Hebrews 13:7-17

v7: Remember: Be mindful of.

• Those who rule over you: Your leaders. The chief characteristic of spiritual leaders is that they speak, or give to us, the Word of G-d. 
• Considering the outcome of their conduct: Pay attention to their way of life, looking at the results in their lives that are desirable and can be imitated.

v9: Strange doctrines: Not normal, different, sensational, mysterious. 

• The heart be established (strengthened) by grace: Heart has to do with a mindset. It is through grace that we receive our knowledge of Messiah as revealed by the Scripture.  
• Foods: Esau was someone who was worried about his stomach, fleshly needs. His decisions were based upon food – which is just an earthly/physical foundation of life. A person is either going to place the foundation of his life on the earthly/carnal things or on the spiritual. 
• Not profit those who have been occupied with them: It does not profit us to walk in the physical.

v10: We have an altar: We have an altar that we can eat from or a sacrifice that we are partakers of, the sacrifice of Messiah.  We are in a position of preference. Heritage etc. does not qualify us to partake of this. Anyone who humbly comes, in faith, can be a partaker of Christ’s body and blood. 

• The tabernacle: The temple – the place where G-d dwells
• Those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat: The priests had no authority to eat from the altar. 

v11: By the high priest: Even the preferred position of being the high priest did not mean that they were going to benefit from G-d’s provision. 

• Burned outside the camp: On the Day of Atonement part of the sacrifice was done outside of the sanctuary, outside the city. 

v12: Sanctify: To make holy, Messiah wanted to make the people holy through His own blood.

• Suffered outside the gate: This is important because of the implications for us. We need to take our cues from G-d and not from humanity. It does not matter what the world thinks of us. Messiah thought little of the shame placed upon Him because He knew where He had come from, where He was going and the outcome of what His suffering would produce. If we have the thoughts of G-d we will understand the implications of following Him and we will not care about what the world thinks.

v13: Let us go… outside: More often than not in order to be with Messiah we have to go against peer pressure, what the world thinks etc.  

• Bearing His reproach: Messiah was rejected, and we are going to be rejected. If we are not willing to suffer reproach for the sake of Messiah, then we do not understand truth. 

v14: Seek the one to come: These things are Kingdom things that we cannot see, touch, taste etc yet. We know, however, that when the Kingdom comes, they will be waiting there for us. 

v15: Offer the sacrifice of praise: We make it our goal to please G-d and not men (Gal 1:10) Messiah Yeshua puts us into a position whereby we can praise G-d. 

• Giving thanks to His name: We need to be demonstrating His character in our lives. Praise comes from Him living in, and through, us. 

v17: Those who rule over you: Those who speak the Word of G-d to us. G-d has given them truth to share with us in order that they will have a proper spiritual effect on us. 

• They watch out for your souls: They are the ones who are called to watch over us and will give accountfor this trust. To guard our souls means that they are to have a positive, maturing, spiritual influence in our lives. 
• Let them do so with joy: Obedience and submission to our leaders make their task a joy, and not a burden.