D E Isom

Walk with the Word Ecclesiastes Study Guide D E Isom

Whereas the other books of the Bible assigned to members of the "Wisdom Literature" present Western readers with the challenge of navigating the literary devices of Hebrew poetry, Ecclesiastes has an ordered structure which genuinely unfolds in a very logical progression over its twelve chapters. Although not perfectly aligned with the Western addiction to an ordered format in the character of a set of instructions for operating machinery, it nonetheless progresses through the necessary increments, arriving at a very biblical conclusion. Its structure is not so different from the Epistles, and similarly embracing the theme of daily Christian living, is probably the closest Old Testament book in that respect. At the end of all the analysis, this is a treatise on coming to terms with the fact that this life is finite and will only be successively navigated by the full trust in and dependence upon God. The examination of this mortal life by even the most wise and learned man in history to that point only served to prove that knowledge must always and ultimately give way to faith. The achievement of that realization produces the ability to therefore enjoy what God has given for the time allotted without incurring additional baggage for what will inevitably come next. Each of these studies, as with all which are found on Walk with the Word, were created using the Inductive Bible Study (IBS) method. This is why the overall format of each lesson comes in the form of questions which prod exploration and examination of the text. When employed in a teaching environment, the leader acts more as a facilitator by asking the questions and guiding the discussion so as to involve the participants in an exercise wherein they are being discipled to properly handle Scripture in parallel with self-examination. These studies are not intended to simply convey information as a result of the author's research or presentation, but for participants to actively seek and realize for themselves what needs to be put into practice from God's Word. In other words, this is not a study of literature, but an exercise in discipleship.