“What Is To Be Done For Thee”
{ The Shunammite }
Painted by Elspeth Young
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Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee?
The story behind What Is To Be Done For Thee
The moment depicted here, however, is the time before she receives the promise. She is in what appears to be an empty room. The room is as empty as she must have felt without a child of her own. She appears in the dark, but there is warm light just beyond her, waiting to envelope her as soon as she walks toward it. This light within the image, on the other hand, is meant to represent the blessings the Lord has in store for the faithful. As Paul states, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9). The blessing of a child awaits her because she has been so selfless and faithful. It is just beyond the emptiness she currently surveys.
As recounted in 2 Kings chapters 4 and 8, later in her life, the Shunnamite runs straight to the prophet in her sore need at the death of her son and witnesses the miraculous raising of her son from the dead by the Lord's prophet. Later, she heeds the prophet's counsel to leave her home prior to a famine. Upon her return at the famine's end, her lands are restored to her along with all the increase her seven years away would have granted her. These miracles combine to give us a little taste of the "things which God hath prepared for them that love him" if we, like this woman, "run" to the words and counsel of the Lord's prophet in our time of need, and provide a place for his words in our hearts.
Symbolism in What Is To Be Done For Thee
Bibliography
Copyright and terms of use
© By Elspeth Young, All Rights Reserved. You may not print, copy, or reproduce this artwork or make derivative works from it without the prior written consent of the copyright holder. For permissions, please review our FAQ page.From the Newsroom
By Al R. Young
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We have framed our own artworks for more than 30 years, and during that time we have provided a variety of framing services to patrons upon request. For many reasons—including constant changes in the availability of moulding styles—we cannot offer off-the-shelf framing options or response times typically associated with such a service. Of necessity, all of our framing projects are aproached, priced, and billed as constuling projects... Read more »
Tags: Into The West, Spring Rain, North Country, The Grey Havens, Journey's End, Looking Back, Enchanted Stillness, Bedtime Story, In The High Valley, The Daydream, Before The Ball, Old Shannon, Pavane, Sweet Brier, Legend, Mountain Home, And I...
By Al R. Young The 2010 Calendar: Women of the Old Testament, published by Deseret Book, featured 13 original oil paintings by Elspeth Young. All of the paintings are part of Al Young Studios' Women of the Bible Fine Art Collection.
Commentaries (in the calendar) accompanying each painting provide a reference passage from the Bible, a summary of the character featured in the painting, and an artist's commentary concerning the painting itself. The calendar also features a biographical sketch about the artist and a list of research sources that figured in the artist's work... Read more »
Tags: The Protector, By The River's Brink, What Is To Be Done For Thee, Charity Never Faileth, A Lamp Unto My Feet, Is Anything Too Hard For The Lord, Treasure The Word, The Daughters Of Zelophehad, The Struggle Within, For Such A Time As This,
By Al R. Young Women of the Old Testament by Camille Fronk Olson is the companion volume to Women of the New Testament, published by Deseret Book in 2014.
The Old Testament volume features fifty six illustrations from the Artists of Al Young Studios, listed here under the Studios' fine art collections and portfolios to which they belong.
From the Women of the Bible Fine Art CollectionFull-color details (cropped images) from the following 17 paintings appeared in the book (in the order in which they appear here)... Read more »
Tags: The Mother Of All Living, The Joy Of Our Redemption, The Protector, Blessed, By The River's Brink, What Is To Be Done For Thee, Charity Never Faileth, A Lamp Unto My Feet, Is Anything Too Hard For The Lord, God Liveth And Seeth Me, Treasure...
By Al R. Young
High-resolution digital copies are available from the Studios for use as illustrations. Use the serial number—appearing below the thumbnail—in requesting permission from the Studios (see links at the bottom of this page for detail).
The correct form of attribution when publishing an image is specified in the license agreement issued to the publisher by Al Young Studios.Guidelines for requests to copy or publish artworks created by the Artists of Al Young Studios
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The original image is available for sale, please contact us for details... Read more »
Tags: What Is To Be Done For Thee, 2005, People and Stories of the Bible
By Al R. Young What Is To Be Done For Thee is the newest oil painting to be added to the line of original artworks from Al Young Studios.
Click here to see a larger image of the new painting, read the artist's commentary, and look at the selection of prints--if any are available.... Read more »
Tags: What Is To Be Done For Thee, 2005, Elspeth C. Young, Legacy, News, Oil paintings and prints, Women of the Bible Art Collection