Verse of the Day

Friday, February 10, 2017

Pastor's Sermon Notes: Ecclesiastes (series), #42 - A Threefold Cord Is Not Quickly Broken (Ecclesiastes 12:8-10)

Series: Ecclesiastes; Sermon #42: 
A Threefold Cord Is Not Quickly Broken
Ecclesiastes 12:8-10


[Audio file from Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/Ecclesiastes128-10.]

8 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity. 9 And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. 10 The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.

Introduction:

We have arrived at the second of the two bookends in Qoheleth’s book. 1:1-2 is the first bookend, and together with the three verses we are now to study they frame the body of Qoheleth’s wisdom treatise.

Outline:

I. The Finale of the Preacher in the Three Vanities (12:8)
II. The Labor of the Preacher in the Three Verbs (12:9)
III. The Concern of the Preacher in the Three Adjectives (12:10)

Transition:

The title comes from an early chapter in the book related to the points of the sermon outline:
Eccl. 4:12 — And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

I. The Finale of the Preacher in the Three Vanities (12:8)

Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.

The Three Vanities:
1) The Singular Noun — Vanity
2) The Plural Object of the Preposition — of vanities
3) The Collective Singular Predicate Adjective — all is vanity

The Three Vanities:

1) The Singular Noun — Vanity

A sampling of the 38 other usages throughout the book:

1:14 — I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

2:17 — Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

4:4 — Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour.  This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.

6:12 — For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow?  for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?

8:10 — And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.

2) The Plural Object of the Preposition — of vanities

The only other occurrence of this word in the plural in Ecclesiastes besides 1:2 and 12:8 is in 5:7 — For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.

3) The Collective Singular Predicate Adjective — all is vanity

Ps. 62:9 — Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.

“The End of the Vanities”

From Sermon #1 in this series, preached 4 OCT 2015:

II. The Hook (1:2)

Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

1. Translations:

meaningless(ness), futility, frustration, nonsense, absurdity[1]

2. Occurrences and Role in the Book:

This term is repeated in 38 times in the book, e.g., 2:1; 4:16; and 11:10. However, two other terms occur 52 times each, and two others 40 times each, so serious consideration must be given to these other subjects as being given more emphasis throughout the book.[2]

The Key does not “lie at the door”!

Neither is this an example of BLUF (bottom line up front)!

It may in fact be helpful to consider this expression as a “hook” rather than as a key or a conclusion. It is sometimes referred to as a “motto,” and while it is that, it would be a mistake to assume at this point that it functions as the motto for the book.

3. Wrong Assumptions:

Some assume that this verse sums up the teaching of Ecclesiastes as the main point or conclusion. As a result many have opined that what we find in this book does not go beyond natural revelation, empiricism, existentialism, or worse, nihilism.

4. Philosophical and Theological Implications:

existentialism, nihilism, evidentialism
skepticism
agnosticism
“the skeptical empiricism of Ecclesiastes”[3]
analogical revelation
relationship between supernatural and natural
“It is because faith and questioning belong together that Ecclesiastes manifests both…”[4]

The effects of Fall are very much in play in the teaching of Ecclesiastes.
“Life east of Eden is not a reversion to total dis-order.”[5]

The gap between the natural and the supernatural, the creation and the Creator is bridged only by the Incarnation.
“In some ways Christ as the “answer” to Job and Ecclesiastes.”[6]

When reading Ecclesiastes (with apologies to Carly Simon[7]):

“You're so vain
You probably think this book is about you
You're so vain,
I'll bet you think this book is about you
Don't you?
Don't you?”

The End of the Vanities? An “Ephesian Party”!

Acts 19:19 — Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.

See “The First Ephesian Party” (sermon preached 23 NOV 2014; posted 24 NOV 2014), on Wayside Gospel Chapel at http://waysidegospelchapel.blogspot.com/2014/11/pastors-sermon-notes-first-ephesian.html [accessed 3 SEP 2016].

What do you call a modern Ephesian party?

Tom Wolfe, The Bonfire of the Vanities (New York: Picador, 1987).

“The Bonfire of the Vanities is a 1987 novel by Tom Wolfe. The story is a drama about ambition, racism, social class, politics, and greed in 1980s New York City…”[8]

About the historical event that is the source of the title:

“A Bonfire of the Vanities (Italian: Falò delle vanità) is a burning of objects condemned by authorities as occasions of sin. The phrase usually refers to the bonfire of 7 February 1497, when supporters of the Dominican priest Girolamo Savonarola collected and publicly burned thousands of objects such as cosmetics, art, and books in Florence, Italy, on the Mardi Gras festival. Such bonfires were not invented by Savonarola, but had been a common accompaniment to the outdoor sermons of San Bernardino di Siena in the first half of the century.

The focus of this destruction was nominally on objects that might tempt one to sin, including vanity items such as mirrors, cosmetics, fine dresses, playing cards, and even musical instruments. Other targets included books that were deemed to be immoral, such as works by Boccaccio, and manuscripts of secular songs, as well as artworks, including paintings and sculpture.”[9]


See also “This Day In History: Bonfire of the Vanities, 7 February 1497,” on History at http://www.historychannel.com.au/this-day-in-history/bonfire-of-the-vanities/ [accessed 3 SEP 2016].

II. The Labor of the Preacher in the Three Verbs (12:9)

And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.

1. The Character of the Preacher
2. The Activity of the Preacher
3. The Legacy of the Preacher

1. The Character of the Preacher

And moreover, because the preacher was wise

This word here translated “Preacher” is the source of the book’s title. It has been transliterated from the Hebrew variously (depending on the pronunciation and system of transliteration) as Qoheleth, Qohelet, Coheleth, Cohelet, Kohelth, and Kohelet. It was translated into Greek as ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑΣΤΗΣ, which was then transliterated into Latin as Ecclesiastae from which our English title came via a secondary transliteration. Luther translated it into German as der Prediger.
This title is also found in 1:1-2, 12; 7:27; and 12:8-10, but nowhere else in the Old Testament. In other words, this form of the Hebrew word is only found in Ecclesiastes. It is of interest that it is found three times in the first chapter, three times in the final chapter, and only once in the intervening chapters near the center of the book. The only time that it is used in three consecutive verses is here in 12:8-10.

1:1 — The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
1:2 — Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
1:12 — I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

7:27 — Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account:

12:8 — Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
12:9 — And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
12:10 — The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.

Solomon’s wisdom was a gift from God:

1 Ki. 4:32 — 29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. 30 And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about. 32 And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. 33 And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. 34 And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.

1 Ki. 8:12 — Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in thick darkness.

10:8 — Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.

2. The Activity of the Preacher

he still taught the people knowledge

It is not only here in the final chapter of the book that the title of the author occurs in association with his endeavors. The labor or activity of the author is found in the near context every time this title is used by the author.

1:12-13 — 12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.

7:23-25 — 23 All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me. 24 That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out? 25 I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness:

On “wise men” as scribes, scholars, teachers and counsellors see Hans Walter Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, trans. Margaret Kohl (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1974; from Anthropologie des Alten Testaments, Munich: Chr. Kaiser Verlag, 1973), pp. 206-213, s.v. Ch. XXIII, “The Wise and the Foolish (Teachers and Pupils).”

3. The Legacy of the Preacher

yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs

The Three Verbs:
1) gave good heed
2)  sought out
 3) set in order

The Three Verbs:

1) gave good heed

2)  sought out

This is a not the same Hebrew word translated “sought” in verse 10.

 3) set in order

Pr. 1:1 — The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;

10:1 — The proverbs of Solomon.  A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

25:1 — These are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.

III. The Concern of the Preacher in the Three Adjectives (12:10)

The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.

The preacher sought to find out

This is the third time in as many verses that the title of the author is expressed, and, as indicated previously, this is the only time in the book where that occurs.

As mentioned before, the Hebrew word translated “sought” here is not the same as that of the previous verse. They are not even recognized as synonyms so when translations render them with the same English word (KJV, NIV, YLT) their distinct meanings are obscured.

The Three Adjectives:
1. Adjective: acceptable words
2. Predicate Adjective: that which was written was upright
3. Adjectival Prepositional Phrase: words of truth

The Three Adjectives:

1. Adjective: acceptable words

Pr. 22:17-21 — 17 Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. 18 For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips. 19 That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee. 20 Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, 21 That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?

Proverb:10:32: The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness.

2. Predicate Adjective: that which was written was upright

3. Adjectival Prepositional Phrase: words of truth

[Sermon preached 4 SEP 2016 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]

Complete Outline:

I. The Finale of the Preacher in the Three Vanities (12:8)

The Three Vanities:

1) The Singular Noun — Vanity

2) The Plural Object of the Preposition — of vanities

3) The Collective Singular Predicate Adjective — all is vanity

II. The Labor of the Preacher in the Three Verbs (12:9)

1. The Character of the Preacher

2. The Activity of the Preacher

3. The Legacy of the Preacher

The Three Verbs:

1) gave good heed

2)  sought out

 3) set in order

III. The Concern of the Preacher in the Three Adjectives (12:10)

The Three Adjectives:

1. Adjective: acceptable words

2. Predicate Adjective: that which was written was upright

3. Adjectival Prepositional Phrase: words of truth

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).[10]

Thorleif Boman, Hebrew Thought Compared With Greek, 2nd ed. rev., trans. Jules L. Moreau (New York: W. W. Norton. 1960; from Das hebrӓische Denken im Vergleich mit dem Griechischen, Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1954).

Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Ecclesiastes (New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1860).[11]

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).

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).

Robert Baker Girdlestone, Synonyms of the Old Testament: Their Bearing on Christian Doctrine, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., n.d., 1976 reprint of 1897 ed.); on Study Light at http://www.studylight.org/lexicons/gos/ [accessed 13 JUL 2016]; and on NTS Library[12] at http://www.ntslibrary.com/PDF%20Books%20II/Girdlestone%20-%20Synomyns%20of%20the%20OT.pdf [accessed 13 JUL 2016]; in an earlier edition, Robert Baker Girdlestone, Synonyms of the Old Testament: Their Bearing on Christian Faith and Practice (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1871); on Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/synonymsofoldtes00gird [accessed 13 JUL 2016]; and on Google Books at https://books.google.com/books?id=D3YcA72rnqQC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 13 JUL 2016].

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].[13]
Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Coping With Change: Ecclesiastes (Fearn, Roth-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2013).[14]

R. K. Harrison, Introduction to the Old Testament with a comprehensive review of Old Testament Studies and a special supplement on the Apocrypha (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1969).

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].[15]

D. B. Miller, Ecclesiastes, Believers Church Bible Commentary (Scottdale, PA; Waterloo, ON: Herald Press, 2010).

Roland Edmund Murphy, Ecclesiastes, Vol. 23A, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, 1992).

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).[16]  

Hans Walter Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, trans. Margaret Kohl (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1974; from Anthropologie des Alten Testaments, Munich: Chr. Kaiser Verlag, 1973).

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].


End Notes:

[1] See the various English translations along with the notes some of them include containing alternative translations. See also William D. Barrick, Ecclesiastes: The Philippians of the Old Testament, Focus on the Bible series (Fearn, Ross-Shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2012), pp. 31-32.

[2] Barrick, op. cit., pp. 12-13.

[3] John Goldingay, Theological Diversity and the Authority of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1987), pg. 35.

[4] Goldingay, op. cit., pg. 195.

[5] Goldingay, op. cit., pg. 224.

[6] Goldingay, op. cit., pg. 234. Cp. also pg. 235.

[7] (Electra, 1972). See Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You%27re_So_Vain [accessed 3 SEP 2016].

[8] Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bonfire_of_the_Vanities [accessed 3 SEP 2016]. See also the article about the film made from this novel: “The Bonfire of the Vanities” (Warner Brothers, 1990), on Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bonfire_of_the_Vanities_(film) [accessed 3 SEP 2016].

[9] Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonfire_of_the_Vanities [accessed 3 SEP 2016].

[10] Barrick’s lecture notes (PDF files) and audio (mp3) are on Dr Barrick at http://drbarrick.org/teaching/ecclesiastes/ [accessed 3 FEB 2016].

[11] 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].

[12] The Hebrew characters did not make it into this digital edition intact.

[13] 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).

[14] 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].

[15] “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”

[16] See also the “Thomas V. Taylor Library” on the Interdisciplinary Biblical Research Institute at  http://www.taylorlib.ibri.org/ [accessed 27 NOV 2013].

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