Hebrews 13:7-14

Further Duties In Christ's Service

The Hebrew brethren were instructed to keep their rulers, which Milligan says would be better rendered “leaders,” in mind. After all, they had taught the word of God to the believers, thereby displaying a faith worthy of imitation. They were especially to do so after considering the type of life these men led (Hebrews 13:7).

The author encouraged the brethren to imitate the constancy of Christ and to be constant because He is dependable. He also told them to remain steady in the faith since its foundation is firm and unchangeable. After showing the firm foundation upon which Christians stand, it was natural to plead for the brethren to hold tight to the firm doctrine of Christ and not go off into a strange, unstable, doctrine. The gracious doctrine of Christ is good to hold to and is much to be preferred over the doctrines of men and the Judaizing teachers. Remember, these brethren were not the first to face false teachers (Hebrews 13:8-9; Galatians 1:6-9.)

The altar around which Christians gather seems to be the sacrifice of Christ for us (1 Corinthians 10:18; 1 Corinthians 9:13). To eat of the altar would seem to be to partake of the Lord's Supper, whereby Christ's sacrifice is remembered. It would likely also include active participation in Christ's covenant (John 6:44-58). In an apparent reference to the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:27), the author reminded them of the beasts whose blood was brought into the sanctuary by the high priest. The bull for a sin offering was carried outside the camp to be burned. This presents an interesting parallel to the death of Jesus outside the camp of Jerusalem (John 19:20). Jesus was crucified outside of the gate, or camp, of Jerusalem. This was symbolic of His being outside of the camp of Israel. For this reason, Christians were encouraged to go without the camp and be with Christ, always ready to bear any reproach that might come as a result of so doing (Hebrews 13:10-14).