Do you remember this verse? “And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh” (Ecc. 12:12). You probably quoted this verse to a teacher at some point after receiving an assignment for the weekend when you had something fun planned. I found this quote, “Google: There Are 129,864,880 Books in the Entire World. How many books have ever been published in all of modern history? According to Google’s advanced algorithms, the answer is nearly 130 million books, or 129,864,880, to be exact. Aug 6, 2010” That was nine years ago so you had better add to that number. Suffice to say, there have been a lot of books published.
Our focus is on “…And much study is a weariness to the flesh.” How much is much? I had a cousin who, from my information, didn’t like to study (BTW, he became a multi-millionaire). It was passed along in the family that my aunt said to her son, “I can’t make you read that book, but I can make you sit and look at it.” He must have done a lot of looking.
The Hebrew word for “much” in the above passage means, “excessive devotion.” Well, that leaves most of us out. It is most likely that your flesh is not going to become weary from
- The Bible. Read it every day. Have a method. Make notes. Write questions, if you need help.
- Good publications. Here are some: Spiritual Sword (free to Lithia Springs, available on
table inauditorium ), Gospel Journal, Seek the Old Paths, House to House, Gospel Advocate, Magnolia Messenger, and Christian Courier. Some of these require a subscription; others if you make a contribution, they will send it free of charge. - Good books. Books by: Becky Blackmon, Glenn
and Cindy Colley, Phil Sanders plus a host of others. Every member of the church needs the book, Churches in the Shape of Scripture by Dan Chambers. There are so many good ones that it is impossible for me to list. - Lithia Springs website. Here it
is: lithiaspringschurchofchrist.com. You have access to over 1,000 programs on DVD by going to the link World Video Bible School. You can study every book of the Bible by registering for the free Online Bible Study Course. There are links to other great sources. Everything is free. - Attend meetings, lectureships and Ladies Days. Check our bulletin board or bulletin for this information.
- Attend Sunday morning and Wednesday night Bible study. Think about this! Qualified teachers for all ages. What an opportunity! Do you see this as an opportunity to learn?
Don’t worry that you are not going to get too much, in all probability you are not getting enough.
Larry
