The book of Ecclesiastes offers clear-eyed realism and stirs us to wrestle with some of the life’s biggest questions. Join Pastor Jim as he shows us how this ancient wisdom book acknowledges the tension of living life with mystery, restlessness, and ennui without trivializing anyone’s lament or cynicism or by offering simplistic, glib, or jejune answers. There is a grand conclusion, and yes, it points to the gospel of Jesus Christ!
5 wisdom books: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs
use of literary devices like simile, metaphor, imagery from nature, proverbs, parables, etc
in which Ecclesiastes presents the musings of a brilliant mind, the struggles of an honest soul, the questions of a curious heart.
“Rather than forcing us to erase or ‘harmonize’ the ambiguities and ‘contradictions,’ biblical wisdom invites us to ponder the nuances and complexities of life; it invites us to become wise.”
Raymond Van Leeuwen, A Complete Literary Guide to the Bible
“The author of Ecclesiastes has taught me that it is folly to suppose that you can plan life and master it, and you will get hurt if you try. You must acknowledge the sovereignty of God and leave the wisdom to him.”
J. I. Packer“The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
“The book of Ecclesiastes is one of God’s gifts to help us live in the real world. It’s a book in the Bible that gets under the radar of our thinking and acts like an incendiary device to explode our make-believe games and jolt us into realizing that everything is not as clean and tidy as the ‘let’s-pretend’ world suggests.” -David Gibson, Destiny
Has a grand conclusion, and yes, it points us to God.
