Summary
We find Provan handles Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs with clarity and balance, keeping both books anchored in their own voice and purpose.
He helps us read Ecclesiastes as honest wisdom under the sun, and Song of Songs as a celebration of love within God’s good creation.
Why Should I Own This Commentary?
We should own this volume when we are nervous about preaching these books. Provan is careful with interpretation and avoids sensational readings, which steadies our teaching and protects our people.
We also benefit from the bridging sections, especially where modern assumptions about pleasure, meaning, and romance distort our hearing. Provan presses us back toward reverence, contentment, and covenant faithfulness.
For a Reformed pulpit, this is a helpful companion because it keeps application tethered to the text. That gives us better material for preaching Christ as the answer to vanity and the Lord of faithful love.
Closing Recommendation
We recommend this as a wise and pastorally safe resource for teaching both Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs. It helps us speak plainly about hard themes without losing biblical balance.
As pastoral next steps, we can read the Bible Book Overview, browse Top Recommendations, and use the Reformed Commentary Index as we build a wiser shelf.
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Iain Provan
Iain Provan is a British Old Testament scholar of the contemporary era, writing within evangelical scholarship with careful literary and theological judgement.
He is known for work in Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs, books that require patient reading and honest categories. Provan helps pastors resist both cynicism and sentimentality, showing how Ecclesiastes exposes false refuges and how Song of Songs dignifies covenant love without turning the text into allegory by default.
He remains valued because he reads closely, speaks plainly, and helps teachers preach difficult texts with integrity and reverence. Recommended titles include Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs in the NIV Application Commentary, Ecclesiastes in the Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms, and his work on Old Testament theology.
Theological Perspective: Broadly Evangelical