Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth. Ecclesiastes 12:9-10
I now begin to wind down my study of Ecclesiastes using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume
for this book. My focus today is commentary exploring 12:9-14, which are the last five verses of Ecclesiastes. I've already studied this text but the commentary provides one final chapter entitled The Preacher on Preaching (Wisdom from a Wise Wordsmith). The first division discussed in this commentary chapter is Ecclesiastes 12:9-10.
Excerpts from this chapter of the commentary:
Main Idea: "A preacher should teach the people wisdom using wise words that point them to Jesus and call them to fear and obey God."
From the introduction of the commentary's chapter:
- "Here we find solid insight for those with the assignment to teach God’s people God’s Word."
From the commentary for the first division (vv9-10):
- "Good preaching always involves teaching just as good teaching will always have an element of preaching."
- "How the preacher delivers the knowledge of God’s Word is critically important."
- "Three essentials are noted in Ecclesiastes 12:9: "He pondered or weighed carefully; He sought out or explored; He set in order or arranged many proverbs."
- "The faithful communicator of biblical truth will be gripped by the realization that the book lying before him is filled with wisdom, for it is the Word of God. He will tremble at the thought of manipulating it or abusing it. He will carry out his assignment under a divine mandate to honor the text in its context as it was given by the Holy Spirit of God, always pointing to the hero of the Bible, Messiah Jesus."
- "[N]ot only is error a danger to the truth; dullness is a danger to the truth. Beautiful truth ought to be packaged and wrapped in an attractive style. Indeed, it is probably a sin to make the Bible boring! It is certainly a dereliction of the preacher’s responsibility and high calling."
Comment and discuss this post.
My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who gives me Your Word and You speak to me in Your Word - thank You Jesus! I am not deserving of such a blessing. My sin is great and it continues...daily. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior. Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin. Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.
