Hebrews 11:39 - Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible

Hebrews 11:39 f. In two closing verses the lesson of all this heroic past is summarised. By their faith the great men of Israel had received praise from God in His holy word; yet they did not obtain that promise, the hope of which had inspired them. The reason was that through the long past God had been leading up to the future, planning a fulfilment in this closing age in which our own lot has been cast. In our time the whole bygone history was to be rounded off and consummated, so that only through us could the faithful of the past attain their goal. The thought has to be understood in the light of the writer's conception that the history of God's people in all ages forms a single whole. Some better thing i.e. the final realisation was destined for the Christian period, and until this had come the brave endeavour of the past fell short of its aim.