"All is vanity!" [1:2] is the broken, Ecclesiastic cry. What are we to make of it? In this original translation and commentary, Rev. Dr. Bollhagen suggests that while Solomon faces a sad, sinful world in Ecclesiastes, he nonetheless preaches a childlike and resilient faith in the promises of God. Bollhagen dwells with Solomon on the question, "Where is joy in suffering?" and locates it in the hope of salvation we receive through the person of Christ. Here, the fleeting nature of earthly life is acknowledged, but Ecclesiastes' Divine wisdom instills both faith in and fear of God.
Included Essays
- Pessimism, Realism, Faith, and Hope in Ecclesiastes
- God's Wisdom is Divine, and Wisdom Begets the New Creation
- On Riches According to Ecclesiastes
About the series
The Concordia Commentary Series: A Theological Exposition of Sacred Scripture is written to enable pastors and teachers of the Word to proclaim the Gospel with greater insight, clarity, and faithfulness to the divine intent of the Biblical text.
The series will cover all the canonical books of the Old and New Testament, with an original translation and meticulous grammatical analysis of the Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek of each text. The foremost interpretive lens centers on the unified proclamation of the person and work of Christ across every Scriptural book.
The Commentary fully affirms the divine inspiration, inerrancy, and authority of Scripture; Each passage bears witness to the confession that God has reconciled the world to Himself through the incarnation, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ His Son.
Authors expose the rich treasury of language, imagery, and thematic content of the Scripture, while supplementing their work with additional research in archaeology, history, and extrabiblical literature. Throughout, God's Word emanates from authors careful attention and inculcates the ongoing life of the Church in Word, Sacrament, and daily confession.