Resources for Studying Ecclesiastes

Our Monday night Bible Study group is working through the book of Ecclesiastes.  I've collected a few books that are proving to be very useful.  They are as follows:

Commentaries:

Message of Ecclesiastes (Bible Speaks Today) by Derek Kidner.

NOTE: I always benefit from Kidner's commentaries.  This is a brief and accessible commentary that is useful for the general reader as well as for pastors and teachers.

Ecclesiastes (Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms) by Craig G. Bartholomew. 

NOTE: This commentary is scholarly, and extremely useful.  Bartholomew's prose is crisp and clear.  The nearly 100 page introduction is the best I've read, thus far. He surveys and critiques other commentators along the way without distracting the reader from the quest of seeking to understand the text.

Ecclesiastes (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries) by Michael Eaton. 

NOTE: This little volume is packed with content.  Although it is very useful for teachers and preachers, it is a bit cumbersome for the general reader.  I've been using this commentary along with others, but we recommended those in our Bible study group to use Kidner's book. 

Time to Tear Down and a Time to Build Up: A Rereading of Ecclesiastes by Michael V. Fox. 

NOTE: This commentary is also scholarly, and extremely useful.  I'm using it alongside of Bartholomew, but feel that Bartholomew has extended the study in his commentary.  I would recommend this as a supplement to Bartholomew's commentary.

Ecclesiastes: Why Everything Matters (Preaching the Word) by Philip Graham Ryken.

NOTE: One of the other leaders in our group has been listening to some of Ryken's sermons on Ecclesiastes.  This brand new titles is an edited print version of his expositional sermons.  I do not yet own this commentary, but I received a notice from the Westminster Bookstore that it is now available and currently on sale.  Ryken's comments have proven to be very helpful.

Supplemental Studies:

The Wisdom of Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes: An Introduction to Wisdom Literature by Derek Kidner.


Five Festal Garments: Christian Reflections on the Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations (New Studies in Biblical Theology Vol 10) by Barry G. Webb. 

Audio Sermons:

A series of sermons we found most helpful are those preached by Rev. Ian Hamilton.  These can be downloaded from the Cambridge Presbyterian Church website (here).

Resources for Studying Ecclesiastes

God Acts and God Speaks

Philip Graham Ryken seems to capture very well the necessity of both God's actions and God's words and how they complement each other. The following excerpt is from the latest volume in the Reformed Expository Commentary series:

The good news for the shepherds was that this child was born in Bethlehem to be their Savior and their God. They never would have known this unless God revealed it to them. If the angel had not appeared to them while they were out in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night, the shepherds never would have come to Christ. They acknowledged this when they referred to the good news as "this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us" (Luke 2:15).

What this shows is how much we need the preaching of the gospel. To understand what God has done, we need to have someone explain it to us. By itself, what God had done would not save the shepherds, or anyone else. They needed to know what it meant by faith, which could only happen by divine revelation. This is now God saves us: not simply by sending Jesus to be our Savior, but also by preaching to us the gospel so that we can believe in his saving work. God doesn't just do things; he also says things, and we need to know what he says so that we can believe in what he has done.

("Gloria in Excelsis Deo," by Philip Graham Ryken in The Incarnation in the Gospels by Daniel M. Doriani, Philip Graham Ryken, and Richard D. Phillips. P&R, 2008, 108; emphasis mine.)

This is a fantastic selection of sermons adapted from the forthcoming commentaries on Matthew (Daniel Doriani), Luke (Philip Graham Ryken) and John (Richard D. Phillips). I purchased this at our church's bookstore at the recommendation of our senior pastor. This has made for wonderful meditation during the Christmas season.

God Acts and God Speaks