The concept of believers as "pilgrims and strangers" is a recurring theme throughout the Bible, reflecting the transient nature of life on earth and the anticipation of a heavenly homeland. This theme is particularly evident in the lives of the patriarchs and other saints of the Old Testament, who lived as sojourners in a land not their own, looking forward to the fulfillment of God's promises.

Abraham: The Father of Faith

Abraham is perhaps the quintessential example of a pilgrim and stranger. Called by God to leave his homeland and journey to an unknown land, Abraham's life was marked by faith and obedience. Hebrews 11:8-10 states, "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God."

Abraham's life exemplifies the pilgrim mindset, living in tents and moving as God directed, always with an eye toward the eternal city promised by God. His journey was not merely physical but spiritual, as he sought a deeper relationship with God and a better country, a heavenly one.

Isaac and Jacob: Heirs of the Promise

Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise given to Abraham, also lived as strangers in the land. They inherited not only the physical promise of land but also the spiritual promise of a future hope. Genesis 26:3 records God's promise to Isaac: "Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham."

Jacob, too, experienced life as a wanderer. His journey to Haran and back, his wrestling with God, and his eventual settlement in Egypt all underscore his identity as a pilgrim. In Genesis 47:9 , Jacob reflects on his life to Pharaoh, saying, "The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers."

Moses: A Leader in Exile

Moses, raised in Pharaoh's palace, chose to identify with the people of God rather than enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. Hebrews 11:24-27 highlights his faith: "By faith Moses, when he was grown, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to suffer oppression with God’s people rather than to experience the fleeting enjoyment of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his reward."

Moses' life was marked by exile and wandering, leading the Israelites through the wilderness for forty years. His leadership exemplified the journey of faith, guiding a nation of pilgrims toward the Promised Land, a foretaste of the ultimate rest in God's presence.

David: A King in Exile

David, anointed as king while still a young shepherd, spent years as a fugitive, fleeing from King Saul. His psalms often reflect the heart of a pilgrim, longing for God's presence and deliverance. In Psalm 39:12 , David prays, "Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; do not be silent at my tears. For I am a stranger with You, a sojourner like all my fathers."

David's life, though eventually settled in Jerusalem, was characterized by a deep awareness of his status as a temporary resident on earth, with his ultimate hope in God's eternal kingdom.

The Prophets: Voices of Exile

The prophets, too, often lived as strangers in their own land, calling the people back to faithfulness and warning of impending exile due to disobedience. Their messages were rooted in the understanding that God's people are ultimately citizens of His kingdom, not of earthly nations. Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, among others, experienced physical and spiritual exile, yet remained faithful to their calling.

Conclusion

The saints of old, from Abraham to the prophets, exemplify the life of faith as pilgrims and strangers on earth. Their accounts encourage believers to live with an eternal perspective, trusting in God's promises and looking forward to the heavenly city prepared for them. As Hebrews 11:13-16 reminds us, "All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. Those who say such things show that they are seeking a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them."1 Chronicles 29:15
For we are strangers before you, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Hebrews 11:13,38
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.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

The Resemblance Between the Old Testament and the New.
... pilgrimage, as Moses also relates (Gen.47:9). If they were pilgrims and strangers
in the ... he rose again, he deigned to make many of the saints partakers of ...
/.../the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 10 the resemblance between.htm

The Faith of Abraham.
... pilgrims on the earth." They are "pilgrims," because they ... to another country; they
are "strangers," because they ... theory accepted by the greater saints of the ...
/.../the expositors bible the epistle to the hebrews/chapter xi the faith of.htm

But Whilst the King Has not that Most Blessed Light...
... by an infinite, tender, divine Love, pass through the earth strangers and pilgrims,
to the Rest ... But the heavenly saints have been caught up to their home. ...
/.../jennings/old groans and new songs/chapter vii but whilst the.htm

The Millennium in Relation to the Church.
... promise! For two thousand years the saints have (more or less)
lived as strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Many ...
/.../pink/the redeemers return/3 the millennium in relation.htm

The Freedom of the City.
... for so short a time, where, after all, we are but strangers and pilgrims, we ought ...
which is God's Home; of being fellow citizens with the saints in light ...
/.../the life of duty a years plain sermons v 2/sermon lviii the freedom of.htm

The Pilgrim's Longings
... There is enough in the world for sinners, but not for saints. ... faith to whom the apostle
referred in our text were not only strangers and pilgrims, but it ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 18 1872/the pilgrims longings.htm

Sanctification.
... them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on
the ... see that these promises were not received by the Old Testament saints. ...
/.../finney/systematic theology/lecture xxxvii sanctification.htm

Paul's Departure and Crown;
... It hath been their [God's fearers] glory to suffer for Christ; as it is said of
the saints of old, 'they departed from the presence of the counsel, rejoicing ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/pauls departure and crown.htm

Abraham's Offering up his Son Isaac
... Are you heavenly-minded, and like him, do you confess yourselves
strangers and pilgrims on the earth? ... Learn, O saints! ...
/.../selected sermons of george whitefield/abrahams offering up his son.htm

Abram the Hebrew
... there is, in the religious experience of the truest saints, always something ... the
peace of the city' where we dwell as strangers and pilgrims, avoiding no ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture k/abram the hebrew.htm

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