The Limitations of Wisdom in Ecclesiastes 1:12–18

  

How does Ecclesiastes 1:12-18 relate to Ecclesiastes 1:1-11? I suggest that in 1:12-18 Qohelet anticipates someone who might wonder whether the meaninglessness and frustration expressed in 1:1–11 could be attributed to failing to apply wisdom to the observations made in these verses. Perhaps if one could understand life then such an understanding would result in significance and meaning. However, Qohelet puts an end to such speculation in 1:12-18 with his comments concerning the limitations if wisdom. As one author suggests, Qohelet is shutting off all escape routes.[1]

[1] Michael A. Eaton, Ecclesiastes: An Introduction and Commentary, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, ed. D. J. Wiseman, vol. 16 (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity , 1983), 61.

  

Wisdom as a Way of Doing Things

  

"Wisdom is not something to do; rather it is a way of doing things. This is borne out by the bewildering variety of human endeavors mentioned in the Old Testament in connection with wisdom."

William E. Mouser, Jr., Walking in Wisdom: Studying the Proverbs of Solomon (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1983), 125.

  

Preaching Christ from the Old Testament

"Preaching Christ from the Old Testament means that we preach, not synagogue sermons, but sermons that take account of the full drama of redemption, and its realization in Christ. To see the text in relation to Christ is to see it in its larger context, the context of God's purpose in revelation. We do not ignore the specific message of the text, nor will it do to write an all-purpose Christocentric sermon finale and tag it for weekly use.

"You must preach Christ as the text presents him. If you are tempted to think that most Old Testament texts do not present Christ, reflect on both the unity of Scripture and the fullness of Jesus Christ. Christ is present in the Bible as the Lord and as the Servant."

Edmund P. Clowney, Preaching Christ in All of Scripture (Wheaton: Crossway, 2003), 11.

Five Crucial Sermon Questions

  

These are five crucial quiestions for every sermon to raise and answer.

1. What does this text teach about God and his character and ways?

2. What does the text teach about fallen humanity?

3. How does this text point to Christ?

4. What does God want my people to know?

5. What does God want my people to do?

Daniel L. Akin, Bill Curtis, and Stephen Rummage, Engaging Exposition (Nashville: B & H Academic, 2011), 133-34..

Hagner on Resurrection in the New Testament

  
Donald Hagner has a good general article on resurrection in the New Testament ("The Resurrection of the Body in the New Testament," Australian Biblical Review 59 [2011], 64-80). Among other things Hagner points out that all the miraculous raisings of the dead in the Bible except for Christ are better called resuscitations. That is, "Those who were raised still belonged to the first creation, and had to die a second time." Hagner of course, is correct. In discussing the difference between resuscitation and resurrection I have found that if you use the term resuscitation, many have the impression that the person was not really dead. On the other hand, resurrection cannot be used for the reason Hagner has noted. So I have coined the term "resusurrection" (at least I have never heard anyone else use it). The idea is that resuscitation is too weak a term since it might convey the idea of something short of death and resurrection too strong because it belongs to the new creation. 
 

Witherington on the Role of Faith in Knowing and Teaching the Bible

  

"If it sounds as if I am suggesting that one has to be a genuine Christian or devout Jew to properly teach, preach, or write about the Bible, I am indeed suggesting that that should be the desideratum. If teaching is going to glorify God, edify the saints, and even educate, intrigue, and influence the lost, then, yes, that is what is most needed. It is true that some non-Christians can put Christians to shame with their biblical knowledge. If we are just talking about understanding biblical texts and ideas, it is indeed possible for a secular person to teach the Bible well at the level of information. But just as it is one thing to know the Bible, another to know the God of the Bible, it is also one thing to know the Bible and another thing to know the Bible is true, and God's Word.

"The Bible is not just intended for information and education. It’s not intended to be just a great piece of literature that merely intrigues or mildly inspires. It's intended for human transformation, and a teacher who cannot help an audience with the latter is handicapped. Indeed, a teacher who has not personally been transformed by the text cannot properly embody it, embrace it, model it, call for emulation of it, and the like. The Jewish or Christian teacher who is constantly coming to grips with the text will be constantly challenged to live it."

Ben Witherington III, Is There a Doctor in the House? An Insider's Story and Advice on Becoming a Biblical Scholar (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011), 125. 
  

Themelios 36.3 is Out

The latest edition of Themelios, a 238 page PDF, is now available as as a free download here. Individual articles and features with links are as follows:

1. D. A. Carson | Editorial: Spiritual Disciplines
2. Jonathan Gibson | Jonathan Edwards: A Missionary?
3. Andrew Moody | That All May Honour the Son: Holding Out for a Deeper Christocentrism
4. Rodney J. Decker | An Evaluation of the 2011 Edition of the New International Version
5. Melvin Tinker | Friends: The One with Jesus, Martha, and Mary;  An Answer to Kierkegaard
6. 71 Book Reviews

The New Covenant

  

I had recently been working through Jeremiah and thinking about the New Covenant when I came across this statement from H. L. Ellison. Unfortunately, Ellison does not further unpack the statement, but that being said, there is a lot here that resonates with me.

It is one thing to say that Jeremiah was not given to see what the new covenant would mean for the world, it is entirely another to say that by Israel and Judah he really meant the Church. So to understand Jer. 31:23–40; 33:14–26 is to make all sane Bible interpretation impossible. On the other hand, we must not fall into the opposite error of supposing that the new covenant will mean something else for ‘all Israel’ than it does for the Church, that saved Israel will be saved in some other way than is the Church. God does not abolish physical Israel, but in saving it transcends it, just as He does not scrap this earth but renews it.”

H. L. Ellison, Men Spake from God: Studies in the Hebrew Prophets (Carlisle: Paternoster, 1968), 92.

  

Top 25 Books for Young Theologians

  
Bruce Ashford has a list of the top twenty-five books (or so) that he believes young theologians should own and read.
  

Latest Issue of Review of Biblical Literature

  

The latest issue of Review of Biblical Literature is out. Reviews can be accessed by clicking the links below.

Joseph Blenkinsopp
Creation, Un-creation, Re-creation: A Discursive Commentary on Genesis 1-11
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8153
Reviewed by John E. Anderson
 
Yoram Cohen, Amir Gilan, and Jared L. Miller, eds.
Pax Hethitica: Studies on the Hittites and Their Neighbours in Honour of Itamar Singer
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8022
Reviewed by Paul Sanders
 
Corneliu Constantineanu
The Social Significance of Reconciliation in Paul's Theology: Narrative Readings in Romans
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7629
Reviewed by Robert Jewett
 
Timothy G. Gombis
Paul: A Guide for the Perplexed
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7867
Reviewed by James S. Hanson
 
Ronald Hendel, ed.
Reading Genesis: Ten Methods
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7821
Reviewed by Frank H. Polak
 
Amanda H. Podany
Brotherhood of Kings: How International Relations Shaped the Ancient Near East
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7943
Reviewed by Bertrand Lafont
 
Hendrika N. Roskam
The Purpose of the Gospel of Mark in Its Historical and Social Context
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5316
Reviewed by W. R. Telford
 
Hayim Tawil
An Akkadian Lexical Companion for Biblical Hebrew: Etymological-Semantic and Idiomatic Equivalents with Supplement on Biblical Aramaic
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7603
Reviewed by Aaron D. Rubin
 
David Trobisch
Ein Clown für Christus: Die ganz andere Geschichte über Paulus und seine Zeit
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7760
Reviewed by Jeffrey F. Cayzer
 
Urban C. von Wahlde
The Gospel and Letters of John
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7843
Reviewed by George L. Parsenios

Recommended Reading for Church History

  
Keith Mathison has a recommended reading list for church history here.
 

Eilat Mazar in Christianity Today

  
Those interested in archaeology and the Bible might want to check out this story on Eilat Mazar in Christianity Today.
 

More Book Deals

  

Westminster Seminary Bookstore has two books on sale that might be worth considering.

The first book is Invitation to Biblical Interpretation: Exploring the Hermeneutical Triad of History, Literature, and Theology by Andreas Köstenberger and Richard Patterson for $23.50 (50% off). This offer is good for only one week.

The second volume of interest is A New Testament Biblical Theology by Greg Beale for $30.24 (45% off). Note that at 45% off this is a better deal than you can get from Baker at ETS or SBL which has this volume at 40% off even before you add sales tax.

If you buy both of these volumes you will qualify for free shipping which comes with any order over $49. By the way, you can help me out by clicking on the links above and helping me earn gift certificates from the bookstore. Thanks.

 

Midweek Markdowns at CBD

  

Christian Book Distributors offers a midweek sale each week. This week's sale has two volumes which might be of particular interest. 

Great Prayers of the Old Testament by Walter Brueggemann for $3.49 ($15.00 retail).

Ruth in the Continental Commentary series by André Lacocque for $3.49 ($29.00 retail).

 

You must place your order between 12:01 AM ET on Tuesday and 11:59 PM  ET on Friday. See here for the entire sale.

By the way, a number of the Continental series are also on sale. See here.
  

The Importance of Practicing Church Discipline

  
Brian Croft has a good reminder here.
 

Course on Hebrews Taught by George Guthrie

  
BiblicalTraining.org has announced that George Guthrie's course on Hebrews is now available.This course is "An exegetical study of Hebrews" in which "Dr. Guthrie interacts with each verse" and "explores not only the meaning of the text, but how we apply the theology of the text in our daily lives and ministries." Check it out here.
 

Preaching Mark

  
Nicholas Perrin has some good insights into preaching the Gospel of Mark here.
 

The Author of Ecclesiastes

  

I was recently introducing the Book of Ecclesiastes and discussing the issue of authorship. During such discussions I state that I hold to Solomonic authorship but take care in my presentations to note that there are other viable options. After a bit of back-and-forth, one person asked whether it made any difference whether Solomon was the author or not. What a great question. My response was that there were two possible advantages to Solomonic authorship. First, since it is likely that Solomon was a believer then we might be able to assume that Solomon wrote the book as a believer and if that were so, then it might help to better understand the difficult content of the book. Second, if Solomon were the author, then the claims of great wisdom (1:16), wealth (2:8), and number of women (2:8), etc. could be understood as statements of fact rather than hyperbole (cf. 1 Kgs 3–11). The author would be no poseur and this would add credibility to the authors claim that even an abundance of wisdom, wealth, and women would still be hebel. I realize that these perceived advantages could be challenged both in their assumptions (e.g., that Solomon was a believer) and in their implications (e.g., hyperbolic statements are necessarily less credible), but I still think that there at least potential advantages if Solomon were the author of Ecclesiastes.

  

One Reason to Study the Old Testament

   

“The most compelling reason for Christians to read and study the Old Testament lies in the New Testament. The New Testament witnesses to the fact that Jesus of Nazareth is the One in whom and through whom all the promises of God find their fulfillment. These promises are only to be understood from the Old Testament; the fulfillment of the promises can be understood only in the context of the promises themselves. The New Testament presupposes knowledge of the Old Testament. Everything that is a concern to the New Testament writers is part of the one redemptive history to which the Old Testament witnesses. The New Testament writers cannot separate the person and work of Christ, nor the life of the Christian community, from this sacred history which has its beginnings in the Old Testament.”

Graeme Goldsworthy, Gospel and the Kingdom: A Christian Interpretation of the Old Testament (Carlisle: Paternoster, 1981), 19.

  

OT Wisdom: Hearing + Doing Torah

  
See Steven Coxhead's post here.
  

Andreas Köstenberger at The Criswell College

  

Those who live in or near the Dallas area might want to come and hear Andreas Köstenberger speak in two chapel services as part of the Criswell Theological Lecture series. The lectures will be help on Tuesday, November 8 and Thursday, November 10 in the Horner Hall at Criswell College, 10:00 - 11:15 AM. The titles are:

Tuesday, November 8 - The Hermeneutical Triad: Exploring the Text's History, Literature, and Theology
Thursday, November 10 - John 3:16: What Does it Really Mean?

See here for additional information.
  

The Applicational Force of the Text

  
See this article.
 

Blomberg on Church Discipline

  
Craig Blomberg has a good discussion on church discipline here.
 

Figures of Speech in Proverbs

  

On a whim, I recently picked up a little paperback volume on Proverbs by William Mouser published in 1983. I have to admit I have enjoyed working through parts of this book. It is clear and concise. One example is the following statement which I found both simple but helpful.

"All the major figures of speech you will encounter in the proverbs of Solomon operate according to one of two devices" comparison and substitution."

Mouser goes on to note that the comparative devices in Proverbs are similes, metaphors, and hypocatastasis. The substitutionary devices involve synechdoches and metonymies.

William E. Mouser, Jr., Walking in Wisdom: Studying the Proverbs of Solomon (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1983), 101.
  

Latest Issue of the Criswell Theological Review

  
The Fall 2011 issue of the Criswell Theological Review is now out. The table of contents are as follows.

Editor’s Page

Elements of Irony: History and Rhetoric in Ezekiel 20:1–44

Rusty Osborne

“Rejoice, O Gentiles, With His People”: Paul's Intra-Jewish Rhetoric in Philippians 3:1–9

Christopher Zoccali

God's Humility: Reflections on an Unappreciated Attribute of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

Glenn R. Kreider

The Land as Covenant Backdrop: A Modest Response To Burge and Waltke

A.Boyd Luter

Calvin's Concept of Imperfect Faith: Faith in Relation to its Object

Joseph L. Bresnahan

Index to Criswell Theological Review, O.S.

David L. Brooks and Evan Brooks

Book Reviews

Index of Book Reviews