Pr Joshua Yong

“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” (Hebrews 11:13)

A home is a place of permanent residence. But more than just a place of abode, a home gives us a sense of belonging, security, safety and comfort. It is a place where we feel settled and secure. We return to this place after all the battles we face each day. 

What does it mean when the Bible exhorts us to live as “strangers and pilgrims on earth”? It means that we who are God’s children should live each day recognising that “this world is not my home.” Christians should recognise that they are not living as permanent residences on earth but as sojourners. We are passing through on the way to heaven, the final destination of God’s children. But this world keeps enticing us to make it a place of permanence, safety and comfort. Yet, we must keep reminding ourselves that what this world offers us is very fleeting and transient. Everything may crumble, both literally and figuratively, at any moment. All children of God must be very convicted to live as strangers and pilgrims.

The context of Hebrews 11:13 is the faith of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. While describing Abraham’s and Sarah’s faith, the writer of Hebrews explained that the patriarchs had not “received the promises” but saw these promises “afar off” because they were persuaded of God’s promises. They had the faith to live as strangers and pilgrims.

1)   The Conviction as Strangers and Pilgrims

Hebrews 11:13a says, “these all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them…”

During Abraham’s sojourn on earth, he and his family lived in tents as nomads in the Land of Canaan, God’s Promised Land. God gave Abraham the wonderful promise that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in heaven when he and Sarah had no children and Sarah was long past childbearing age. Abraham obeyed God and remained in the Land of Canaan. In God’s time, when he was one hundred years old and Sarah ninety, Abraham’s son Isaac was born.  By faith he remained in Canaan till his death according to God’s calling. He saw the Land of Canaan filled with his descendants by faith, even when it was filled with Canaanites in his lifetime. If Abraham did not believe God, he would have left Canaan and would not have told Isaac to also remain and regard it as his calling from the LORD. This calling was passed down to Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel by God, upon his salvation. The Bible says that they died in faith.

They saw the promises of God afar off and remained fully “persuaded” and “embraced” God's promises. To be “persuaded” is to be fully convinced. To “embrace” means to “accept”. The patriarchs believed God’s promises by living their lives in light of God’s future promise, i.e. God's Word. As far as they were concerned, Canaan was their home, even though it was filled with Canaanites throughout their lifetime. They demonstrated their belief when Abraham purchased the cave of Macpelah as their family burial ground. Where they and their family were buried was regarded as home.  Faith without action is dead faith.

How do we approach the promises of God in His Word? How do we regard His promises regarding heaven and eternal life? If we are fully persuaded by faith, we will welcome God's promises and live our lives in light of God’s Word and obey God's calling for us.  

2)   The Commitment as Strangers and Pilgrims

After being persuaded and having embraced God’s promise, the patriarchs also “confessed” that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. To “confess” is to admit as true. They had to tell everyone they met that they were strangers and pilgrims. They could not live in any city and be part of the city life. To do that would make them citizens of that city. God's calling for them was to live in tents as strangers and pilgrims. It was unique to the patriarchs because of their calling. It was not a sin to live in a city as Jerusalem is a city. If they live in a city, they would become part of that city’s system and life. Their family would be so intricately intertwined with that city life that they would not leave. God called them to leave for Goshen in Egypt. God wanted all the children of Jacob to leave and stay in Egypt. Four hundred and thiry years later, God turned a family of seventy-five souls into more than two million as the seed to form the nation of Israel, and return to the Land of Canaan.

A stranger is a person who first arrives in a new country and finds everything strange, from the weather to the food and to all manner of living. A pilgrim is a sojourner like a resident foreigner. He has stayed in a new country long enough to know the culture and manner of living, but does not take up citizenship.

Are you a stranger and sojourner in Singapore on your way to heaven?

For a Christian to live as a stranger and pilgrim means that the principles, values and culture he adopts are from the Bible. The principles he lives by are based on God’s Word. This sinful world lives by its own inventions and philosophies.

When we who are God’s children live as strangers and pilgrims, we do not hold on to the things of this world. We live life knowing that it will not last forever. We will not pursue carnality, i.e. the luxuries and wealth of this world, knowing that all these things will pass away. Instead, we live for eternity, storing up treasures in heaven.

Strangers and pilgrims have a clear direction and purpose. Their direction and purpose is heavenward. Therefore, God’s children will live with a hope and longing for our heavenly, eternal home where we will dwell with our God forever.