The Hebrew writer contrasts the Old Covenant and New: the one spoken to ancestors through prophets versus that spoken to us by God’s Son. He will go on to amplify the wonderful elements of the New Covenant in the epistle, which is clearly written to people with a Jewish background tempted back into Judaism, in part because they would be less likely to be persecuted. 

We might have been tempted to have sent Jesus thousands of years ago, soon after Adam and Eve sinned. But in God’s purposes it was necessary for the pages of the Old Testament to unfold so we would see the failure of humanity to live up to God’s ways even though they had received clear instructions and reminders. 

The writer’s musings on life cause him to start to bring God into the picture (see 2:24), and so he is now reflecting, more helpfully, on seeing things as brought by God, with a series of fourteen couplets which contrast one another, and are perhaps the best-known part of the book. 

Solomon’s reflections in Ecclesiastes cause him to reflect on many areas that seem to be fulfilling. He is especially gloomy about work, finding that for all the short-term benefits, the fruit of what he has done will be left to others who may or may not deserve it. 

Not everything in the Bible is true. What?! Let me qualify that. Some of the statements in the Bible reflect conversations where what is said is not true, and this is especially true in the book of Ecclesiastes. It starts as ‘The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem’, which most agree fits for Solomon, writing probably at the end of his life. 

A student in history might be satisfied to learn about the Elizabethan age, a geographer might be pleased to understand the way a landscape is formed and a physicist how gravity operates. The teaching experience is complete when the student has learned information. Paul was pretty unconcerned whether Timothy had memorised which kings of Israel were good and which were bad or how many of the minor prophets spoke to Judah. 

The source of information is pretty important. You might be less inclined to trust a newspaper report than a university-peer-reviewed research paper. Instructions on a tin of chemicals have rather more weight than a tweet from an annoyed football fan. We ask, ‘What authority do they have?’ 

As has been pointed out many times, the Bible doesn’t say: train up young people in the way they should go’ (Prov. 22:6), it says train up children. Evidently Timothy’s parents (and grandparents) knew the verse, for he had been taught the Scriptures from infancy. The introductory words on Timothy in the book of Acts (16:1) suggest that it may have been just his mum doing the teaching. 

Those demonstrating expertise in any walk of life have a certain authority when it comes to teaching others: witness the popularity of ‘how to’ books written by experts in the field, and video training courses by master craftsmen and women. This is no less true in spiritual life, and Paul uses it as an exhortation to Timothy to stick with the faith ‘because you know those from whom you have learned it’. 

Whether you are a Christian or not, it seems obligatory to use the words RIP (Rest In Peace) in a text, Tweet or Facebook post when news of the death of a loved one or celebrity is broadcast.