Preaching Christ from Ecclesiastes: Foundations for Expository Sermons

Written by Sidney Greidanus Reviewed By Douglas Sean O’Donnell

The steady, scholarly, and pastorally practical work of Sidney Greidanus is rightly renowned and respected. In his book, Preaching Christ from the Old Testament: A Contemporary Hermeneutical Method (1999), he lays the foundation for his future studies on handling various OT genres. In his Preaching Christ from Genesis (2007), he first demonstrates his principles in the genre of OT narrative, and Preaching Christ from Daniel (2012) does the same for prophetic and apocalyptic literature. Preaching Christ from Ecclesiastes now tackles the wisdom literature of the Bible.

Throughout the books mentioned above, Greidanus shows a consistent and careful hermeneutic at work. He effectively demonstrates seven legitimate ways to preach Christ from the OT: (1) redemptive-historical progression, (2) promise-fulfillment, (3) typology, (4) analogy, (5) longitudinal themes, (6) NT references, and (7) contrast (cf. pp. xi-xii). For the wisdom genre, while he walks through all seven with each pericope, he centers especially on analogy (i.e., Christ as teacher) and shows the limitations of promise-fulfillment and typology.

This book is much more than simply an additional hermeneutical textbook on preaching Christ from the OT. Greidanus also provides invaluable exegesis of the text as well as helpful expositional examples. Besides the section “Ways to Preach Christ,” each chapter also contains sections entitled “Text and Context,” “Textual Structure,” “Textual Theme and Goal,” “Sermon Theme and Goal,” and “Sermon Exposition.” These additional features are outstanding, and they will prove, for preachers of Ecclesiastes, to be tremendous aids to the weekly explanation and application of God's Word.

The word “appreciation” best summarizes my view toward this book and its author. I disagree with some of his views-e.g., his too-easy dismissal of Solomonic authorship (p. 7), date of composition (pp. 10-11), and certain text divisions (e.g., along with Daniel Fredericks [“Life's Storms and Structural Unity in Qoheleth 11:1-12:8,” JSOT 52 (1991)], I would make 11:1-12:8 one pericope). And at times he undervalues certain key theological themes such as final eschatological judgment (e.g., his comments on 3:17 on p. 99 or his exposition of 12:14 on p. 310) and Qoheleth's view of the afterlife or lack thereof (e.g., he speaks of “the Old Testament Teacher who offers no hope for life beyond death” (p. 284). Yet I deeply appreciate what Greidanus says on the nature of wisdom literature, especially his section on “The Relation of Wisdom to Redemptive History” (pp. 3-4). Also very useful is his work on the genre and forms of Ecclesiastes (pp. 12-21), including his magnificent treatment of structure. One can also be grateful for his humility in tackling the difficulties of Ecclesiastes (p. 22), as well as the clarity and correctness of the purpose and overall message of this book (pp. 12, 20, 22). Indeed, one will not find a better summary of Ecclesiastes than what Greidanus offers: “Fear God in order to turn a vain, empty life into a meaningful life which will enjoy God's gifts” (p. 22).

Moreover, as a student of the history of biblical interpretation, I appreciate that Greidanus is the first in the history of the church (!) to write a hermeneutical handbook on each pericope of a biblical wisdom text, systematically showing ways to preach Christ. Therefore, just as Luther asked his students for leniency-a “first effort deserves leniency”-when he tried (quite unsuccessfully in my view) to clear a “new path” for the interpretation of the Song of Songs, one quite distant from the “absurdity” of traditional “musings” (Martin Luther, “Lectures on the Song of Solomon,” in Works, Vol. 15, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan [St. Louis: Concordia Publishing, 1972], pp. 191, 194-95), so Greidanus deserves leniency (and respect!) as well. Those reviewers who criticize Greidanus's efforts from a distance have likely never done the hard and long work of plowing through the tough wisdom texts with a view toward Christ-honoring preaching, as Greidanus has. This book is now (and maybe for years to come) the best tool available to preachers in understanding how to preach from the wisdom literature mindful of what Jesus himself says about the OT's relation to himself (Luke 24:27, 44).


Douglas Sean O’Donnell

Doug O’Donnell is Senior Pastor of New Covenant Church in Naperville, Illinois. He is the author of God’s Lyrics: Rediscovering Worship through Old Testament Songs (Presbyterian & Reformed, 2010), The Beginning and End of Wisdom: Preaching Christ from the First and Last Chapters of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job (Crossway, 2011), and a forthcoming commentary on the Song of Solomon (Preaching the Word; Crossway).

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