoned God’s Alliance and started to worship other gods, and did evil. Because of this, God allowed their enemies to rule over them. In our present story, the enemy were « The Philistines». An ancient people no longer existing. The Scriptures says:
« Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years. » — Book of Judges 13
As the Hebrews were suffering greatly because of the Philistines, they started to repent and cry out to God for mercy and help. God, full of compassion decided to help them and sent them a man by the name of Samson. His coming was very special, and this from his very birth.
An angel of God, through a man’s appearance, came to his mother and announce that she was about to become pregnant. She would need to follow a special diet, as the child was already consecrated to God. In that diet, she would not be allowed to drink any type of wine nor alcohol, nor to eat any unclean type of food. Why? Because Samson was already under a special covenant vow. This vow is found is the law of Moses, and is called : The Nazarite Vow.
It says that when a person wants to consecrate to God fully — whatever the period of time — that person isn’t allowed to drink alcohol nor to eat unclean food. Also, the key point, I would love for you to remember, is this: To let grow your hair and never cut them off.
« The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” » — Book of Judges 13, verse 3.
Samson grew and became immensely strong. Physically strong. To a point that he was able to defeat armies alone. The Bible teaches that the phenomenal force increase was because of his hair, symbolising his calling and relationship with God. He started to defeat the philistines greatly. The philistines were astonished at his force and were wondering from where it came from. Samson never revealed anyone its secret.
Not only Samson was immensely strong, but was profoundly tender and loving. Sadly, he showed love and tenderness to the wrong persons. And this caused him to make harmful choices. He fell in love with multiple foreign women. Women that weren’t from Israel, especially from his faith. They were all from the Philistines. And sadly, not any of those foreign women loved him.
The last one — paid by the political sphere of the Philistines, tricked him, fainting to love him, to know the secret of his force. And came the day Samson revealed it to her. She cut off Samson’s hair, and then, Samson became weak. The Philistines attacked and captured him, pierced his two eyes and put him into their prison. A certain period of time passed, and Samson’s hair grew back. His force came back. One day, the Philistines were celebrating their false god and, in the desire to humiliate Samson, they took him from the prison and asked him to « amuse them ». It was in their temple. It was full of people.
“How can you say, ‘I love you,’ ” she asked, “when your heart is not with me? This is the third time you have mocked me and failed to reveal to me the source of your great strength!”
Finally, after she had pressed him daily with her words and pleaded until he was sick to death, Samson told her all that was in his heart: “My hair has never been cut, because I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I will become as weak as any other man.”
When Delilah realized that he had revealed to her all that was in his heart, she sent this message to the lords of the Philistines: “Come up once more, for he has revealed to me all that is in his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came to her, bringing the money in their hands.
And having lulled him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his head. In this way she began to subdue him,d and his strength left him. Then she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!”
When Samson awoke from his sleep, he thought, “I will escape as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.
Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze shackles and forced to grind grain in the prison.
However, the hair of his head began to grow back after it had been shaved.
— Book of Judges, chapter 16
Samson, asked God to avenge him for his two eyes. He was in the middle of two columns. With all of God’s might, he pressed them so hard that the temple fell in itself, killing all the philistines and… Samson!
«Then Samson called to the LORD, saying, “O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!”» Judges 16:28
We will look into both points, but before to go further, even though my music has Biblical contemplations — it is very important for me to tell you that it is for everyone, both believer and unbelievers. Everyone is welcome! If you don’t know God personally yet, and want to know him, I encourage to read until the end!
Going back to the moral application, of Samson’s story. First of all, we aren’t better than Samson. We are all subject to the same fragility, but God will help us to live right and make the right choices. We often remember Samson’s mistakes, but we too often forget that He conducted Israel for 20 years. Those years were morally good years. It says a lot on what kind of a leader he was.
First moral lesson: Not to date someone foreign from your faith.
I put a disclaimer here, that kind of statement can sound very harsh to today’s age! Of course that they are couples that love each other, even if one of the people is an unbeliever. The Bible even acknowledge this here, and encourage the healthy couple to stay together: The moral lesson does not disregard this. But God’s plan for you and me, is to find someone that have the same faith, and a genuine love of Christ Jesus. That is God initial plan. If you’re single, be patient, and search to honor God with your life, because God will honor you and bless you in the right time.
Second moral lesson: Never be overconfident with God’s Gift to you. God will bless you with many gifts, but He wants you to use them very well, and for Him and His Glory, for His Sake. Samson’s gift was a tremendous force to defend His people, it was a serving gift. He was so confident of it that he started to play with fire, with the enemies of God. How can we apply this in our every day’s lives? Don’t mix yourself with worldy things and don’t use your gifts in the wrong manner. Avoid dangerous places and people, that can ruin your life and your calling. Love everyone, but Live holy!
If you want to know God personally and be saved, I will try to make it very simple. Jesus says that God exists, and that God’s Essence is constituted of two moral pillars. The first pillar is Holiness. God is pure, just and holy. Meaning that He cannot tolerate evil and will punish it. If God does not punish evil, He isn’t Just. Because of His Nature, He is due to destroy it. The problem is, you and I have done our parts of evil already. Before such Holy God, we cannot escape His Ultimate Justice, even one little sin needs to be punished. Have we lied? Have we cheated? Have we blasphemed? Have we idolized? Have we hated? Have we stolen? Let’s introspect ourself to find our own sins and mistakes. If you and I die tonight and face God, to give an account of our life on earth, will we be guilty before Him or just? Guilty, our sins are blocking the way for Eternity and the coming Life, far more better than this one. How can we do to be justified?
The second pillar of God’s Nature, according to Jesus Christ, is Mercy. God knows that you and I are imperfect creatures. He knows that we are weak. God loved you and me so much that He thought of a Legal way to save you from paying the prices of your sins. Instead of you dying and going to perdition, God came down on earth, created for Himself a human body, lived a morally perfect life (the one we should have lived), suffered and died in your place. Instead of punishing you for your mistakes and sins, God punished Himself. He became The Substitute. While Jesus was on the Cross, all of your sins and mistakes were absorbed in His Body. When Jesus died on the Cross, your and my sins died in His body too. When Jesus resurrected, He proved who He claimed to be all along. God Almighty.
Jesus says that, if you sincerely and personally believe in Him, from your heart — believing that Jesus died at your place, taking the punishment of your sins, and rose from the deads, you are now a saved human being. You believed God’s Gifts to you. God sees you clean. The Blood of Jesus Christ is so powerful, that it literally destroys sins. God gives you a new and fresh start. And when you will leave this earth, you will even bypass God’s Judgement. You won’t have to respond from your sins because you believe that the Love of God destroyed them all in His Body, at The Cross, to save you.
If you want to accept Jesus-Christ into your heart, find a quiet place, and says this:
Dear Jesus,
I don’t know you personally. I have heard aboutyou, but I don’t know you. I have learned that you came on earth for me. You came because you loved me so much, you did not want me to die and be separated for you.
I believe that you took upon yourself my sins, mistakes and error, and that, instead of having to respond one day for them, you paid the ultimate price, you responded at my place. I believe that you resurrected from the deads, proving that you’re God.
I confess you all my sins and wrongdoings. Please, come into my heart, save me and fill me with your Holy Spirit. Help me turn my back on evilness and open my heart and spirit to goodness and to what is pleasing you. Change me, heal me!
I ask this in Jesus Name, Amen.
If you want to know more about being saved, I have written a music and aN article about it here : Are You Saved?
The Making Of The Artworks
To tell you about the background story regarding the artworks for Samson’s music, I was scrolling on divergent websites to buy a piece of art to illustrate it. I researched days for a decent piece of work and found nothing that reached my heart! I contacted artist friends of mine, and they kindly responded, above my expectations! One of them was Adriana Line, an artist based in France. By God’s Grace, she saved the day and accepted to design two artworks for the music, 100 by hand. I take the occasion to invite you, friends, to discover her universe and incredibly kind heart. We talked about Samson a lot, and she truly understood my desire! Adriana shared with me that she is on her spiritual journey, and it was a true pleasure to hear her in her research of God! If you have in heart to pray for her, it would be so kind of you! That Christ would reveal Himself and His Love for Her!
Hi Adriana, could you present yourself and your work?
— I’m passionate about art in general, and like to experiment and dabble in several artistic fields, such as illustration, which I’ve been experimenting with since I was five. I like to bring suggestion and subtlety into my work in general, in the composition of several elements by making them more or less striking. I draw what moves me, what speaks to me and resonates. I’m concerned with every detail, and for several years now, I’ve been on an absolute quest for harmony and balance between full and empty, while striving to get to the heart of the matter. I find this a challenge for each of my illustrations, and a real strength that goes beyond aesthetics. There’s a quest for meaning, for different levels of reading, just like a book, which appears frozen because we perceive it as an object, but which nonetheless lives and revives itself at each period of our lives, according to our emotional state and our personal evolution. The real challenge is to make this illustration alive, vibrant and tireless. I draw mainly in black and white, and like to use a whole palette of screens like a color palette, except that I create the texture and matter with a micropoint pen. Recently, I’ve been experimenting with color, which I’m trying to tame to suit my world.
Why did you decide to do a second artwork for the story of Samson?
— It was when I was doing the first illustration that I realized I had to redo one that was more in keeping with my world. The first illustration is very good, only I couldn’t find 100% of myself in it; it lacked the subtlety I’m striving to find. The illustration itself is very figurative and effective, so there’s no risk involved. But do we have to use figurative art to communicate an idea? There are other ways of making a point that are just as powerful, if not more so. For me, Samson’s face made of stone, imprisoned, is even more powerful than Samson in action. He becomes the statue that inevitably cracks. He is swallowed up by the remains of the temple and the statues he destroyed with his strength, leaving his life behind. So we might as well get to the heart of the matter and bring a more synthetic and subtle reading, for by being this cracked statue, he embodies, in a way, the end of the Philistines’ reign of pagan idolatry. This inspiration resonated with me as a matter of course, and I was perfectly aligned artistically with this vision, which flowed naturally and allowed me to find myself in this illustration. However, I find both illustrations interesting in their own way, because the aim with a story like Samson’s is of course to share it, to have it speak to a majority of people according to their sensibilities, so ultimately whether they’re figurative or subtle, it really doesn’t matter, because there’s no absolute truth.
What touched you in this story?
— The story itself is touching in its entirety, because ultimately, I think everyone can identify with Samson in some way, I don’t mean in his superhuman strength, but more in his vulnerability. Despite his strength, Samson showed love, naivety and innocence towards a person who didn’t necessarily mean him any good. I found this aspect of his story very touching, and I think that having a good heart isn’t always enough if you’re not discerning about certain situations. In this case, he wanted to believe in human beings when he put his trust in Delilah, because he was blinded by love (which made him blind for real!), forgetting that she was part of the enemy people. By losing his rationality, he distanced himself from God in spite of himself, wanting to believe this woman he loved. And that proved fatal! What’s touching is his transparency and the sincerity of his Love for her, one-sided. Even if it could be perceived as naiveté, his heart was straight and sincere. I find it all the more touching. This fundamentally questions us about the Love of others and our way of loving, knowing that trust is a pillar and that Love should logically transcend all prejudice in the Absolute… It also questions us about our posture and the strength, the sincerity of our commitment. All the more so these days, when our era is governed by contempt for class, gender and beliefs. It’s a real strength to keep this goodness within us and to keep faith in human beings and in Love in all its purity, despite what it may sometimes cost. Without turning away from GOD, who is the only one who can fill us with his absolute Love, not sullied by the vice and suffering that prevent hearts in pain from truly loving. After all, Jesus stood for love and peace. He believed in the best in each of us, or he wouldn’t have crucified himself to save us. I could have touched on Delilah’s betrayal in the illustrations, but I chose to illustrate the destruction of the temple, the loss of her sight (which can symbolically be seen as straying from God’s path) and the fall of the Philistines as relevant and telling elements.
Could you shed some lights on the details of your drawings to comprehend what you wanted to convey?
In the first illustration, I created a composition of several elements, trying to harmonize them as much as possible. I wanted the eye to focus on what was happening in the center. A Samson deploying his strength to exterminate both the lion and the temple, killing two birds with one stone! I didn’t make the lion too imposing, but rather as a reference to the story and a powerful symbol of Samson’s strength. The third level of reading is equally powerful, as we find the man beyond his strength in his greatest vulnerability. He is praying to God, blindfolded and stained with blood, subtly symbolizing the loss of his sight, which may lead to a different narrative for the illustration: Samson, praying, regaining his former energy and strength, roaring like a lion to destroy the temple. That’s why I’ve made sure to suggest the regrowth of his hair, a symbol of his legendary strength. It’s up to you to interpret and read it as you wish.
For the second illustration, I brought in fewer elements, but more subtlety.
Samson’s face is made of destroyed and cracked stones, symbolizing the prison of the temple in which he left his life and which he destroyed. In a way, he embodies the end of the Philistines’ reign and their idolatry of statues. Samson then becomes a statue symbolizing the enemy who led them to their end! A beautiful irony! I’ve decided to leave a bit of Samson’s face visible, especially his glassy, sparkling eyes, pleading with God. It suggests this part of his humanity, which I think is a real strength of the illustration, as it makes it even more poignant and truly represents the end of his life. That’s why I insisted on that glassy stare, which I don’t think leaves anyone unmoved. Of course, I suggested Samson, who is swallowed up by the stones, because for me it’s an important detail. Looking back, I don’t know if it would have made much difference to the strength of the illustration. The approach would have been even more abstract, but the illustration still had to resonate with a majority of people.
About the construction of the music:
There are two themes. One of them, the first one, represents Samson’s force and battle, and the second one, the chorus, represents his fall and rise. The notes are descending, and re-scaling and descending again, symbolising his fall and rise.
Efisio Cross 