Matthew 5:14,16 English Standard Version (ESV) “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

These are not all the words for these verses and 15 is missing altogether. When writers are trying to make a point we often leave out parts that do not convey the message we intend to relay. We are not being evasive of misleading. Readers are encouraged to look at the whole message.

Readers should not try to read into truncation as manipulation. Brevity can be useful but it does not offer up a full range of discussion. This was the daily verse from BibleGateway.com and not part of a discussion group. Writers who do blogs would appreciate questions and exchange of ideas. Brevity can sometimes encourage that effort.

If verse 15 is missing, why is it missing? That is the first thing that comes to mind for me. Is it worthy of a discussion? Probably but placing that one verse without context could be misleading. We lose the tenor of placement in the whole chapter. It is part of the Sermon on the Mount and comes after the beatitudes. Jesus used the beatitudes to set up the verses that follow, setting the stage as it were.

Blogs and daily devotionals cannot treat a subject in its context and if a point is going to be made or discussed truncating can be a valuable tool to deliver a concise subject. Jesus is the ultimate motivational speaker. He stirs listeners like no one else. He does so by the Spirit of God.

When reading a daily devotional or blog the spirit may possibly stir the reader to investigate further and that is our hope, that God stirs. What interests us and the points we make may not be what God wants to say to the individual. No devotional or blog writer wants our messages to be the only communication the reader has with God.

Respond to His stirring.

Hebrews 12:1 English Standard Version

Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

Exodus 13:21-22 English Standard Version

²¹ And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. ²² The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.

This great cloud of witnesses refers back to Hebrews 11, the faith chapter of the bible. There is listed a number of men of faith and they are examples of men of faith but why the expression “a cloud of witnesses”? This letter to the Hebrews is filled with historical markers they could relate to in the experiences of their ancestors, men that walked before them. They would have remembered the days gone past that this cloud would have significant meaning. We might miss the point if it were not for the Old Testament writings.

Did Hebrews 12:1 remind you of Exodus 13? Do you have a vision of what it must be like to follow the millions that went before us by faith? Those in the forefront had a clear view of the pillar of cloud that they followed. The people in the back, the ones furthest from the pillar might not see the pillar at all because of the dust being kicked up by those in front of them. At some point they would have relied on the faith of others to lead them.

At this point in our walk Hebrews 12:1 takes on significant meaning.

Nahum 1:3b English Standard Version (ESV) His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.