Witnesses

          Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3) 

Therefore:
          Given all that was discussed in chapter 11, and all the people who were mentioned. One of the guidelines I was given for literary study is to always look back to see what therefore is there for.

Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses:
          There are only about fifteen people mentioned by name in the last chapter, but the Israelites who came out of Egypt and the Israelites who entered the promised land and conquered Jericho are mentioned. Only two men belonged to both groups. There’s debate about the numbers. Some say two million left Egypt with Moses, some say one thousand (because the word translated thousand can also be translated “families.” I haven’t researched it, so we’ll go with that: 1,000 – 2,000,000. Following that same accounting method, somewhere between 660 and 660,000 men went to war against Jericho. Just in that list, we have 1,675 witnesses, or we have 2,660,015 witnesses.
          I’m inclined to believe the larger numbers, but if you like the smaller ones, I must admit that it’s more miraculous that fewer than 660 men were able to conquer not just Jericho, but all the other nations under Joshua’s command. I say fewer than 660 because once they were getting  ready for battle, Joshua had called on any who were afraid, or any who had unfinished business, or any who had any excuse at all to stay behind. Also, when they attacked Ai, Achan stole some plunder and was put to death.
          In any case, I don’t think those witnesses are the only witnesses. There are also the people who witnessed those witnesses and had faith. There are those whose pictures make up the collage of each of the other pictures. This is the one passage in Scripture that leads one to consider the possibility that people in Heaven know what’s going on here.
          A little speculation on my part comes to mind. What if, instead of a hall of faith, there’s a “Face Book” of Faith, so that as you peer at a picture, you can click on each of the pieces of the collage. Some may not be “posting” yet, or maybe some are white spaces waiting for the portrait to be added. Or, what if the portraits are like those hanging in Hogwarts, and they’re watching you examine them? And talking to you, if you have the ears to hear? Putting that in a less “wizarding” way, what if the portraits are part of a Heavenly Skype network?
         The point is that there are a whole bunch of people who are watching, or perhaps who will watch our biography on the Heavenly YouTube. If you’re like me, there are things I’d rather my biopic not include, but I have to admit that I don’t tend to live from day-to-day with what my biopic might include at the forefront of my mind. Maybe it should be.
          We’ll continue this passage tomorrow.