Hebrews Chapter Eleven, Works Witness To Our Faith

 

Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.

 

Verse 1 explained what the Christian’s faith is, and what it is grounded in; namely, substantial evidence corroborated by eyewitnesses. Verse 2 details how the patriarchs, or elders, obtained a good testimony (for their works) by faith, not the work itself. Verse 3 recalls the creation of all things, and that understanding that God created the universe by speaking, we know that our creation is not comprised of anything that had existed formerly, or in a previous state.

Verse 4 brings us to the first hero of the faith, Abel. Adam and Eve’s second son, his name in the Hebrew means breath, or nothing. Cain’s name meant acquire. Eve appeared to be convinced that Cain, the first man born, was the Savior God prophesied of in the Garden. When Abel arrived, she named him in what appears to be a fit of pessimistic dismay. It almost seemed as if she and Adam were confused and upset that Cain did not dispel the curse Adam’s sin invoked, but here was another man, and to them, his appearance did not herald anything prophetic. Ironic, actually, since Abel was recognized by our Lord as a prophet, Matthew 23:34, 35, Luke 11:50, 51.

 

What was Abel’s more excellent sacrifice? “The firstborn of his flock and of their fat,” Genesis 4:4. We are told in no uncertain terms that, “the Lord respected Abel and his offering.” The NASB and RSV render the latter portion of the verse, “the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering.” God regarded Abel first, and the fruit of Abel’s faith: namely his offering. It was not the act, it was the spirit behind it that demonstrated that he heard God and then obeyed Him. We know that faith and obedience are synonymous from earlier chapters in Hebrews. Likewise, James challenges his readership to demonstrate their faith sans works (obedience), while he manifests his faith BY those works, James 2:18. One cannot hear or be obedient if they are not first told, Romans 10:14, 17.

 

When God slew an animal to clothe Adam and Eve with its skin (Genesis 3:21) He must have mandated sacrifice on the altar. Abel came with the fat of the flock, which strongly implies a burnt offering, and hearkens back to the first death in the world: an animal whose blood was shed to hide Adam and Eve’s guiltiness. God atoned (covered) for them by a vicarious offering, and then seems to have instituted it in the generations that followed, which Abel is recorded as dutifully obeying.

 

It was already noted that God testified of Abel’s gift, that He respected, or had regard for it. The opposite was true for Cain. Whereas Abel heard God’s command and obeyed in faith, Cain took, “an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground,” Genesis 4:3, NASB. When his offering was not respected, Cain became angry. What God told Cain is further evidence that an injunction concerning sacrifice was already known. “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” Genesis 4:7. The Hebrew word for “well,” in this verse has an interesting definition. It is, “yatab,” and, “does not mean amend nor improve your ways, but to make one’s course line up with that which is pleasing to God and that which is well-pleasing in His sight.” God wasn’t telling Cain to do better, He was telling Cain to Be better; that is, Cain needed to align his ways with God’s revealed will. Abel’s way was aligned, and his faith exemplified it by the choice he made, hence why God respected Abel and his offering. Abel’s faith remains as a clear example that we are not free to approach God by any means of our choosing. Abel chose correctly. His brother did not. Even at the beginning, the adage, “all roads lead to God,” is a misnomer. All religious beliefs stand in incredible conflict and contradiction with one another about the nature of God, the nature of man, and the nature of salvation. One way is correct; every other path one may choose is false, and is the broad road the leads to destruction. This is what Abel, being dead, still teaches. His gift reveals reconciliation with the Lord on His terms, not ours. The offended party sets the terms; the offender, in order to make peace, may either agree to them or reject them. We may not rewrite them.