Of Making Many Books There is No End

Reading has, throughout my life, provided many enjoyable and profitable moments. I have especially loved history and biography. For example, I am currently reading “Benjamin Franklin” by Walter Isaacson. I chose this book because I have taken an interest in the Founding Fathers of our nation.

So far, I’ve read about George Washington, John Adams, and Alexander Hamilton. All of the books have been enlightening in that I better understand these men and their successes and failures.

Yes, reading provides knowledge and entertainment, but in the greater scheme of things how does knowledge of the Founding Fathers profit me as a reader? As I consider all the time and effort I have put into reading, what is the profit?

To be honest, my reading has been entertaining and enlightening on a human level, but when God evaluates my reading will it matter that I know a lot about the Founding Fathers or any other subject?

The Bible has some interesting things to say about books and the pursuit of knowledge. Let’s examine a few passages that help us to put the reading of books in the right perspective.

Ecclesiastes 12:12 “. . . Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh.”

Adam Clarke in his commentary makes the following note on the reading of books,
“Two thousand years have elapsed since this was written; and since that time some millions of treatises have been added, on all kinds of subjects, to those which have gone before. The press is still groaning under and teeming with books, books innumerable; and no one subject is yet exhausted, notwithstanding all that has been written on it. And we who live in these latter times are no nearer an end, in the investigation of NATURE and its properties; of GOD, his attributes, his providence, his justice, and his mercy; of MAN, his animal life, his mode of nutrition and existence, and his soul and its powers; of JESUS, and the redemption by him; of ETERNITY, and what it implies as exhibiting to us the pains of the cursed, and the glories of the blessed. Of several of these we know no more than they who have lived five thousand years before us; nor do we know anything certainly by the endless books that have been published, except what bears the seal of the God of heaven, as published in that word which was declared by His Spirit.
(from Adam Clarke's Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1996, 2003, 2005, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.).”

In other words, loads of books have been produced on every imaginable subject, but what long term contribution has the publication and reading of books produced? Sadly, not much. As Solomon says at the end of verse 12, “much study is a weariness to the flesh.”

Ecclesiastes 1:18 provides additional insight to Ecclesiastes 12:12: “For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.” Solomon makes clear from this verse that we can acquire a great deal of knowledge about this physical world. In fact, Paul addresses people who put great effort into reading and learning, but there is something woefully lacking in the end. 2 Timothy 3:7 “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” or as Solomon said it “much study is a weariness to the flesh.”

Is reading and study wrong? As long as we are reading what is edifying, we are pursuing a positive path.

Available to us is God’s inspired word from which we can receive everything we need to be complete and fully equipped as members of Gods church (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The Bible offers us something we can never gain from reading many of the books available to us.

Note what Solomon said as he comes to the end of the book of Ecclesiastes, “And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and set in order many proverbs. 10 The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what was written was upright — words of truth. 11 The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd. 12 And further, my son, be admonished by these (Ecclesiastes 12:9-12).

In summary, reading can be instructive and most pleasurable, but we have to realize that most of what we read does not contribute to the path to eternal life. But as we dig into God’s word we can be instructed, “goaded”, or built up by “well-driven nails.” The Bible being the most profitable reading we will ever undertake.

Have an enjoyable Sabbath,

Gary Smith

The Good Old Days Are Yet To Come

As those of us of an older generation look at world conditions, we also tend to look back. In looking back, we many times conclude that the days of yesteryear were better. We might refer to them as, “The good old days.” But we must ask, “Are the Good Old Days Really Good?”

Ecclesiastes 7:10 contains a thought often heard these days: “Do not say, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’ For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.” The times we live in are indeed becoming steadily more difficult. Christian values are consistently being attacked. Under such circumstances, a person is apt to say what Solomon warns us against saying. It is easy for us to let ourselves become “down.” But we need to be careful because discouragement is a child of impatience. In difficult situations, we want the trouble to pass quickly. However, be aware that in such times it is easy to allow one’s carnality to take the bribe of doing a “quick and dirty,” less-than-good job in order to make life less stressful and tiring.

To take a quick and easy approach is understandable these days because conditions in this nation give no sign of positive change. It seems that those governing us are delivering us into the hands of the nation’s enemies. Others who are illegally invading us are dragging us into the gutter, and at the same time, much of the nation’s wealth is flowing into the hands of the few. Jobs are becoming scarcer.

All of those things are indeed true to some degree, but we have to resist allowing this influence to get a firm grip on us, as it indicates that our focus is too much on carnal men and all their self-centered flaws rather than on what God is accomplishing to fulfill His promises. Yes, living is growing less comfortable, but He is telling us to look ahead and focus on what He will accomplish in the future. God wants us to evaluate honestly what we have received by virtue of His calling.

Consider an interesting aspect of the mindset of Abraham. Genesis 13:2 describes him as very rich in livestock, silver, and gold. Hebrews 11:10 reports that despite all that wealth, he looked for a city whose Builder is God. We know that Abraham was wealthy enough to put together an army of over 300 men, but in this way, God shows us what dominated his mind.

What lay in the future, not the present, motivated his life. Abraham bought no land to call his own, and Hebrews 11:9 records that this very wealthy man lived in tents. A tent is a symbol of temporariness, as well as lack of wealth and status. The wealthy live in solid homes; the poor live in tents because they can afford nothing better. Yet, Abraham was not merely wealthy, but very wealthy.

Abraham was certainly aware of the riches of the world around him. He came from Ur of the Chaldees, a very prosperous city. He visited Egypt, the world’s most powerful and wealthiest nation at that time. Pyramids cannot be built without wealth. Movies like The Ten Commandments attempt to depict the splendor. What Hebrews 11:9 does not say is that, all the while he lived in what appears to be a lowly status, he was heir of the world (Roman 4:13)! To a person of faith that means a great deal.

Some may perhaps mistakenly think that everybody lived in tents in Abraham’s time, so the way he lived was the way every wealthy person lived. This assumption leads one to conclude there is nothing unusual in the Bible pointing these things out. Not so. The way Abraham lived reflected where his heart was, a glimpse into his faith, vision, and humility. Archeologists have compiled and recorded a great deal of evidence about the time Abraham lived. The people of that day built fine houses and huge buildings. The cultures were highly developed, and their building projects were grand and extensive.

It has been said that the “good old days” are the result of bad memory and good imagination. We old folks have a proclivity to look back and say, “The old was better.” That is true sometimes. Solomon’s advice is trying to help us understand that, though we must look back to learn, the future must nonetheless dominate our minds. If one is looking over his shoulder while trying to move forward at the same time, he is likely either to crash into something, or to trip and fall over some impediment.

Jesus cautions in Luke 9:62, “No one, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Solomon is urging us, the called, to move on with life and its problems by looking and working toward the future. The Sabbath urges us to focus upon the future when the “good old days” of this present age will be paled by the truly good days of God’s Kingdom.

Have a good Sabbath

Gary Smith