By Peter Krol
My co-blogger Ryan has provided a very helpful explanation for why the Bible is not boring. Pastor Mitch Chase also recently wrote about 4 reasons you might think the Bible is boring. His reasons are:
Chase offers some excellent guidance for ways to pull out of each of these situations and find more delight in God’s word.
By Peter Krol
Mitch Chase takes up an important question in the Bible’s wisdom literature: Can you trust the book of Ecclesiastes? Is it a collection of biblical wisdom, or is it a curation of ungodly beliefs to reject?
When you survey commentaries on the book of Ecclesiastes, you’ll notice that not every interpreter is convinced we should trust the words in this book. So how should we approach it? Is the content of Ecclesiastes like the book of Job, in which the speeches of Job’s friends have a mixture of truth and error? Or do the Preacher’s observations about life “under the sun” stay uncorrupted and trustworthy?
I think we can thoroughly trust the book’s content and wisdom, and I want to offer some considerations as to why.
By Peter Krol
Yes, it is.
Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
Ecclesiastes 11:9
Mitch Chase wonders what this could mean, in light of all that Jesus, Moses, the prophets, and sages of Israel had to say about not following one’s own heart.
Chase makes excellent use of correlation with other wisdom texts as well as the context of the argument within the book of Ecclesiastes to answer the question. And he arrives at a great place.
The writer, in Ecclesiastes 11:9, is not advocating reckless living but Godward living, decisions made overflowing from a heart that fears and follows the Lord.
The only thing I might add to Chase’s conclusion is that, in light of the joy granted as a gift of God, all throughout the book of Ecclesiastes, “the ways of your heart” here are not only the commands of God that have been written on the heart—but also the personal affections and delights God implants when he shapes a person in his image. In other words, when one fears God, not only their Godward morality—but also their Godward hobbies, vocation, and delights—are unlocked to enjoy to the fullest.
As long, of course, as one never forgets that the Lord remains the judge of our hearts’ delights, such that we might walk in the fear of him.
So go swing a baseball bat, plant a rose garden, or audition for a play—to the glory of your creator. Such things are nothing but vanity in themselves. But the gift of God to those with whom he is pleased is the ability to enjoy such vain things to his glory.
By Peter Krol
Mitch Chase wants you to embrace not only the 27 books of the New Testament but also the 39 books of the Old Testament for your Christian discipleship. He argues that the Old Testament is not only Jewish Scripture, but is also a foundational part of Christian Scripture. In fact, you can’t really understand the New Testament without the Old.
After giving seven reasons for this assertion, he concludes:
The Old Testament is relevant for the Christian life because it is Christian Scripture. We are children of Abraham by faith, so the earlier covenants and redemptive acts of God are part of our history. We need the warnings and exhortations of the Old Testament. We need its songs and proverbs. We need to know about its prophets and kings. The Old Testament tells of saints before the cross, and they form a cloud of witnesses as we run the race after the cross.
