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#8.
Some so-called "lost Scriptures".
pp. 87 - 91
The preservation of the Scriptures by the God Who inspired them is self-evident and
requires no proof. The fact that to-day, in spite of the most appalling opposition, the
Bible remains complete and unbroken is of itself nothing short of a miracle. Is it to be
believed that God numbers the hairs of our heads, takes note of even a sparrow's fall,
guides the stars in their courses, and works all things according to His purpose, and yet
cannot or will not preserve intact the Holy Scriptures?
We have now to consider a supposition that some books of the Scriptures have been
lost. The books that various writers have supposed to have been lost are the following:--
The Book of the WARS OF JEHOVAH (Numb. 21: 14).
The Book of JASHER (Josh. 10: 13; II Sam. 1: 18).
The Book of GAD (I Chron. 29: 29).
The Book of NATHAN (I Chron. 29: 29).
The Book of AHIJAH (II Chron. 9: 29).
The Book of SHEMAIAH (II Chron. 12: 15).
The Book of IDDO (II Chron. 13: 22).
The Book of the ACTS OF SOLOMON (I Kings 11: 41).
The Epistle to LAODICEA (Col. 4: 16).
An Epistle to the CORINTHIANS (I Cor. 5: 9).
We are not concerned with the many suggestions profferred by Rabbis and
commentators concerning these books. The Book of the Wars of Jehovah may be, as
Aben Ezra suggested, the Book of Numbers. The Book of Jasher ("The Right") may be
the book of the law, as the Targums teach. All this is beside the point. Are we to believe
that Moses wrote nothing besides the Pentateuch? Did David never pen a line beyond the
Psalms that bear his name? Did Isaiah write nothing in addition to his prophecy? There
is no ground for such an assumption. John, in concluding his record of the earthly life of
Christ, tells us that if all the things that the Lord did were recorded, the world would not
hold the books that must be written. And there is no reason to suppose that every book
written by apostle or prophet was included in the great revelation of the purpose of the
ages. The Book of the Wars of the Lord may have had much in it to guide Joshua and the
kings of Israel, but it may not have been of any lasting service to the churches of all ages.
The histories of Israel's kings contained much that was of no value and, though recorded
by Gad, Nathan, Iddo and others, they were not intended to be part of the sacred Canon of
Scripture written for our learning.
We must now consider the reference in Col. 4: 16 to the epistle to Laodicea. Let us
observe exactly what is written:--
"And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of
the Laodiceans, and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea."