IS THERE LOST BOOKS SPOKEN OF IN THE BIBLE?
1Ch 29:26 Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel.
1Ch 29:27 And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.
1Ch 29:28 And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour: and Solomon his son reigned in his stead.
1Ch 29:29 Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,
1Ch 29:30 With all his reign and his might, and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the countries.
As you know you find the references to “the book of Jasher,” and to “the book of Nathan the prophet,” and to “the book of Gad the seer” in the Books of II Samuel through II Chronicles, along with references also to “the book of Samuel the seer” and “the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah,” and “the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.” The particular reference in I Chronicles 29:29, (along with others like it), let us know that Samuel, Nathan, Gad, Jasher, and others, were the ones that God used to write the books of I Samuel, II Samuel, I Kings, II Kings, I Chronicles and II Chronicles.
Jos 10:13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.
So “the book of Jasher,” “the book of Nathan the prophet,” and “the book of Gad the seer” are not referring to books that are not included in the Bible, or that got lost or went missing. But they are referring to what is recorded in the Books of I Kings and II Kings, and in the Books of I Chronicles, and II Chronicles, which are two distinct and separate accounts, (but also complimentary accounts), of Israel’s history that God purposefully had written; and depending upon whether Jasher, Nathan, or Gad is mentioned the reference is to the particular portion of I Kings through II Chronicles that they specifically penned.
1Ki 14:18 And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet.
1Ki 14:19 And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
1Ki 14:28 And it was so, when the king went into the house of the LORD, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.
1Ki 14:29 Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
It is my understanding that the “book of the wars of the LORD” mentioned in Numbers 21:14 is not a reference to a book that God had Moses or someone else write, or that was supposed to be part of the Bible but is not. Instead it is a completely distinct book that God has had written in which He sets forth the battle plan for His day, and it is not on this earth but it is with Him in the third heaven. God had it written in advance in connection with His contention with the Adversary, and as He took Israel to the various places that He did on their way from Egypt to their land He showed Moses the book and showed him how that the places He was taking them to were all places that He had written down in His “book of the wars of the LORD.” Then when God had Moses write the Book of Numbers He had him include the excerpt from His “book of the wars of the LORD” to testify to Israel both at that time, and for the future, why it was that He took them on that particular route when He brought them out of Egypt.
Num 21:10 And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in Oboth.
Num 21:11 And they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched at Ijeabarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sunrising.
Num 21:12 From thence they removed, and pitched in the valley of Zared.
Num 21:13 From thence they removed, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, which is in the wilderness that cometh out of the coasts of the Amorites: for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.
Num 21:14 Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the LORD, What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon,
So once again “the book of the wars of the LORD” is not referring to a book that is either part of the Bible, or is supposed to be part of the Bible, (with the exception of the excerpt from it that God had Moses include in the Book of Numbers). “The book of the wars of the LORD” is a separate book God has written and it is with Him in the third heaven awaiting its use in “the day of the LORD.”
Keith Blades
Enjoy The Bible Ministries