The Book of Song of Solomon with illustrations and commentary by Aleona Isakova
 
Hard cover, 8,5''x11'' size
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Foreword from Aleona Isakova:
I did not choose "Song of Songs". The book itself chose me. God wants to reach our heart. He sings a song of love to us, which stirs the very depths of our Spirit. This song embarrasses our mind submerged in routine; it fills your soul with a sweet anguish, nostalgia for heaven. It is our heart’s longing for true love and beauty—a desire to merge with Him, who is the only one able to fully accept and love us. Except for God, there is nothing in heaven or on earth that can quench this thirst.
 
I draw clothes. I sketch the faces on purpose. They look like colorful dresses for paper dolls. I draw clothes that express the condition of our soul – the Soul loved by the Lord. I draw dresses reflecting what is inside, robes with which the Lord clothes us. The faces are sketchy, and you can imagine yourself as the Bride. I do not dare to portray the face of the Lord; it is kept in our spirits.
 
God dresses us in His glory. One day our eyes will open and we will see the beauty of the heavenly world. And so, I draw what my heart sees when I read the Scriptures.
 
I try to draw the garments of Christ. He is clothed in glory and in suffering.  There is a special symbolism of colors and ornamentation: red for redemption, blue for grace, green for life, white and silver for purity and righteousness, golden for glory. The pomegranate fruit is the symbol of love and unity.  Stars are the symbol of heaven; a ship is a symbol of movement and adventure; birds symbolize dreams; flowers symbolize hope; fruits—maturity and the vineyard –the church.  Olive branches symbolize reconciliation and the Good News.
 
My great desire is for my illustrations to this biblical book to help someone else understand what was revealed to me in reading the Bible:  God is everywhere.  God talks to us through the world that surrounds us, but we seldom hear Him. He whispers to us about His love through the beauty of nature, but we do not notice Him. Through pain and suffering, He cries out to us that He has redeemed us from the curse of sin and death, but we go on without hearing His voice. We have hardened our hearts because we are afraid of His interference.  We think that God is bad, that He does not care about our hearts.  However, He has already proved that He loves us – He died for us on the cross of Golgotha. He took all our sins and curses. He is our redeemer.
 
We have arranged a place for Him in our culture, a special corner in the altar of beautiful temples; we come there from time to time with a weak hope for His help. We just cannot realize all His passion for our perishing souls, His unshared love that like an unbridled disaster sweeps all the obstacles in its way – sin, satan, curse, space and time, everything except a little door – a door to your heart, which only you can open.
Aleona Isakova
 
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”
(Revel.3:20)