Living Life Backward: How Ecclesiastes Teaches Us to Live in Light of the End

A friend recommended this book to me and i hold it in my top 3 books for meaning and value. Its a book on living life with wisdom. Great read giving anyone alot to think about!

I was referred this book by my minister. It is short and to the point. You will enjoy how it takes Ecclesiastes apart one chapter at a time. The themes of the Bible Book are easily identified and much easier to understand than a cold reading of this book. Understanding the wisdom of this book leads the reader to seeking and noticing anew those things God puts before us every day in every way. Much like the teachings inside the topics of Fruit of the Spirit, this is a lovely book that seeks to bring us closer to God. The big difference is how this text reminds us or makes us aware that the world has a lot more to it than meets the initial eye.

A detailed and yet approachable exposition of Ecclesiastes, giving theme and meaning to each part and tying it to the whole. Great writing style, excellent teacher. If you've ever tried reading Ecclesiastes and just felt depressed, or didn't understand why it was in the Bible, buy this book! I've always loved Ecclesiastes, but I've never been able to explain why.

Truly enjoyed this book. The author presents some new and different (to me, at least) takes on the meaning of Ecclesiastes.

This is an insightful and engaging examination of Ecclesiastes, a book that points at the irony and futility inherent in the fallen human condition.This thoughtful commentary brings home the message of the preacher: life in this world is brief and unpredictable. We live potentially only a moment away from death, and then we have eternity. What then? Are we prepared to face God, or are we living in denial. The sooner we find peace with God through Jesus Christ and make a decision to try and live a life that is pleasing to God, the better. And as the scripture tells us, that whole duty of man is encapsulated in the words “Fear God and keep his commandments” (ch. 12:13).The message of Ecclesiastes is so contrary to the modern worldview, its revelations are counter-intuitive. The author does an excellent job of exploring its wisdom. Like me, you will find yourself keeping this slim and accessible volume on your bookshelf to dip into again.

The author does an excellent job bringing clarity to a difficult book of the Bible. I have, and will continue to, recommended this book to others.

This is a very helpful commentary on Ecclesiastes geared to challenge and teach normal believers through the timeless wisdom of the Preacher. Loads of good applications and many great questions for personal reflection and group discussion are found in this book. Highly recommended!!

This book begins and returns over and over to “the end”, namely visualizing yourself in your own casket and returning daily to that reality allows you to live. It allows you to be thankful, rightly enjoy pleasures that are God’s gifts, and be satisfied within your own human limitations. This books has been very instructive, anf it’s also been helpful to have a voice outside of America as a tutor.

Thought provoking, challenging and an instrument to draw us closer to God. Would highly recommend to anyone! Helped me in immense ways to better understand a tough book of the Bible, with God's help of course.

If you want to read a book that will help you get a 'Gods-eye' perspective on your life and purpose, this book is worth your time. An engaging, enjoyable and thought-provoking read, David Gibson skillfully communicates the depth and importance of this topic, without overwhelming theology or unnecessary story telling, shining light where you might just find you need it. I finished the book, feeling thankful for the opportunity to self-reflect and be gracefully re-oriented.

"How should we then live?" is one of life's most important questions. What difference does our believing (or not believing) make to our living? Ecclesiastes might not be the first book of the Bible where we might seek the answer. At first reading it appears a gloomy, melancholic meditation on life. But how wrong that is.David Gibson's wonderful, clear exposition is really helpful in revealing the depth and scope of 'the preacher's' wisdom. Life in God's world is gift not gain. When we realise that we cannot control our lives, either in length or significance, then we are freed to acknowledge God's gift of life and enjoy it with thankfulness. This is life lived under grace.Although published in 2017, this book could not be more relevant for the pandemic world of 2020. Western society does not discuss the meaning of death, even now, because secularism and atheism offers no hope. But the preacher, the questor after truth, in Ecclesiastes has much to say to a world forced to face its own imminent mortality.This book seems expensive for a relatively slim volume. It's price may even restrict its readership which would be a shame. But I would still encourage you to buy it, read it and reflect on it. It's value is almost priceless!

Why aren't certain parts of the book covered in his book, "Living Life Backwards"?Most of Ch 5 is missing, all of 6, all of 8 and all of 10...is there a reason for this?

I have read Ecclesiastes many times, and I've heard many sermons on it, but this book finally helped me understand the message of the book. It doesn’t read like a commentary at all, though. It delivers the message of Ecclesiastes so clearly and persuasively that you forget that the book is at its heart an exposition of the Bible. Many of Gibson's phrases will live me (e.g. life is gift not gain) and help me to remember the truths of Ecclesiastes. I want more books like this one!