Hebrews 11:13-16

"All these" probably refers to Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Jacob (Hebrews 11:8-9; Hebrews 11:11) who lived as exiled strangers by faith, not all whom the writer had listed to this point. "Strangers and exiles" is probably a hendiadys meaning "exiled strangers." Hebrews 11:13-16 interrupt the recital of Abraham’s acts of faith. Evidently the writer decided to preach a little at this point, the middle of his exposition of the patriarchs’ example. He emphasized the eschatological perspective that is the point of this entire unit (Hebrews 11:8-22).

These patriarchs all continued to live by faith, and they died believing God would fulfill His promises to them eventually. They looked forward to possessing a land that God promised to give them. They did not turn back to what they had left, which might have encouraged them to apostatize. In the same way we should not abandon our hope. God was not ashamed of them because they were not ashamed to believe Him and to remain faithful to Him. Likewise we will not shame Him if we resist the temptation to turn from Him in shame (1 Samuel 2:30; 2 Timothy 2:12). God prepared a heavenly habitation for them, and He has done so for us (John 14:1-3).

Each example of faith that the writer cited so far is a positive one involving a believer who kept on trusting God and His promises in spite of temptation to stop trusting. That is what the writer was urging his readers to do throughout this epistle. In every case God approved and rewarded the continuing faith of the faithful.