To give our church more context around the book of Ecclesiastes and why it is so important for today, Rob interviewed Dr. Tremper Longman III to get his take. Dr. Longman is one of the world’s leading experts on the wisdom literature in the Old Testament, which includes Ecclesiastes. He got his doctorate in Near Eastern studies at Yale University before becoming a professor. He was a professor at Westmont College from 1998 until he retired in 2017. He continues to serve the college as a distinguished scholar of biblical studies. He is one of the main translators of the New Living Translation and has even consulted on other translations of the Bible including the Message, the New Century Version, and the Holman Standard Bible.
He has written or co-authored more than 20 books, two of which we are using as resources during our Ecclesiastes It’s Time series. His book Breaking the Idols of Your Heart: How to Navigate the Temptations of Life which he wrote with Dr. Dan B. Allender has been particularly insightful and we recommend it as a resource for personal study as well.