Who Knows What Is Good?: A Commentary on the Books of Proverbs & Ecclesiastes
Overview
The “wise” of ancient Israel were concerned primarily with the nature of goodness and the character of faith: What is “good” for humankind, and how should they live their brief lives on earth?
Although the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are generally regarded as two distinctly different types of works, Kathleen A. Farmer demonstrates that they belong together, each to be read in the light of the other as guides that enable and encourage us to act in life-enhancing ways which are fully in accord with the teaching of the Lord.
Top Highlights
“Does Qohelet’s argument take away human incentives for work (as some critics have said), or does it merely place our human ambitions in a realistic perspective with relation to the rest of the cosmos? Many of us hope we will leave a permanent mark on the world by our presence in it. Qohelet gently but firmly depresses our pretensions. Since this entire section of Ecclesiastes opens with a question about human achievements (‘What do humans gain from all their toil?’), there is no reason to conclude that Qohelet is projecting limits to what God might do. Qohelet does not include God’s activities in the category of what is done ‘under the sun.’” (Page 154)
“It is wiser to remember that life is short (because remembering helps us to cherish it) than foolishly to think and act as if there were no end to our personal existence. All of the previous illustrations concerning those who spend their lives in a frenetic scramble to accumulate riches or wisdom act as an introduction to what is said in vv. 1–4 and 8. This material is still addressed to the workaholics who have been the subject of previous passages.” (Page 175)
“The question Qohelet raises in 1:3 is not whether there is any value in what happens ‘under the sun’ but whether there is any permanence, anything which can be grasped and kept (‘gained’).” (Page 153)
“The best we can do, if we are wise, is to enjoy prosperity when we have it and to endure ‘the day of adversity’ when it comes, reflecting on God’s purposes for making either one happen.” (Page 177)
“Psalms use hebel to describe the brevity of human life and the transitory nature of human concerns compared to the eternity of God and the durability of God’s concerns.” (Page 144)
Product Details
- Title: Who Knows What Is Good?: A Commentary on the Books of Proverbs & Ecclesiastes
- Authors: Kathleen A. Farmer
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Publication Date: 1991
- Pages: 213