Alluring yet frustrating. Charming yet maddening. Such is our reaction to the literary wonder called Ecclesiastes (Qoheleth), a "wisdom" book that has captured the fascination of readers everywhere for over two millennia with its mix of poetry and personal reflection, its probing of the human experience and its piercing assessment of human activity--especially human labor. Its "All is meaningless!" lament, which frames the document, is well known to all. But its message and the structure of the writer's argument remain disputed, even among professional scholars. Often overlooked, when not ignored, is the relationship between joy or contentment and the fear of God. And almost universally ignored in standard commentary is the role that satisfaction in our work plays in the life of the God-fearer. Against the mainstream of biblical scholarship, Wisdom and Work argues for the presence of a double theme in Ecclesiastes. It argues that, based on the writer's literary-rhetorical strategy, two diametrically opposed outlooks on life are being contrasted in Ecclesiastes, and that meaning and purpose, not "meaninglessness," are by divine design to be the norm - a norm that infuses the daily, the ordinary, and perhaps most significantly, our work.
J. Daryl Charles is the Acton Institute Affiliated Scholar in Theology & Ethics. He is author or editor of twenty books, including The Unformed Conscience of Evangelicalism: Recovering the Church’s Moral Vision (2002), Retrieving the Natural Law: A Return to Moral First Things (2008), Thriving in Babylon (2011), and Wisdom’s Work: Essays on Ethics, Vocation, and Culture (2019).
“The very first words spoken to the newly created human family found on the first pages of the Bible are words of vocation, a calling to imitate God through responsible work. Wisdom and Work is a gem for anyone interested in probing this critical topic through the lens of one of the most practical books in the Scriptures, Ecclesiastes. I highly recommend it both for preachers of any kind, and businesspeople seeking affirmation of their calling.”
—Robert Sirico, President, The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty
“The book of Ecclesiastes has often been held in suspicion by communities of faith for its unrelentingly pessimistic view of human life. In this outstanding study, J. Daryl Charles breaks the interpretive logjam that has long prevented the positive message—the good news—of the book of Ecclesiastes from reaching its readers and informing their work in the world with a clear, coherent, and joyful sense of vocation.”
—Lee Hardy, Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, Calvin University
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