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Joy at the End of the Tether: The Inscrutable Wisdom of Ecclesiastes
In this lively reading of Ecclesiastes, Doug Wilson reveals its powerful lessons of vanity, joy, celebration, and the sovereignty of God.
125 pages, ebook
First published June 1, 1999
193 people are currently reading
600 people want to read
About the author
Douglas Wilson
317 books4,524 followersI write in order to make the little voices in my head go away. Thus far it hasn't worked.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 155 reviews
July 22, 2023
2023: love it!
2018: Not surprising it gets better each time I re-read it. I guess it has to do with age. ;)
2016: Why did I not read this book again in 4 years?
I like what my friend Hannah Grieser had to say about it:
"I picked up this book again after about ten years and found that I loved it more now than I did then. This life is vapor, full of endless repetition. And for those who receive it as the gift of God, joy is found in the midst of it all. If ever a book was suited to tired moms who are feeling that all these dishes and diaper changes are sucking the meaning out of life, then Ecclesiastes is it. Of the making of PB&Js there is no end, and much potty training wearies the flesh. Solomon knows the feeling. And he provides God's wisdom for navigating the weariness."
Certainly seasons change, but the weariness is always present -as well as the joy that comes with all our labors.
2012: Love this book!
2018: Not surprising it gets better each time I re-read it. I guess it has to do with age. ;)
2016: Why did I not read this book again in 4 years?
I like what my friend Hannah Grieser had to say about it:
"I picked up this book again after about ten years and found that I loved it more now than I did then. This life is vapor, full of endless repetition. And for those who receive it as the gift of God, joy is found in the midst of it all. If ever a book was suited to tired moms who are feeling that all these dishes and diaper changes are sucking the meaning out of life, then Ecclesiastes is it. Of the making of PB&Js there is no end, and much potty training wearies the flesh. Solomon knows the feeling. And he provides God's wisdom for navigating the weariness."
Certainly seasons change, but the weariness is always present -as well as the joy that comes with all our labors.
2012: Love this book!
November 20, 2013
I picked up this book again after about ten years and found that I loved it more now than I did then. This life is vapor, full of endless repetition. And for those who receive it as the gift of God, joy is found in the midst of it all. If ever a book was suited to tired moms who are feeling that all these dishes and diaper changes are sucking the meaning out of life, then Ecclesiastes is it. Of the making of PB&Js there is no end, and much potty training wearies the flesh. Solomon knows the feeling. And he provides God's wisdom for navigating the weariness.
While at times Wilson spends more words on the modern political ramifications of Solomon's wisdom than I would have liked (I wonder if it was an election year), he clearly and simply breaks Ecclesiastes down into its predominant themes and, as the title suggests, shows how all these seemingly dark meditations point, in the end, toward a deep and unflinching joy.
Every tired mom should read it.
While at times Wilson spends more words on the modern political ramifications of Solomon's wisdom than I would have liked (I wonder if it was an election year), he clearly and simply breaks Ecclesiastes down into its predominant themes and, as the title suggests, shows how all these seemingly dark meditations point, in the end, toward a deep and unflinching joy.
Every tired mom should read it.
July 13, 2020
Ecclesiastes is the "meaning of life" book in the Bible--dealing with the philosophical questions that every person ponders at some point in their life. In Joy at the End of the Tether, Wilson comments on each passage, helping to make sense of what many believe to be almost a nihilistic book. Wilson denies this, and argues that Solomon's argument is biblically sound and wise. I concur--this was a very helpful book.
January 19, 2021
Really good. This little commentary changed my whole paradigm of how to accurately look at Ecclesiastes. It’s the OT book about faith with great joy, not the cynic depressing philosopher arguing that life is meaningless. Everything changes when first understanding “vanity of vanities” is actually a misleading English translation. Vanity implies a moral judgement (Vanity Fair?) where someone is conceited or empty. Life isn’t empty or meaningless especially when trying to harmonize it with the rest of Scripture. Rather, “vapor” is actually a better rendering. The point then is that real biblical wisdom is understood when acknowledging the world is incomprehensible and out of our control. All our attempts to control the course of our lives (trying to be sovereign) is a vapor of vapors. Ecclesiastes is about how a person of faith looks at the world through the lens of the absolute sovereignty of God by fearing Him and keeping His commandments. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” - Hebrews 11:1. We receive and use the wisdom and gifts of God with joy.
January 5, 2015
A great little book to start every year with, since Solomon reminds us in Ecclesiastes that there's nothing new under the sun (instead of "Happy New Year", maybe it should be "Have Another Year & Hope It's Happy"?) Everything is repetitive, and we don't know why except to know that God is sovereign over all things, including the repetitiveness, so we know that the repetition is a gift from God. At the end of all the repetition is the judgment of all mankind, which is also a gift of God, for all of the wrongs we see under the sun will be made right. So, our duty is to enjoy to the fullest the gift of repeated things that God gives us, and enjoy them in the knowledge that all the things that are wrong will be right when He decides it will be so.
Some good quotations from the book:
"All things considered, the furious activity of this works is about as meaningful as the half-time frenzy at the Super Bowl. But a wise man can be there and enjoy himself. This is the gift of God." (p. 13)
"To be wise, a man must know his limitations. 'All things are full of labor; man cannot utter it' (v. 8). A wise believer is a man who knows the length of his tether. Only through the wisdom which God gives can he come to enjoy this limitation, this restriction, this vanity. And while a ways wise man may come to enjoy this vanity, even he cannot really express it." (pp. 19-20, commenting on Eccles. 1:4-11)
"In all this, in every aspect of our lives, the Lord God is exhaustively sovereign. This is not said in order to quarrel with those unhappy brethren who dispute it. This is said because it is the foundation of Solomon's argument, which in turn means that it is the foundation of all possible intelligent joy." (p.46, commenting on Eccles. 3:1-10)
"And always remember that Ecclesiastes is at war with the folly of self-sufficiency. The key to wisdom is coming to understand what we do not know." (p. 103, commenting on Eccles. 11:5-6)
"So God will judge the secret things, all of them, whether good or evil. But how can the thought of exhausting judgment bring pleasure and encouragement anywhere, especially in the midst of vanity? Here is the word of the Lord--it is the gift of God." (p. 112, commenting on Eccles. 12:13-14)
Some good quotations from the book:
"All things considered, the furious activity of this works is about as meaningful as the half-time frenzy at the Super Bowl. But a wise man can be there and enjoy himself. This is the gift of God." (p. 13)
"To be wise, a man must know his limitations. 'All things are full of labor; man cannot utter it' (v. 8). A wise believer is a man who knows the length of his tether. Only through the wisdom which God gives can he come to enjoy this limitation, this restriction, this vanity. And while a ways wise man may come to enjoy this vanity, even he cannot really express it." (pp. 19-20, commenting on Eccles. 1:4-11)
"In all this, in every aspect of our lives, the Lord God is exhaustively sovereign. This is not said in order to quarrel with those unhappy brethren who dispute it. This is said because it is the foundation of Solomon's argument, which in turn means that it is the foundation of all possible intelligent joy." (p.46, commenting on Eccles. 3:1-10)
"And always remember that Ecclesiastes is at war with the folly of self-sufficiency. The key to wisdom is coming to understand what we do not know." (p. 103, commenting on Eccles. 11:5-6)
"So God will judge the secret things, all of them, whether good or evil. But how can the thought of exhausting judgment bring pleasure and encouragement anywhere, especially in the midst of vanity? Here is the word of the Lord--it is the gift of God." (p. 112, commenting on Eccles. 12:13-14)
April 18, 2022
April 2022 — Man...I'm once again convicted of something I know well enough in theory, but am a complete dunce at in practice. 🥴
*****
January 2020 — The spilt milk gets me every time. In this case, it was two bottles of vanilla extract smashed. My reaction was not sanctified. In a week of such vanity, I decided it was time to listen to this.
Life is a game of catch. God tosses me my life, moment by moment, and I make something of it (or fail to) and toss it back to Him (or fail to). He gets to do whatever He likes with it—add bits on (pleasures or pains), take bits off (pleasures or pains), or smash bits on the floor like bottles of vanilla extract. My job is to receive with thanks, to use for His glory, to surrender to His will. I suck at this. There's lots in the book about how not to suck at it, but that's as far as it got with me. Gotta start somewhere, eh?
I have the sermon series on Ecclesiastes, too, I think. I should probably listen to that. Same material, I think, just in the original format and voice.
*****
January 2020 — The spilt milk gets me every time. In this case, it was two bottles of vanilla extract smashed. My reaction was not sanctified. In a week of such vanity, I decided it was time to listen to this.
Life is a game of catch. God tosses me my life, moment by moment, and I make something of it (or fail to) and toss it back to Him (or fail to). He gets to do whatever He likes with it—add bits on (pleasures or pains), take bits off (pleasures or pains), or smash bits on the floor like bottles of vanilla extract. My job is to receive with thanks, to use for His glory, to surrender to His will. I suck at this. There's lots in the book about how not to suck at it, but that's as far as it got with me. Gotta start somewhere, eh?
I have the sermon series on Ecclesiastes, too, I think. I should probably listen to that. Same material, I think, just in the original format and voice.
October 31, 2024
Wonderful. Wilson issues a profound reminder that the Lord's sovereignty ought to fill the hearts of His saints with joy, even as they join in striving after vapors on this earth which will pass away. I have always found Ecclesiastes to be a rather abstruse book, but this commentary proved very enlightening.
May 15, 2021
Some helpful thoughts on Ecclesiastes here.
July 30, 2025
A commentary on Ecclesiastes that feels Ecclesiastes like. Main takeaway: God is not only the One who gives us all good things, He is also the One who enables us to enjoy good things. No true lasting joy apart from Him.
August 3, 2023
Some solid, good writing from Douglas Wilson, as usual.
Vanity, vanity, all is vanity.
Would I re-read: most likely not, it feels like I've got a pretty good grip on Ecclesiastes at this point
Vanity, vanity, all is vanity.
The great Hebrew philosopher who wrote this book called Ecclesiastes calls us to joy, but to a joy which thinks, a joy which does not shrink back from the hard questions. He calls us to meditation, but to a meditation which does not despair. And as he points out repeatedly, shutting off every avenue of escape, only believers can enjoy the vanity which surrounds us on every side.
Would I re-read: most likely not, it feels like I've got a pretty good grip on Ecclesiastes at this point
May 10, 2023
Wonderful! It’s an excellent exhortation for Christians to read the book of Ecclesiastes with the knowledge that there is joy in a life that is repetitive, and there is meaning among the vanities of life. I found it very important to be reminded that Solomon, a man who possessed great wisdom, far more than the average man, was the author of this book. And that information is important in light of how we read Ecclesiastes, that he is not advocating for a life that means nothing, but in fact, in the everyday living, we have hope and joy!
March 23, 2025
Confession: I started out listening to this new edition of the audiobook read by Joffre, but then I switched over to the sermon series it's based on. Kind of the extended version, right? So I'm counting it as having read the book since everything in the book is in the sermons. I think I'm going to make this an annual thing when we get to Ecclesiastes in the Bible Reading Challenge. Can openers FTW! 🥫
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July 28, 2024Well, I guess Ecclesiastes is not an existential rant after all (though, the pessimistic part of me was kind of hoping that one had slipped through into the canon!) It’s actually a positive, encouraging testament of God’s sovereignty and an invitation to joy for believers. We have the privilege of enjoying our food, drink, and work throughout all our vaporous days under the sun because God is our God. As our Sunday school teacher likes to remind us from this book, “everyone gets a can of peaches, but only the Christian gets a can opener.”
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March 21, 2024“In the world of creatures, we may only enjoy what we do not worship. But we cannot rejoice in our silly lives until we understand that it is our portion assigned to us by an infinite wisdom.”
January 21, 2021
This book is very encouraging! Particularly in dark days as we are experiencing of late but we need not be discouraged.
There's a grand narrative unfolding & this little book reminds us that in the midst of it all we can trust our sovreign God to guide our way throughout whatever circumstances He allows.
Mr. Wilson brings us back to the reality that our joy is found in embracing God & His sovereignty in & through everything in this life.
Great book!
There's a grand narrative unfolding & this little book reminds us that in the midst of it all we can trust our sovreign God to guide our way throughout whatever circumstances He allows.
Mr. Wilson brings us back to the reality that our joy is found in embracing God & His sovereignty in & through everything in this life.
Great book!
September 26, 2011
This was my third time reading this commentary. It is not exactly a traditional commentary. It is more application than your average commentary, but it packs an unexpected punch for the size. wonderfully helpful and encouraging.
January 29, 2015
Wilson packs a punch with this short volume, but it often felt too short. He doesn't interact with the text as much as presume from it. I find myself agreeing with most of his conclusions, but I wish they were better supported.
November 8, 2023
Christians can enjoy the vanity of life. Night is coming!
June 14, 2017
After frequenting Douglas Wilson's blog over the past few years, I decided to take the plunge into reading one of his books. I was not disappointed. Brilliant, accessible, profound, and lucid. Wilson helps his readers to taste and see the plight of man under the sun; yet, at the same time, he gives hope to those who've received this life of vanity as a gift--showing them that only God can give man the power to enjoy the vanity. Calling the book of Ecclesiastes an "explicitly Calvinistic book", Wilson demonstrates that in good times and in bad times we are under the sovereign hand of the Lord Jesus, unable to break ourselves free from this condition even when we deny this fact. Fear God--says the Preacher--remember the future judgement, give thanks to Him, mourn, laugh, and maybe have a beer while you're at it.
If you aren't a fan of Wilson, this book may not change your view of him. But hey, if you don't read it, you're the one who's missing out. Enjoy it while you can because death awaits us all. Five stars.
If you aren't a fan of Wilson, this book may not change your view of him. But hey, if you don't read it, you're the one who's missing out. Enjoy it while you can because death awaits us all. Five stars.
June 6, 2024
VERY Doug…
The overarching structure of Ecclesiastes that he offers is very helpful. It’s helpful to see God’s sovereignty as the primary source of comfort and joy in a life and a world that is coming to an end.
He also had several insights on specific proverbs in ch. 7-11. However, in classic Doug fashion, most of the particular commentary feels like a pokey, KJV style, one liner.
Overall helpful, but not more than Gibson’s Living Life Backward.
The overarching structure of Ecclesiastes that he offers is very helpful. It’s helpful to see God’s sovereignty as the primary source of comfort and joy in a life and a world that is coming to an end.
He also had several insights on specific proverbs in ch. 7-11. However, in classic Doug fashion, most of the particular commentary feels like a pokey, KJV style, one liner.
Overall helpful, but not more than Gibson’s Living Life Backward.
July 16, 2023
Worth the read. Simple, yet insightful.
Main four arguments from Ecclesiastes:
1) Satisfaction cannot originate in us or the world under the sun.
2) God is sovereign over all—calling it an explicitly Calvinistic book.
3) Enjoying the vanity is a gift from God.
4) There will be remaining problems that we are to joyfully embrace (work, aging, etc). The end sets it all right.
Main four arguments from Ecclesiastes:
1) Satisfaction cannot originate in us or the world under the sun.
2) God is sovereign over all—calling it an explicitly Calvinistic book.
3) Enjoying the vanity is a gift from God.
4) There will be remaining problems that we are to joyfully embrace (work, aging, etc). The end sets it all right.
August 17, 2025
Good and fun book about Ecclesiastics. Felt like having a conversation with someone who has spent a lot of time mediating through the book of wisdom. His premise being that Ecclesiastics is a book of joy, despite the line of misery Solomon takes to get there. Through God’s wonderful grace can we experience joy in the meaningless circles all of us take. While I think the book was missing a big punch, I still think it was a good book and absolutely worth the short amount of time it takes to read.
August 29, 2025
"We can only enjoy what we do not worship." (Referring to created things) - Doug Wilson, Joy At The End Of The Tether, Ch. 11
"We are called to the duty of work and not to the duty of predicting results." (Ch. 12)
"We are called to the duty of work and not to the duty of predicting results." (Ch. 12)
December 10, 2018
I didn't like nor get Ecclesiastes until I heard the sermon series that came before and lead to this book. The book is a wonderful and shorter version of the same content. Highly recommend.
March 1, 2023
Really insightful! This is helping to form my view on the world. Best stuff is definitely in the first 6 chapters or so.
April 28, 2025
Wilso writes that “people who spend their whole life to acquire wealth find themselves acquired by wealth.” he summarizes wisdom principles like that from Solomon throughout.
April 19, 2023
Good commentary. Worth revisiting. And glad to have the audio version available on Canon+ when wanting to just listen rather than read on my kindle.
December 12, 2020
I’ve read a lot of Wilson this year. This book is by far my most favorite.
July 6, 2021
Surprisingly good short commentary on Ecclesiastes. One of the better things Ive read from Wilson.
January 14, 2011
A commentary of sorts on the wisdom of Ecclesiastes. The full title of Wilson's little book is Joy at the End of the Tether: the Inscrutable Wisdom of Ecclesiastes.
The overall perspective Wilson reveals of Ecclesiastes is this.
The term 'vanity' is not to be defined as absolute meaninglessness, but rather to "inscrutable repetitiveness".
He then divides the book up into sections:
1. Satisfaction cannot come from anything within man's power. (Ecc 1.1-2.26)
2. God is sovereign over everything, and objections to it answered. (Ecc 3.1-5.20)
3. The sovereign God alone gives us the power to enjoy what is vanity. (Ecc 6.1-8.15)
4. Addresses obstacles and practical concerns to the preceding arguments. (Ecc 8.16-12.14)
Each of the above sections is neatly divided into subsequent subsections, that help to further grasp Solomon's building argument. Wilson also makes a number of nifty observations on various topics as he progresses through Solomon's wisdom. These include observations on politics, intoxication, women, sex, and death.
An enjoyable and intelligent read (the two are not mutually exclusive, but can be found alone--just not here).
The overall perspective Wilson reveals of Ecclesiastes is this.
The term 'vanity' is not to be defined as absolute meaninglessness, but rather to "inscrutable repetitiveness".
He then divides the book up into sections:
1. Satisfaction cannot come from anything within man's power. (Ecc 1.1-2.26)
2. God is sovereign over everything, and objections to it answered. (Ecc 3.1-5.20)
3. The sovereign God alone gives us the power to enjoy what is vanity. (Ecc 6.1-8.15)
4. Addresses obstacles and practical concerns to the preceding arguments. (Ecc 8.16-12.14)
Each of the above sections is neatly divided into subsequent subsections, that help to further grasp Solomon's building argument. Wilson also makes a number of nifty observations on various topics as he progresses through Solomon's wisdom. These include observations on politics, intoxication, women, sex, and death.
An enjoyable and intelligent read (the two are not mutually exclusive, but can be found alone--just not here).
Displaying 1 - 30 of 155 reviews