<p>13:7 <em>Remember those that had the rule over you, those who spoke to you the word of God</em>- The past tense &quot;had&quot; invites them to recall the earlies leaders in Jerusalem such as Peter and Stephen. If as noted in 1:1 Paul is speaking or writing Hebrews with his eye on Stephen, this takes on powerful relevance. The outcome of his life and faith was death at Paul's hands, but with the sure assurance of salvation. The basis of authority within the pastoral structure is that those who 'have the rule' are those who taught the Gospel to those over whom they have authority. Paul elsewhere uses family language to express the same truth; elders / fathers in the church family are those who brought us to spiritual life by teaching us the Gospel. This is the basis for eldership in the local church; such positions of authority cannot be attained by a vote or simply by default or age itself.</p><p><em>Consider the outcome of their life, and imitate their faith</em>- Elders are especially responsible. They can shut up, or open, the Kingdom to men. They watch &ldquo;in behalf of&rdquo; the souls of the ecclesia (Heb. 13:17 RV). Their very examples can influence the flock positively or negatively- for &ldquo;like priest like people&rdquo; is a Biblical idea. When the leaders &ldquo;offered themselves willingly&rdquo;, so did the people (Jud. 5:2,9).<br />Respect must be earnt by elders, never demanded. Their way of life is the basis of their authority; in this sense, we have the choice whom to consider as our elders, whom we will respect and follow. Jesus taught as one who had authority, unlike the scribes (Mk. 1:22). Yet the Scribes had authority in terms of their position, and yet they were not respected; and hence they couldn&rsquo;t teach with authority as Jesus could.</p><p>In illiterate societies, or those with limited access to the Old Testament scrolls and the Gospel records, the direction in spiritual life was given by elders, by living examples. That is true today, but moreso in their early situation.</p><p>Amongst those tending towards returning to the temple cult, there was a tendency to despise those who had first taught them the Gospel and suffered at the hands of Judaism for doing so. This is also mentioned as a last days problem in 1 Pet. 5:5; 2 Pet. 2:10 etc.&nbsp; See on 1 Tim. 3:4.</p>