Series: Ecclesiastes
Sermon #38:
Years to Rejoice — Days to Remember
Ecclesiastes
11:7-8
[Audio file from Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/Ecclesiastes117-8.]
7 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant
thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun: 8 But if a man live many
years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for
they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.
Outline:
I. Years to Rejoice (11:7)
II. Days to Remember (11:8)
I. Years to Rejoice (11:7)
Truly
the light is sweet,
and
a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun:
The emphasis here is on the modifying adjectives:
“…sweet….pleasant…”
“sweet”[1] trans.
“pleasant” by NASB
“pleasant”[2] trans.
“good” by NASB and YLT
“1268c מָתוֹק (mātôq)
sweet, sweetness.
1268d מַמְתַּקִּים (mamtaqqîm) sweetness (Neh
8:10: Song 5:16).
A stative verb (on the pattern of qāṭōn “be small”) appearing
eight times in the OT, all in the Qal stem except for Job 20:12, “If evil gives
a sweet taste in his mouth” and Ps 55:14 [H 15], “We used to take sweet counsel
together.” Both are Hiphil.
The precise definition of this root is seen in its frequent
juxtaposition, for purposes of contrast. to one of the Hebrew words for honey
or honeycomb. something quite palatable. Thus Ps 19:10 [H 11] asserts God’s
judgments are “sweeter than honey (dĕbaš) and the honey that drips from the
comb (nōpet ṣûpîm).” A similar idea is expressed in Ps 119:103, although the
word there for “sweet” is the verb mālaṣ “he smooth, agreeable.” In response to
Samson’s riddle the people say, “What is sweeter than honey?” Ezekiel (3:3)
says God’s word was to him “as honey for sweetness” (cf. Rev 10:10). Kindred
ideas are found in Prov 16:24; 24:13.
It should be recalled that honey (dĕbaš) in the OT not only refers
to bee’s honey but also to date syrup. There are at least two references,
however, to bee’s honey: (1) Samson in Jud 14:8ff.: (2) Jonathan in I Sam
14:24–30. Along with leaven it was banned in the burnt offering (Lev 2:11). Naturally, its
quality of sweetness caused it to be used figuratively for gracious and
pleasant things including God’s Word (Ps 19:10 [H 11]), the wisdom of the Torah
(Prov 24:13), and the speech of a friend (Prov 16:24).
Waters also might be sweet (Ex 15:25; Prov 9:17): the lack of
insomnia (Eccl
5:12 [H 11]); the fruit of an apple tree (Song 2:3); the light of
day (Eccl 7:11).”
— V. P. Hamilton, “1268 מָתֹק,” in Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament,
eds. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., and B. K. Waltke (Chicago: Moody, (1999), pp.
537-538.
Note: You cannot really “behold the sun.” It is not literally “a
pleasant thing…for the eyes to behold the sun.” That is because you cannot look
directly at the sun without doing damage to your eyes.
“Never look directly at the sun.
Looking directly at the sun at any time, including during an eclipse, can lead
to solar retinopathy, which is damage to the eye's retina from solar radiation.”
— David Turbert, “The Sun, UV
Radiation and Your Eyes” (28 AUG 2014), on American
Academy of Ophthalmology at http://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/sun
[accessed 5 AUG 2016].
That being the case, what is the point? It is actually the light
of day, lightened by the sun, that is being described as pleasant, just as the
initial clause simply describes light as sweet. It is sunlight that is here
presented as a pleasant sight for the eyes. Sunshine and sunny days are sweet
compared to the alternatives.
Eccl. 6:1-6 — 1 There is an evil which I have seen
under the sun, and it is common among men: 2 A man to whom God hath
given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of
all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger
eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease. 3 If a man
beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years
be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial;
I say, that an untimely birth is better than he. 4 For
he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be
covered with darkness. 5 Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor
known any thing: this hath more rest than the other. 6
Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do
not all go to one place?
Eccl. 7:11 — Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there
is profit to them that see the sun.
******************************************************************************
Jackie Gleason, “How sweet it is!”
James Bacon, How Sweet It
Is: The Jackie Gleason Story (St. Martins, 1986).
“In 1962, he resurrected his variety show. He also added another
catchphrase to the American vernacular: "How sweet it is!" (he first
uttered the phrase in the 1962 film Papa's Delicate Condition).
Since the Honeymooners was much ealier [sic] than that (51-55) it
safe to say he never used the line on that show.
He was also fond of saying AND AWAY WE GO
It's carved on his grave.”
Source: Yahoo Answers at
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080527064024AAvqJrL
[accessed 5 AUG 2016]. See also Find A
Grave at http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pif&GRid=1596&PIgrid=1596&PIcrid=72416&ShowCemPhotos=Y&
[accessed 5 AUG 2016].
******************************************************************************
“Sunny days keepin' the clouds away
I think we're coming to a clearing
and a brighter day
So far away. Still I think they say
The wait will make the heart grow
stronger or fonder”
— Jars of Clay, “Sunny Days;” written
by Charlie Lowell, Dan Haseltine, Matt Odmark, Stephen Daniel Mason (Universal
Music Publishing Group, 2003); on Google
Play Music at https://play.google.com/music/preview/T5mkyq4ygulvxnkz6e67unsqzyu?lyrics=1&pcampaignid=kp-lyrics&u=0#
[accessed 5 AUG 2016].
II. Days to Remember (11:8)
But
if a man live many years,
and
rejoice in them all;
yet
let him remember the days of darkness;
for
they shall be many.
All
that cometh is vanity.
The emphasis in this verse may lie in the repetition of
“many”: “…many years….they shall be many…”
Many years of life including many days of darkness.
“Good Times, Bad Times, you know I've had my share”
— “Good Times, Bad Times,” by Jimmy Page, John Paul
Jones, and John Bonham (1969); on Led
Zeppelin (1969); see AZ Lyrics at
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/ledzeppelin/goodtimesbadtimes.html
[accessed 5 AUG 2016]; and Wikipedia
at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Times_Bad_Times
[accessed 5 AUG 2016].
Why are we not counseled by God in His Word to remember
the good times?
Or, to put it another way:
Why is the injunction to “remember the days of darkness”?
Many seem to assume that this is a call to contemplate
the death that awaits us in the future.
E.g., Tremper
Longman III, The Book of Ecclesiastes,
New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1998), pg. 260; cited by Philip Graham Ryken, Ecclesiastes: Why Everything Matters, in Preaching the Word, gen.
ed. R. Kent Hughes (Wheaton: Crossway, 2010):
“Some commentators think the
Preacher is confused here, that he is “giving the contradictory advice that his
reader should both enjoy life but also remember that he is going to die.” This
is not confusion but clarity.”
For examples, see the following comments and notes:
“In the first part (11:7–8) Solomon
called for enjoyment of life in view of the darkness of death.”
“Solomon wrote metaphorically of
light and darkness as figures of life (cf. Job 3:20; 33:30) and death (cf. Ecc.
6:4–5; Job 10:20–22; 18:18)….Solomon encouraged his readers to enjoy life as
long as they live because life, like the pleasant light of the sun, should be
enjoyed before the coming of the dark night of death which will last forever.
The words, the days of darkness … will be many, is an intentional
understatement (cf. 12:5 where the grave is called one’s “eternal home”; also
cf. Job 7:9; 14:10–12).”
— Donald R. Glenn, “Ecclesiastes,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An
Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. J. F. Walvoord, and R. B. Zuck, 2 vols.
(Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1985), I:1003.
“I. He applies himself to the aged,
writes to them as fathers, to awaken them to think of death, v. 7, 8.”
“2. A caution to think of death,
even in the midst of life, and of life when it is most sweet and we are most
apt to forget death…” But who are those that live many years and rejoice in
them all? Alas! none; we have but hours of joy for months of sorrow.”
“Note, [1.] There are days of
darkness coming, the days of our lying in the grave; there the body will lie in
the dark; there the eyes see not, the sun shines not. The darkness of death is
opposed to the light of life; the grave is a land of darkness, Job 10:21. [2.]
Those days of darkness will be many; the days of our lying under ground will be
more than the days of our living above ground.”
— Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s
Commentary On The Whole Bible: Complete And Unabridged In One Volume (Peabody:
Hendrickson, 1994), pg. 1053.
“light…darkness refers to the
contrast between life and death.”
— ESV Study Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008), pg. 1208, note on Eccl. 11:7-8.
This is understandable, but wrong. In some contexts
“darkness” certainly would be interpreted as signifying death. Remember
Eccl. 6:1-6 —
1
There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: 2
A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth
nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to
eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil
disease. 3 If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years,
so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good,
and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than
he. 4 For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and
his name shall be covered with darkness. 5 Moreover he hath not seen
the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other. 6
Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do
not all go to one place?
Ps. 23:4 — Yea, though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod
and thy staff they comfort me.
Job 10:22 — Before I go whence I shall not return, even
to the land of
darkness and the shadow of death;
Job 15:23 — He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where
is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness
is ready at his hand.
Jer. 13:16 — Give glory to the LORD your God, before he
cause darkness,
and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light,
he turn it into the
shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.
The Day of the Lord:
Joel 2:1-2 — 1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an
alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the
day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of
thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great
people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any
more after it, even to the years of many generations.
But not here! No! Consider the context!
1) years vs. days
2) singular vs. plural
3) light vs. darkness
4) Remember what is past vs.
consider what is future
Perhaps the answer to this question is only possible if
we correctly understand the answer to another related question.
What are “days of darkness”?
What are “days of darkness” when considered “under the
sun”?
What are “days of darkness” when considered “under
heaven”?
Now let us ask the question again:
Why are we not counseled by God in His Word to remember
the good times?
Or, to put it another way: Why is the injunction to
“remember the days of darkness”?
Eccl. 7:14 — In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in
the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the
other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.
John MacArthur gets it!
“11:7 light. Good times in contrast to
“darkness” (v. 8), meaning bad times. Cf. 12:1.”
— John
MacArthur, MacArthur Study Bible,
rev. ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997), pg. 938, note on Eccl. 11:7.
Philip Ryken gets it also:
“…we will taste what is bitter in
life as well as what is sweet. Sooner or later we will suffer loss, disappointment,
injustice, and grief.”
“Ecclesiastes give us a realistic
view of life that is joyful about its happy pleasures while at the same time
sober about its many sorrows. The book steadfastly refuses to show us anything
less than the whole of life as it actually is.”
— Philip Graham Ryken, Ecclesiastes: Why Everything Matters, in
Preaching the Word, gen. ed. R. Kent Hughes (Wheaton: Crossway, 2010).
Trace the theme of joy and enjoyment throughout
Qoheleth’s book! Also notice where we are counseled to “remember”!
Eccl. 2:22-26 —22 For what hath man of all his labour,
and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun? 23
For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not
rest in the night. This is also vanity. 24
There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that
he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of
God. 25 For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than
I? 26 For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and
knowledge, and joy:
but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give
to him that is good before God. This
also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
Eccl. 7:14 — In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in
the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the
other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.
Eccl. 9:7 — Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart;
for God now accepteth thy works.
Eccl. 12:1-7 — 1 Remember now thy Creator in the days
of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh,
when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; 2 While the sun, or
the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return
after the rain: 3 In the day when the keepers of the
house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders
cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,
4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the
grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the
daughters of musick shall be brought low; 5 Also when they shall be
afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond
tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall
fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the
streets: 6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be
broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the
cistern. 7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and
the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
"....Joseph's extreme sufferings were not
immediately alleviated. The Lord purposely suffered him to be reduced to
extremity, that he might bring him back as from the grave. We know that as the
light of the sun is most clearly seen when we are looking from a dark place;
so, in the darkness of our miseries, the grace of God shines more brightly
when, beyond expectation, he succors us."
— John Calvin, Commentaries
on the First Book of Moses Called Genesis, 2 vols., trans. John King, s.v. Gen. 39:21; on Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom02.xvii.i.html
[accessed 9 SEP 2016]; and on Christianity.com
at http://www.christianity.com/bible/commentary.php?com=clvn&b=1&c=39
[accessed 9 SEP 2016].
[Sermon preached 7 AUG 2016 by Pastor John T. “Jack”
Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]
Complete Outline:
I. Years to Rejoice (11:7)
II. Days to Remember (11:8)
Select Sources on Ecclesiastes:
J. Sidlow Baxter, Explore The Book: A Basic and Broadly
Interpretive Course of Bible Study from Genesis to Revelation, 6 vols. in 1
ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, n.d., 1960 printing).
William D. Barrick, Ecclesiastes:
The Philippians of the Old Testament, Focus on the Bible series
(Fearn, Ross-Shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2012). Barrick’s lecture notes (PDF files) and audio (mp3) are
on Dr Barrick
at http://drbarrick.org/teaching/ecclesiastes/ [accessed 3 FEB 2016].
Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Ecclesiastes
(New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1860); on Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/expositionofbook00bridrich [accessed 11 MAY 2015]; on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=e4kOAQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 11 MAY 2015]; and linked on Precept Austin at http://preceptaustin.org/proverbs_commentaries.htm#cb [accessed 11 MAY 2015].
C. Hassell Bullock, An
Introduction to the Old Testament Poetic Books: The Wisdom and Songs of Israel
(Chicago: Moody Press, 1979).
Franz Delitzsch, “Commentary on The Song of Songs and
Ecclesiastes,” trans. M. G. Easton, in Commentary
on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes, C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Vol. VI: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon:
Three Volumes in One (Grand Rapids:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., n.d., 1975 reprint), III:179-442.
Michael A. Eaton, Ecclesiastes:
An Introduction and Commentary, Vol. 16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity, 1983).
ESV Study Bible
(Wheaton: Crossway, 2008).
Sinclair B.
Ferguson. The Pundit's Folly: Chronicles
of an Empty Life (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1995).
Duane A. Garrett, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Vol. 14, New American Commentary
(Nashville: Broadman, 1993).
Donald R. Glenn,
“Ecclesiastes,” in The Bible Knowledge
Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. J. F. Walvoord, and R. B.
Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1985).
William Henry
Green, “Scope and Plan of the Book of Ecclesiastes,” Biblical Reparatory and Princeton Review 29 (1857), pp. 419-40; on Gordon Faculty Online at http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/Ted_Hildebrandt/OTeSources/21-Ecclesiastes/Text/Articles/Green-ScopeofEccl-1857.pdf [accessed 7 NOV 2015].[3]
Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Coping With Change: Ecclesiastes (Fearn,
Roth-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2013).[4]
Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Ecclesiastes:
Total Life, in Everyman’s
Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979).
Derek Kidner, The Message of
Ecclesiastes: A Time to Mourn, and a Time to Dance, in The Bible Speaks Today, Old Testament series ed. J. A. Motyer (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity
Press, 1976).
H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Ecclesiastes (Grand
Rapids: Baker, 1952).
Tremper Longman III, The Book of Ecclesiastes, New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997).
John MacArthur, MacArthur Study Bible, rev. ed.
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997).
Tim Mackie, “The book of Ecclesiastes explained with illustrations,”
on The Bible Project at http://www.jointhebibleproject.com
[accessed 18 JUN 2016]; includes downloadable full resolution video (700+ mb),
and poster; for the video see also “Read Scripture Ecclesiastes” (10 JUN 2016),
on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrsQ1tc-2wk
[accessed 18 JUN 2016].[5]
Roland Edmund
Murphy, Ecclesiastes, Vol. 23A, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas:
Word, 1992).
New Geneva Study Bible
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995).
John G. Reisinger, Studies in
Ecclesiastes (Frederick, MD: New Covenant Media, 2008).
Philip Graham Ryken, Ecclesiastes:
Why Everything Matters, in Preaching the Word, gen. ed. R. Kent Hughes
(Wheaton: Crossway, 2010).
Philip
G. Ryken, Why Everything Matters: The
Gospel in Ecclesiastes (Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus
Publications, Ltd., 2015).
Benjamin Shaw,
“On Reading Ecclesiastes,” in The Hope
Fulfilled: Essays in Honor of O. Palmer Robertson, ed. Robert L. Penny
(Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2008), pp. 47-58.
Peter B. Steese,
ed., Ecclesiastes, gen. ed. Leonard
F. Dean (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1966).
Tom V. Taylor, Studies in
Ecclesiastes (Port Colborne, Ontario, CA: Gospel Folio Press, 2013). See also the “Thomas V. Taylor Library” on the Interdisciplinary Biblical Research Institute
at http://www.taylorlib.ibri.org/ [accessed 27 NOV 2013].
Addison G. Wright, “The Riddle of the Sphinx: The
Structure of the Book of Qoheleth,” in Reflecting
with Solomon: Selected Studies on the Book of Ecclesiastes, ed. Roy B. Zuck
(Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994), pp. 45-66; originally published in Catholic Biblical Quarterly 30 (1968),
pp. 313-334.
J. Stafford
Wright, “Ecclesiastes,” in Psalms-Song of Songs, Vol. 5, Expositor's Bible Commentary, ed.
Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991).
J. Stafford Wright, “The Interpretation of Ecclesiastes”, in Classical Evangelical Essays in Old Testament
Interpretation, ed. Walter C. Kaiser Jr. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1972), pp.
135-150; from J. Stafford Wright, “The Interpretation of Ecclesiastes,” Evangelical Quarterly 18 (1946), pp.
18-34; on Rediscovering the Bible at http://rediscoveringthebible.com/InterpretationOfEcclesiastes.html
[accessed 7 MAY 2015].
Ronald F. Youngblood, “Qoheleth's 'Dark House' (Eccl.
12:5),” in A Tribute to
Gleason Archer, eds. Walter C. Kaiser and
Ronald F. Youngblood (Chicago: Moody Press, 1986), pp.211-228; also published
in Journal of the Evangelical Theological
Society 29:4 (DEC 1986), pp. 397-410; on Biblical Studies at http://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/29/29-4/29-4-pp397-410_JETS.pdf
[accessed 4 APR 2016].
Notes:
[1] “4966 מָתֹוק [mathowq, mathuwq
/maw·thoke/] adj n m. From 4985; TWOT 1268c; GK 5498; 12 occurrences; AV
translates as “sweet” eight times, “sweeter” twice, and “sweetness” twice. 1
sweet. 2 sweetness, pleasant (thing).” Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s
Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.
[2] “2896 טָבַב, טִבָּה, טֹוב, טֹוב, טֹוב,
טֹובָה [towb /tobe/] adj n m f. From 2895; TWOT 793a; GK 3176 and 3177 and 3201
and 3202 and 3205 and 3208; 559 occurrences; AV translates as “good” 361 times, “better”
72 times, “well” 20 times, “goodness” 16 times, “goodly” nine times,
“best” eight times, “merry” seven times, “fair” seven times, “prosperity” six
times, “precious” four times, “fine” three times, “wealth” three times,
“beautiful” twice, “fairer” twice, “favour” twice, “glad” twice, and translated
miscellaneously 35 times. 1 good, pleasant, agreeable. 1A pleasant, agreeable
(to the senses). 1B pleasant (to the higher nature). 1C good, excellent (of its
kind). 1D good, rich, valuable in estimation. 1E good, appropriate, becoming.
1F better (comparative). 1G glad, happy, prosperous (of man’s sensuous nature).
1H good understanding (of man’s intellectual nature). 1I good, kind, benign. 1J
good, right (ethical). 2 a good thing, benefit, welfare. 2A welfare,
prosperity, happiness. 2B good things (collective). 2C good, benefit. 2D moral
good. 3 welfare, benefit, good things. 3A welfare, prosperity, happiness. 3B
good things (collective). 3C bounty.” Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s
Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.
[3] Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. inexplicably refers to this as
an “unsigned article” on at least two occasions in his commentary despite the
facts that: 1) William Henry Green is clearly indicated as the author under the
title on the first page of the article (pg. 419), and 2) one of his own faculty
members (Ted Hildebrandt) has posted the article on the school’s web site where
Kaiser served as both faculty member and President. Walter
C. Kaiser, Jr., Ecclesiastes: Total Life,
in Everyman’s Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979); and Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Coping
With Change: Ecclesiastes (Fearn, Roth-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus,
2013).
[4] Although not indicated on the copyright page, this
appears in all respects to be a revised edition (2nd ed.) of the Moody Press
1979 original. The relationship to the original is referenced in the “Preface,”
where the author mentions the inclusion of his own translation of Ecclesiastes
in this revision as one significant change. “Dale Ralph Davis compares the two
and says, “the ‘bones’ are much the same but the whole has been updated and
expanded.” Source: Tim Challies, “Best Commentaries on Ecclesiastes” (18 NOV
2013), on Challies at http://www.challies.com/resources/best-commentaries-on-ecclesiastes [accessed 7 NOV 2015].
[5] “This video explores the main ideas and flow of thought
of the book of Ecclesiastes.
The Bible Project is a
non-profit creating animated videos that explain the narrative of the Bible.
These videos are free to use for personal and educational purposes. Download a
full resolution version of this video along with a study guide at
www.jointhebibleproject.com.”
“About the author: Tim
Mackie is a Pastor of Door of Hope church and a Professor at Western Seminary -
timmackie.com”
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