Abel's Offering

By Faith

Faith Defines

As you are turning your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 11 verse four this morning, I will remind you that in this chapter we are dealing with the subject of faith. We begin inverse one not necessarily defining faith but pointing to what is defined by faith. In order to keep the context as we move forward through this chapter let me begin as we have been by reading verse one.

Hebrews 11:1 KJV 1900

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

And again I will provide you with the exposition of this verse provided by Gareth Lee Cockrell his commentary on the book of Hebrews. He says:

Faith is living as if the things hoped for are real.

in other words Faith is the evidence of belief

Faith Exemplified

I will say this again as well: I believe we can get lost in the defining of this chapter as the face hall of fame. And the reason I say that is when I think of a Hall of Fame what I think of is sort of a trophy room honoring the deeds of those in the past. That is not what this chapter is. This is a chapter that demonstrates that ordinary men and women by their faith (in fact we see that phrase “by faith” over and over again in this chapter) by their faithful actions they demonstrate their belief in God. Chapter exists not simply as an honor for their deeds but instead for conviction that the reader must likewise live according to their belief in God, faithfully.

The Pattern of the Examples

Now, as we look at the book of Hebrews a pattern emerges. And I'm gonna give it away which is going to give you something of a road map of where we are heading as we study through this book. I want you to look at this with me:

Abel Offered to God - in v4

Enoch Pleased God - in v5

Noah Feared God - in v7

Abraham Obeyed God - in v8

And Sarah Trusted God - in v11

But then this pattern repeats

Abraham now offers to God - in v17

The Patriarchs Pleased God - in vv20-22

Moses and His Parents Feared God - in vv23-27

The People Obeyed God - in vv28-31

And The Rest Trusted God - in vv32-38

Starting with Abel

But this morning, in v4 we begin with Abel

Hebrews 11:4 KJV 1900

4 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: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

Our message this morning is entitled Abel’s Offering and is the first in our Series By Faith

Let’s Pray

Cain vs. Abel

The First of Many

Most people are familiar with what happened between Cain and Abel. It happens only in the fourth chapter of the first book in our Bible. This is the second generation of humans to have walked upon the earth. — the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s most recent estimates put the global murder rate at around 464,000 people; and I will remind you that this doesn’t include the approximately 73 million babies murdered by abortion each year. — But it all started with Cain and Abel.

Turn with me over to Genesis 4:3-10

Genesis 4:3–10 KJV 1900

3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. 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: 5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If 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. 8 And 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. 9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? 10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.

Motive

The motive is clear. Cain murdered his brother Abel because he was jealous that Ables sacrifice was accepted and his was not. — But, that raises a question that has been debated for millenniums, why was able sacrifice accepted and canes not?

Historical Conclusions

The First Century Jewish Philosopher Philo’s conclusion was that

The Epistle to the Hebrews 2. The Faith of the Antediluvians (11:4–7)

“Abel’s offering was living, Cain’s was lifeless. His was prior in age and quality, Cain’s was inferior. His was superior in strength and fatness, Cain’s was weaker.”

His near contemporary, the Jewish Historian Josephus wrote

The Epistle to the Hebrews 2. The Faith of the Antediluvians (11:4–7)

“The brothers having decided to sacrifice to God, Cain brought the fruits of the cultivated ground and of trees, while Abel brought milk and the firstlings of his flocks. This latter offering gave the greater pleasure to God, who is honored by those things which grow spontaneously and in accordance with nature, and not by those things which are forcibly produced by the ingenuity of covetous man”

The Midrash, the rabbinic commentary on the Old Testament states

The Epistle to the Hebrews 2. The Faith of the Antediluvians (11:4–7)

“Cain brought of the fruits of the earth, that is to say, less valuable things,”

The Palestinian Targum puts words in Abels mouth saying to Cain

The Epistle to the Hebrews 2. The Faith of the Antediluvians (11:4–7)

“The fruits of my works were better than yours and took precedence over yours; so it was my sacrifice that was accepted as well-pleasing.”

The more common conclusion to quote the commentator F.F. Bruce is that

Abel’s offering involved the shedding of blood, apart from which, as our author has said above, the law knows no forgiveness

Evidences from Scripture

I don't believe that any of these explanations are adequate. In fact we find a point of clarity in the book of 1 John that helps us reach a more solidly grounded conclusion. Look at 1 Jn 3:12 with me:

1 John 3:12 KJV 1900

12 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 Reason for the murder was pretty plain here: why did Cain slay Able? It was because Cain worked evil and Abel worked righteousness. — note here that it doesn't say that Cain was unrighteous because he killed his brother. No, it was because Cain was unrighteous that he slew his brother — And the key to understanding all of this is found in Prov 15:8

Proverbs 15:8 KJV 1900

8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: But the prayer of the upright is his delight.

See Kane brought his sacrifice to God and it was rejected. It wasn't rejected because his brother his sacrifice was of greater quality. And we don't have any indication anywhere in scripture that this was a sin sacrifice so we can conclude that his sacrifice was rejected because it wasn't a blood sacrifice. The reason the Cains sacrifice was rejected was because Cain was wicked 1 John 3:12 and the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord Prov 15:8.

The Dead Speak

In Genesis 4:10 we read God saying to Cain

Genesis 4:10 (KJV 1900)

… the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.

How can the dead speak? How can the blood of Abel cry out to God? — It’s because Abel was righteous and from beyond the grave his eternal soul wasn’t locked away in Hell but could be heard of God.

As A Martyr

In Revelation 6:9-10 we read of this of the martyrs:

Revelation 6:9–10 KJV 1900

9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

And if the conclusion that many have made, that Abel was the first martyr is true — Then it was Abel’s soul which stood alone under that alter, crying out to God until he was joined by the countless others who would follow.

As A Picture

But Abel’s death is also a forshadowing of a death to come. If we jump ahead to chapter 12 we read in Hebrews 12:24

Hebrews 12:24 KJV 1900

24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

Evil the innocent died at the hands of the wicked and his blood cried out to God. It cried out declaring how deep the depravity of man could plummet. But the blood of Christ speaks of something better; If speaks of the measurable greatness of the love of God.

A Warning

But Ables blood also speaks to us a warning. It's a warning that we found in the contrast between the sacrifice of a wicked brother in the sacrifice of a righteous brother.

There are many that play at religion. There are many that go through all of the motions: They make their sacrifices as long as they aren’t — too inconvenient. — They feign belief and even to some degree they may have, at least some drop thereof.

They have the belief we read of in James 2:19 where James writes:

James 2:19 KJV 1900

19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

Hey, Cain had belief in God. Remember the Cain heard from God, mean that in the contemporary sense of led by the Holy Spirit door being answered through the reading of Scripture hearing preaching. When I say that Cain heard from God I mean that he obviously had conversations with God. nobody had to convince Cain of God's existence — after all it was just one generation before that God made existence. — Cain believed in God and had more evidence of God than anyone alive today has — but Cain was wicked — Cain believed like a devil. — God wasn’t Cain’s Lord, Cain was Cain’s Lord.

Aleister Crowley

You may or may not be familiar with the name Aleister Crowley. He was known as “the wickedest man in the World”, and “The Beast 666”. Aleister was an occultist, he founded the cult named Thelema which inspired Wicca, Modern Paganism, Scientology and many variations of modern Satanism.

His foundational message behind his belief system was summarized in what he wrote in his Book of the Law: “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law”

It is a message todays world has embraced. If you have heard the Ozzy Osborune song “Mr Crowley” it is written in admiration of this occult leader. The Doors had a bust of Aleister Crowley on the back of one of their album covers. Jimmy Page bought and lived in Aleister Crowley’s home in Scotland, and he is among the hero’s on the cover of the Beatles Sgt. Peppers Album. And other artists such as the David Bowie and the Red Hot Chili Peppers reference him and his teachings.

John Lennon echoed Crowley’s mantra when he said: The whole Beatle idea was to do what you want, right? To take your own responsibility, do what you want and try not to harm other people, right?

Embraced Today

Many of Crowley’s teachings which were though extreme and rejected during his lifetime are fully embraced today. His views on sexuality, marxism, social darwinism are now pretty well mainstream.

And lets not forget his primary teaching “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law”

I find clarity in the distinction that exists between the primary point of the law of occult, the law embraced by the modern world and that of God. — The primary law of the world says “Do whatever you want, in other words “love yourself, you are God!”

The primary law of God is:

Matthew 22:37 (KJV 1900)

.... love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Where we go Wrong

And that is where I'm afraid we often times go wrong, even people that got himself a Christian. Because it's not that they love God it's that they love themselves. The whole basis for their faith is what their faith can do for them. They believe, but not really. They just believe the convenient things and that is evidenced through their actions. A lot of Christians would be much more comfortable living under the law of the most wicked man in the world than the law of the most righteous man to ever walk the earth, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Kane went through the motions. The whole conflict between him and his brother began as both of them were offering sacrifice to God. I wonder this morning how many people are listening to this and then make a sacrifice, but in the heart of wicked. Don't really believe in the promises of God and they don't really believe in the warnings got gives. If that weren't true I suspect I would see a Christianity looks a whole lot different than this religion of convenience attitude that is a cancer upon the church.

I guess what I'm asking this morning is for you to take up your cross and follow Christ. Or I guess just do as thy wilt. But I warn you Abels blood cries out, you can’t do both.

Let’ Pray