Change and decay in all around I see,
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

FOR IT IS GOOD FOR THE HEART TO BE STRENGTHENED BY GRACE, NOT BY FOODS: kalon gar chariti bebaiousthai (PPN) ten kardian ou bromasin:

Eat "grace flakes" for breakfast every morning, not special "mystery" diets that claim to increase you "spirituality". Bebaioo describes an increase in inner strength (with passive voice implying from outside source) w the implication that the result is a greater firmness of character or attitude in one's heart. Grace is the mace that allows us to kill the flesh, putting to death the deeds of the flesh by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Ro8:13). Don't try to kill the lusts of the flesh with dead works...they effect nothing except possibly a veneer of pride & possibly a transient "cooling" of the passions. Only by grace do we enter. Only by grace do we stand against the enemy our flesh which continuously "strategizes" and wages war against our soul (1Pe 2:11, Gal 5:16, 17)

Heb9:9,10 Lv11 & Dt14:3-20 listed “unclean” foods that Jewish people were to avoid, thus differentiating them from the nations around them. Note that at least 5/8 uses of "bebaioo" (confirm, establish, strengthen) are somehow related to a work of God or Christ (see Ro15:8, 1Co1:8, 2Co1:21, Col2:7, Heb13:9) and so too in this verse.

V9 tells us in a word where to turn for strength (stabilizaton) of heart and where not to turn. Turn to grace and not to foods. Evidently in that church there were some strange teachings circulating about the power of foods (cp Col2:16-23).Those who imagined that spiritual growth came through a special menu had not only become ignorant of the necessity of grace for growth (cp 2Pe3:18, 1Pe2:2, Jn1:17, Heb4:16, 12:15), but they actually blocked strengthening grace by their proud little rules.

Grace, like the earth’s water system, operates on gravity—the spiritual “gravity of grace.” Just as the waters of Niagara roll over the falls and plunge down to make a river below, and just as that river flows ever down to the even lower ranges of its course, then glides to still more low-lying areas where it brings life and growth, so it is with God’s grace. Grace’s gravity carries it to the lowly in heart, where it brings life and blessing. Grace goes to the humble.

This is the spiritual law behind Pr3:34, quoted in Ja4:6 "He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE." The unbowed soul standing proudly before God receives no benefit from God’s falling grace. It may descend upon him, but it does not penetrate, and drips away like rain from a statue. But the soul lying before God is immersed—and even swims—in a sea of grace. So while there is always more grace, it is reserved for the lowly and the humble. Legalisms, even “little” ones such as dietary rules, impede grace. Humility invites the elevating weight of grace!

Actually, the grace we imbibe comes directly from the cross of Christ, for in v10 the preacher adds, “We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat,” referring to the cross because in a Christian context the sacrifice must be on the cross—the sacrificial altar of our faith. Our spiritual food is nothing less than the life of Christ! Therefore, do not get mixed up with strange teaching such as that leading to spiritual diets. Our nourishment comes from grace, which comes directly from the altar—the Cross of Christ. This meal goes to the humble!

A straightforward reading indicates a general reference to the food regulations (clean & unclean) specified under the Law (Lv11). Earlier our writer observed that such regulations were merely “external” (9:10). The little Jewish church was not only harried by the imminent threat of persecution, but was also assailed within by the succumbing of some in the congregation to a strange teaching that combined esoteric eating practices with their Christian faith. No one knows exactly what the practices were, though we do know that some held that their sacred menu would make them better Christians.

Christians then and now to seek approval or status from God by eating, or refraining from eating, certain special foods. The once-held Catholic practice of eating fish on Friday would be a case in point.

THROUGH WHICH THOSE WHO WERE THUS OCCUPIED WERE NOT BENEFITED: en ois ouk ophelethesan (3PAPI) oi peripatountes (PAPMPN):