Solomon wrote: “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). There is more here than first meets the eye in Solomon’s words, but, our attention will be directed to the words, “of making many books there is no end.” With the invention of the printing press the subjects of making of “many books,” took on new life; but even this requires a few words itself. We are talking about “movable type printing” which was invented around 1439 by Johannes Gutenberg. The arrival of mechanical movable type printing introduced the era of mass communication and it produced a remarkable increase in the number of books it made available to the general public. Of course, before this, most copies of books were hand copied and sold at a very high price. Therefore, the average person could not afford to purchase books.
Think about it this way, Wikipedia says there are 800,000 words in the Bible and the average person can copy 1,300 words an hour. This means it would take one person, if he could maintain 1,300 words per hour for eight hours, about 77 days to copy the Bible. However, it must be remembered, when the copy was completed, you had but one copy. So, what does this mean? It means the making of books was slower than trying to pour cold molasses! On the other hand, the Gutenberg printing press allowed, once the type was set up, many copies to be printed; thus, the making of books was greatly increased.
No matter the number of books printed there is one book known as “The Book,” which has at its core these words: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecc. 12:13-14). Though greatly rejected by the majority of every generation, they still stand as the one message to mankind! Man can reject God as the Creator, but he is left with the impossibility to answer his own existence. For as he tries to answer, certain facts keep coming back to him; “nothing comes from nothing!” and “life comes from life!” Each of these eternal facts do not go away and have no answer without God. Thus, “The Book” reads: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). “The Book” starts with “something” and it starts with “life.” Thus, it answers both questions which the rejecter of God cannot answer and it does so in its opening statement! In doing so, “The Book” has made man responsible to and answerable to God; thus, the words of Solomon.
In the failure of mankind to “keep” the commandments of God, he sinned and this resulted in being separated from God. Therefore, because God is not only the Creator, but also the loving Father, he provided an answer to mankind’s greatest need. Man needed a means of reconciliation; a restoration to God. Why was this necessary? Because as Paul wrote, when speaking of the Jews and Gentiles: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). For as sure as we live, we sin once we reach a time in life wherein we are accountable for our actions; therefore, we need reconciliation as our sin has separated us from God. Thanks be to God, as Paul wrote: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). “The Book” reveals to us, “the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet. 1:19), by which we are redeemed. Being redeemed, we are also reconciled, restored to God from which our personal sin had separated us. Thus, “The Book” not only states our obligation to keep the commandments of God, but answers the question of what happens when we fail to do so.
Yes, Solomon wrote of the making of books there is no end, but “The Book” stands alone, even with the invention of the printing press and in the modern world where books may be printed within forty-eight hours, “The Book” still stands! It is said that more than 6 billion copies of the Bible, “The Book,” have been sold starting from 1541. This is more than any other book! It is also said, that the Bible has been translated into at least 531 languages; then, at least some part of it has been translated into 2,883 languages.
But, in whatever language, it is the only book that answers the questions of life; where did we come from, to whom are we accountable, by what standard must we live, and where are we going after death? There is but one book which answers to “The Book” and it is Bible, the word of God! My friends, you need to read it, study it, love it, and obey it!
— Frank R. Williams