Hearing the Message of Ecclesiastes: Questioning Faith in a Baffling World

by Christopher J. H. Wright

Publisher:

Zondervan

, 2023

Overview

There is no easy answer to the meaning of life—even when you believe in God.

The book of Ecclesiastes seeks to answer the question: “What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?” The book’s writer is Qoheleth, who wants to understand the meaning of life as far as he possibly can with the tools of his own empirical observation and reason. He struggles to reconcile the beautiful world that we love and enjoy with the baffling world of injustice, suffering, and death. Qoheleth circles around an abyss of nihilism and pessimism. He lives with unanswered questions. Yet he remains a believer.

Old Testament scholar Christopher J. H. Wright invites you to join Qoheleth on a journey through wisdom literature from centuries ago, because the message of Ecclesiastes can be strangely reassuring as we put our faith to the test in today’s post-modern era. There will be disorienting twists and turns and the occasional complete impasse as complex topics are discussed, like:

• The meaning of life
• Mysteries of time and injustice
• Ambiguities of work, politics, worship, and wealty

Hearing the Message of Ecclesiastes won’t answer your questions about the meaning of life, but it will ultimately help you live in the tension of God’s gifts in Genesis 1-2 and the fallen world of Genesis 3—and still go on trusting in the sovereign goodness of God.

Key Features

• Takes readers on a journey through wisdom literature from centuries ago
• Examines mysteries of time and injustice
• Explores the ambiguities of work, politics, worship, and wealth

Product Details

• Title: Hearing the Message of Ecclesiastes: Questioning Faith in a Baffling World
• Author: Christopher J. H. Wright
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Print Publication Date: 2023
• Logos Release Date: 2023
• Pages: 154
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Subjects: Bible. O.T. Ecclesiastes › Commentaries; Bible. O.T. Ecclesiastes › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Faith (Christianity); Life › Biblical teaching
• ISBNs: 9780310147473, 9780310147466, 9780310147459, 0310145910, 0310147468, 031014745X, 9780310145912, 0310147476
• Resource ID: LLS:HRNGMSSGBFFWRLD
• Resource Type: Bible Commentary
• Metadata Last Updated: 2023-08-29T20:54:56Z

About Christopher J. H. Wright

Christopher J. H. Wright (PhD, Cambridge) is international ministries director of the Langham Partnership, providing literature, scholarships, and preaching training for pastors in Majority World churches and seminaries. He has written many books including commentaries on Deuteronomy, Jeremiah, Lamentations, and Ezekiel, The Mission of God, Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit, Old Testament Ethics for the People of God, and Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament. An ordained priest in the Church of England, Chris spent five years teaching the Old Testament at Union Biblical Seminary in India, and thirteen years as academic dean and then principal of All Nations Christian College, an international training center for cross-cultural mission in England. He was chair of the Lausanne Theology Working Group from 2005-2011 and the chief architect of The Cape Town Commitment from the Third Lausanne Congress, 2010.