Ecclesiastes

Summary

Ecclesiastes demands patient listening. It speaks in riddles, repeats phrases, and presses hard questions about the limits of human wisdom. This commentary treats the book as Scripture that is meant to reshape our expectations, not simply to provide a set of answers. The author reads Ecclesiastes as a disciplined exploration of life under the sun, where honest observation exposes the vanity of self made meaning. The book is approached with literary sensitivity and theological seriousness, helping the reader track argument, tone shifts, and key motifs like breath, time, toil, enjoyment, and fear of God.

The commentary is weighty. It is not rushed, and it is not content with surface paraphrase. It aims to show how the text works, how each section contributes to the whole, and how the conclusion gathers the book without cancelling its realism. The author is especially helpful in insisting that Ecclesiastes is not cynicism. It is a sober kind of wisdom, grounded in the Creator creature distinction and in the recognition that human beings cannot control outcomes. That sets the stage for preaching that is both honest and hopeful, without trivialising the pain and frustration the book names.

Strengths

The strongest feature is the close attention to the shape of the argument. Ecclesiastes is often flattened into a handful of slogans. This volume resists that. It shows how recurring refrains develop, how experiments in wisdom are narrated, and how the teacher uses tension as a teaching tool. The effect is to make the book preachable in sequence, because you can see where you are in the teachers journey and what is being exposed or corrected in each unit.

Another strength is the engagement with interpretation. Ecclesiastes has a long history of divergent readings, and the commentary interacts with that landscape in a way that is both careful and constructive. Even when you disagree, you are forced to think, and you are given categories for why certain readings fail to account for the text. The author also integrates pastoral and ethical reflection without turning the commentary into a topical workbook. The point is to let the text set the agenda, then to show how it speaks into ambition, work, wealth, pleasure, injustice, and mortality.

There is also a strong emphasis on the fear of God as the proper frame for human life. Enjoyment is treated as a gift, not an entitlement. Limits are treated as mercy, not merely as loss. That is a helpful posture for preaching in a culture shaped by control, self construction, and endless options.

Limitations

The depth that makes this commentary valuable can also make it demanding. Busy pastors may find that it requires more time than some sermon weeks can spare. The discussion can be dense, and the flow sometimes assumes comfort with sustained argument. If you are looking for a quick homiletical companion, this is not that.

At points the book can feel more like an extended academic study than a pulpit side commentary. The pastoral payoffs are there, but you often need to do the final translation into sermon form. That may be a good thing for careful preaching, but it means the volume is best used when you can give it room to work.

How We Would Use It

We would use this as a deep well for a preaching series, especially in the planning stage. It helps you decide how to break the book into units, what themes to track, and how to keep the tone of Ecclesiastes intact. We would pair it with a more directly pastoral commentary for quick sermon shaping, while relying on this book to keep our interpretation honest, coherent, and theologically grounded.

We would also use it for training readers who want to grow in wisdom literature. It is an excellent guide for learning how to read difficult biblical books with patience and humility.

Closing Recommendation

A substantial and thoughtful commentary that rewards slow reading. Best for those who want to preach Ecclesiastes with depth, coherence, and theological integrity, and who are willing to do some hard thinking along the way.