Robert V. McCabe presented “An Overview of Ecclesiastes” (a twelve-page article) last week at the 2007 Mid-America Conference on Preaching at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary. In addition to providing an annotated outline of Ecclesiastes, he fills out the following outline of the book’s message:

A. Life in a sin-cursed world cannot be fully comprehended by man.

1. The subject of the book is found in the recurring theme emphasizing the enigmatic nature of life in a sin-cursed world.
2. The subject of the book is also found in its polarity of themes reflecting the enigmatic nature of life in a sin-cursed world.

B. Life in a sin-cursed world can be judiciously enjoyed by man.

1. The significance of the exhortation to judiciously enjoy life is demonstrated by its repetition.
2. The foundation of the exhortation to judiciously enjoy life is one’s relationship to God.
3. The motivation for the exhortation to judiciously enjoy life is the judgment of God.

Related: Check out Dr. McCabe’s blog, “Fearing God in a Hebel World.”