In the first three verses of this chapter, the writer gave a description of faith. Beginning with verse 4, the writer gave a number of illustrations from the Old Testament saints. In this lesson, we will consider Abel, who was the second son of Adam and Eve and the first martyr.
BY FAITH ABEL OFFERED UNTO GOD A MORE EXCELLENT SACRIFICE THAN
CAIN
Verse 4a: By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by
which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts:
Genesis 4:1-11: 1And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare
Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. 2And she again bare his
brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
3And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the
ground an offering unto the LORD. 4And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings
of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to
his offering: 5But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain
was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6And the LORD said unto Cain, Why
art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7If thou doest well, shalt
thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto
thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. 8And Cain talked with Abel
his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up
against Abel his brother, and slew him. 9And the LORD said unto Cain, Where
is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? 10And
he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me
from the ground. 11And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened
her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;
The sacrifice of Cain
Genesis 4:3: 3And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the
fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
It was the fruit of the ground, a bloodless sacrifice. It was offered by a person with a wicked heart.
1 John 3:11-12, "For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that
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we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew
his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and
his brother's righteous."
The sacrifice of Abel
Genesis 4:4: 4And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the
fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
It was of the firstlings of his flock, a blood sacrifice. It was offered by a person who was righteous.
1 John 3:11, 12: 11For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that
we should love one another. 12Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew
his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and
his brother's righteous.
Matthew 23:34, 35, "Wherefore, behold, I sent unto you prophets, and wise men,
and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall
ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon
you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth from righteous Abel
unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple
and the altar."
It was offered by faith. It was a type of Jesus Christ.
BY FAITH ABEL OBTAINED WITNESS THAT HE WAS RIGHTOUS, GOD
TESTIFYING OF HIS GIFTS
Verse 4b: And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
Abel obtained or received witness because God gave it. Genesis 4:4, "And Abel, he also brought
of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to
his offering." How God gave this witness, Genesis 4 does not tell us. But it was done in such a way that there could not be a mistake about it. Cain could see it as well as Abel and knew the opposite was true in his case. Cain knew that God did not have respect for his offering.
The witness declared that Abel was righteous (Hebrews 11:4b; Matthew 23:34, 35; 1 John 3:11, 12.)
Hebrews 11:4b: “… And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering."
Matthew 23:34, 35: 34Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise
men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them
shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: 35That
upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood
of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew
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between the temple and the altar.
1 John 3:11, 12: 11For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that
we should love one another. 12Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew
his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and
his brother's righteous.
God testified of Abel's gifts. What God had said may be summed up in the Words declared to Israel.
Leviticus 17:11: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to
you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that
maketh an atonement for the soul."
Hebrews 9:22: And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and
without shedding of blood is no remission.
It is in Genesis 4 that we have the revelation that God provided a substitute whose death He would accept in the sinner's place. All that the sinner could do was in faith to bring his offering and lay his hand upon it and confess it as his substitute (Leviticus 1:4). It is for God to give His testimony that He had accepted it. E. W. Bullinger wrote, "Man's conventional talk is about the sinner's acceptance of Christ. God's Word, for nearly sixty centuries, has been about the sinner believing what He had said." God has told us that he cannot and will not accept us in our sins. In ourselves, we are not only ruined sinners because of what we have done or not done. We are ruined creatures because of what we are. God has also told us that He can accept us only in the merits and Person of that perfect Substitute, His Son Jesus Christ, Whom He has provided. If we believe this, we will by faith lay our hands on Him, confess our belief in God as to our lost and ruined nature and as to Christ as God's provided Salvation. When we believe this, God pronounces us righteous, accepts us in the Person of Jesus Christ, and declares us as "accepted in the Beloved" because God accepted His one offering when He raised Jesus from the dead.
BY FAITH ABEL STILL SPEAKS EVEN THOUGH HE IS DEAD
Verse 4c: … and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
Abel's blood spoke as a witness against Cain (Genesis 4:9-11). The cry of his blood from the ground was for vengeance on Cain.
By faith Abel still speaks even though he is dead. His faith tells us that it is not something else as a substitute for faith, nor is it something in addition to faith. It is not works, feelings, experiences, repentance, or love. It is believing what God has told me about myself, not only about what I have done, but what I am. It is believing what God has told me about Jesus Christ, the Saviour whom He provided, sent, and given, and this Saviour is able to save from sin.
Conclusion
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Abel was a righteous man because of faith (Matthew 23:34, 35). God had revealed to Adam and his descendants the true way of worship, and Abel obeyed God by faith. Cain was not a child of God (1 John 3:11-12) because he did not have faith.
Faith has to do with what we hear from God; not with what we feel in ourselves. Our feelings do not connect us with God, but only with ourselves. Whatever the feelings may be, they do not affect our relationship with God or alter our standing before Him.
Feelings are only human at best. But faith has to do with God. Faith, of course, produces its own feelings.
Have you believed what God has said about you and what He has said about Jesus Christ? Do you have peace with God which is received by faith? Do you obey God and worship Him as He has stated? Note John 4:24.
John 4:24: God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit
and in truth.
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