Hebrews 11:13-16
13 “All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen and welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own.15 And indeed if they had been thinking of that country which they left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.”
Without receiving promises: We often revere the Old Testament heroes and yet they never received the promises in Christ. We Christians today have more than they ever did. It doesn’t matter how much these Old Testament figures did for God. On this side of the cross we have something better than Moses and even David, a man after God’s own heart.
Seeking a country: Old Testament believers were ultimately looking for God’s heavenly country, the spiritual nation founded in Christ. This kingdom is spiritual and is present now in the New Covenant. Old Testament believers looked forward, we look to the present as we live in the kingdom.
