The writer
of Ecclesiastes makes an interesting statement near the end of his brief Old
Testament work. He says:
Ecc 12:12 My child, there is
something else to watch out for. There is no end to the writing of books, and
too much study will wear you out.
He is right. There is no end to the writing of books. The writing may
have been on ostraca, stone surfaces, scrolls of parchment, vellum, or copper,
paper, or a digital tablet. In the end they all are only the surfaces upon
which we write our thoughts, our ideas, and our literary contributions to
humanity.
Moses gave the priests the equivalent of books as he neared his death,
a record of all that God had given to him to use in governing the Children of
Israel.
Deu 31:24-26 Moses wrote God's
Law in a book, taking care not to leave out anything. When he finished, he said
to the levitical priests, who were in charge of the LORD's Covenant Box,
"Take this book of God's Law and place it beside the Covenant Box of the
LORD your God, so that it will remain there as a witness against his people.
Josiah was given the Book of the Law and from it started a great
revival in Israel.
2Ki 22:11 When the king heard
the book being read, he tore his clothes in dismay,
The prophet Malachi records a scene from heaven
Mal 3:16 Then the people who
feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD listened and heard what they
said. In his presence, there was written down in a book a record of those who
feared the LORD and respected him.
Jesus read from the book of Isaiah although it was actually a scroll.
Luk
4:16-19 Then Jesus went to Nazareth,
where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath he went as usual to the
synagogue. He stood up to read the Scriptures and was handed the book of the
prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written,
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has chosen me to bring good
news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and
recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed and announce that the
time has come when the Lord will save his people."
Even in the Book of the Revelation of John, additional books are
mentioned.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead,
great and small alike, standing before the throne. Books were opened, and then
another book was opened, the book of the living. The dead were judged according
to what they had done, as recorded in the books.
The writer of Ecclesiastes was right. Of the writing of books there is
no end. Heaven itself is keeping a record in books of both our deeds and of
those who choose the humblest deed of all. That humblest and greatest deed is
to place one’s life in the hands of Jesus Christ, declare him Lord, choose to
live for him and with him for eternity, and so find our names written in the
Book of Life.
I like to write books – simple books, involved books, story books.
Through them I can leave something for the generation that follows me. My name
may not be remembered, but what I can record about what I have experienced in
my few years may make this a better world for those who read them.
Books should help us learn so that we need not repeat the negative in
what others have experienced. Books help us remember what has proven itself to
be most important. As long as there are people, may the writing of books not
come to an end. May the reading of books never slacken, especially the greatest
book ever written, the Bible.
