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This unique book combines memoir, exegesis, and theological reflection to demonstrate the ongoing significance of the book of Ecclesiastes to the Christian life in the twenty-first century. Through exegesis of Old Testament passages and theological reflections on Ecclesiastes, the author deals with issues of abuse, trauma, and forgiveness. For thousands of years, God's grace and glory have been shining in the stories and poems of broken people: the Psalms give voice to our darkest moments of pain and anger, showing us that God welcomes our rawest emotions; Ecclesiastes and Job help us confront suffering and injustice in life; and the failures of Noah, Jacob, and David help keep us tethered to the God of the Bible. These stories and poems still speak to the brokenness of humans today, beckoning us into the arms of the God who made us and loves us even though we too are riddled with sin, hurt, and a longing to be loved. By working through the book of Ecclesiastes, we can let the Teacher's words seep into our hearts and shape our understanding of who God is and how he helps us navigate this upside-down world. This short and engaging book enables us to see how one part of the Old Testament--Ecclesiastes--can help us navigate a world in which things do not always turn out as they should.
In Ancient Wisdom for the Good Life, Ralph K. Hawkins turns our attention to the Bible’s Wisdom Literature (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs) and how it can correct us, train us in righteousness, and ultimately empower us for successful living. These are some of the most inspired writings on the Good Life the world has ever known, in which ancient Israel’s sages wrote about how to live stable, harmonious, productive, and joyous lives. Together, they interlock to cover the entire field of wisdom, providing contemporary readers with the tools to develop a unified world view with God at the center. Ancient Wisdom for the Good Life culls out the guidance of ancient Israel’s sages for a modern society that has been cut adrift from its moorings. Full of wisdom and practically written, this book could be used as a supplementary text in an undergraduate or seminary course in the Wisdom Literature, and it would certainly be useful for pastors in their sermon preparation or even just general reading. Table of Contents: Winning and the Wisdom Literature A Mindset of Integrity A Mindset of Community A Mindset of Communication A Mindset of Cause-and-Effect A Mindset of Goal-Setting A Mindset of Work A Mindset of Health A Mindset of Abundance A Mindset of Joy About the Author Ralph K. Hawkins (PhD, Andrews University) is professor of religion and director of the Program in Religion at Averett University. He is co-director of the Jordan Valley Excavation Project (JVEP) and the author of several books, including The Iron Age I Structure on Mt. Ebal: Excavation and Interpretation (Eisenbrauns), How Israel became a People (Abingdon Press), and Discovering Exodus: Content, Interpretation, Reception (SPCK/Eerdmans). An Anglican priest, Hawkins has also written pastoral books, including While I Was Praying: Finding Insights about God in Old Testament Prayers (Smyth & Helwys), and Leadership Lessons: Avoiding the Pitfalls of King Saul (Thomas Nelson).
Key Bible verses, quotes from the book, reflective readings, and questions for self-discovery accompany the reader on the most crucial pilgrimage of all.
What if it is death that teaches us how to truly live? Keeping the end in mind shapes how we live our lives in the here and now. Living life backward means taking the one thing in our future that is certain—death—and letting that inform our journey before we get there. Looking to the book of Ecclesiastes for wisdom, Living Life Backward was written to shake up our expectations and priorities for what it means to live "the good life." Considering the reality of death helps us pay attention to our limitations as human beings and receive life as a wondrous gift from God—freeing us to live wisely, generously, and faithfully for God's glory and the good of his world.
The publication of the King James version of the Bible, translated between 1603 and 1611, coincided with an extraordinary flowering of English literature and is universally acknowledged as the greatest influence on English-language literature in history. Now, world-class literary writers introduce the book of the King James Bible in a series of beautifully designed, small-format volumes. The introducers' passionate, provocative, and personal engagements with the spirituality and the language of the text make the Bible come alive as a stunning work of literature and remind us of its overwhelming contemporary relevance.
The many introductions to the psalms available to readers tend to focus on various types and forms of psalms but overlook different theological approaches to the Psalter. This volume brings together leading psalms scholars from Catholic and Protestant traditions and takes into account recent scholarship on the shape and shaping of the Psalter and on the rhetorical interpretation of the Psalms.
In this deeply personal book, well-known Cilliers themes – including meaning-making, sermons, modern art, colours, Stellenbosch wines, and the Karoo – emerge in a surprisingly new way. They connect with intensely happy and severely sad autobiographical moments and are presented in no more than fragments. However, while reading them, the fragments begin to mutually interact with one another, and playfully create a surprisingly existential theology – a theology that hooks to your own existence as a reader. Take, read, and savour this tasty book. [Prof. Marcel Barnard]
Ecclesiastes is one of the most fascinating -- and hauntingly familiar -- books of the Old Testament. The sentiments of the main speaker of the book, a person given the name Qohelet, sound incredibly modern. Expressing the uncertainty and anxieties of our own age, he is driven by the question, "Where can we find meaning in the world?" But while Qohelet's question resonates with readers today, his answer is shocking. "Meaningless," says Qohelet, "everything is meaningless." How does this pessimistic perspective fit into the rest of biblical revelation? In this commentary Tremper Longman III addresses this question by taking a canonical-Christocentric approach to the meaning of Ecclesiastes. Longman first provides an extensive introduction to Ecclesiastes, exploring such background matters as authorship, language, genre, structure, literary style, and the book's theological message. He argues that the author of Ecclesiastes is not Solomon, as has been traditionally thought, but a writer who adopts a Solomonic persona. In the verse-by-verse commentary that follows, Longman helps clarify the confusing, sometimes contradictory message of Ecclesiastes by showing that the book should be divided into three sections -- a prologue (1:1-11), Qohelet's autobiographical speech (1:12-12:7), and an epilogue (12:8-14) -- and that the frame narrative provided by prologue and epilogue is the key to understanding the message of the book as a whole.
365 Gospel-Centered Devotions for the Whole Year Mornings can be tough. Sometimes, a hearty breakfast and strong cup of coffee just aren't enough. Offering more than a rush of caffeine, best-selling author Paul David Tripp wants to energize you with the most potent encouragement imaginable: the gospel. Forget "behavior modification" or feel-good aphorisms. Tripp knows that what we really need is an encounter with the living God. Then we'll be prepared to trust in God's goodness, rely on his grace, and live for his glory each and every day.