Hebrews 11:4- By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.
Abel, the second-born son of Adam and Eve, was a shepherd. His older brother Cain became a farmer.
Genesis 4:1 Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a manchild with the help of the LORD.” 2 Again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the LORD of the fruit of the ground. 4 Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering; 5 but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. 6 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” 8 Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
Offerings that indicated the faith of the offerer were an issue between God and the human race from the beginning. Had Adam not sinned, it would not have been an issue, because Adam and the woman were created perfect. They chose to disobey, though, and became spiritually dead. Free will is divine institution number one. God gave his created humans soul and spirit, to be able to communicate and fellowship with Him. Without a choice, they could not be free, so they were given a choice and decided wrongly. In that day they died, spiritually. The spiritless human body then was corrupted and began to die, physically. It took hundreds of years in the earliest days of the earth for their bodies to deteriorate and die, but the process began the day they chose to disobey. They immediately noticed that their bodies had lost their “luster.” They were naked and ashamed before God, and tried to cover themselves and hide from Him. The fellowship was broken. Shame and fear were the immediate result of sin in the human race. Because their spirits had died, the couple had no rapport with the God Who loved them.
The serpent had promised the woman superior wisdom if she ate the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:5).
Principles of doctrine: 1-Wisdom is never attained by disobeying God’s Word. 2-Satan’s promises are always lies.
In His pronouncement of judgment on the serpent and the humans and the whole earth, God provided His own coverings for the humans, made from animal skins. Where could the skins have come from, except the slaughter of animals? This was the first demonstration of the death of the innocent to cover for the sins of the disobedient. As He judged them, He had also promised that the Savior would come through the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15). The animals represented that sinless Savior.
The first humans had to live in their corrupted bodies while they populated the earth, and they had this lesson in propitiation from Jesus Christ (the only visible member of the Godhead), to teach their children for the generations to come. Those children have all been born like their fallen parents: with a sinful nature. It is in our genes. That’s why this present physical body has to die, so that we can receive a new body like that of our risen Lord. The law was still many generations in the future, but Jesus had provided grace atonement for them from the first instance of sin.
The sons had to have known this. Abel took it seriously, believed in that atonement and applied it to himself through his blood sacrifice to God. This publicly expressed his faith in God’s plan of grace. God was pleased with Abel’s faith. Remember, faith is what we know. Abel knew there would come a Savior to redeem the fallen human race, because we are all helpless to redeem ourselves. And he knew the slain lamb represented this perfect Savior.
Cain’s offering was the best of his crops, which he considered a good thing. It no doubt was good, except it showed that he did not understand the need for a blood atonement, or simply rejected the whole idea. Whatever his reason, he came as an unbeliever in the grace provision of God and presented his human works. That is unacceptable to God.
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us (Titus 3:5)
..all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. (Hebrews 9:22)
So, God’s testimony about Abel was that he was righteous because of his faith, and this was demonstrated by his gifts. We have his story after all this time to show us that before Abraham, before the Mosaic law, before the whole religious system of Israel, there was salvation by faith in the atonement of a sinless Savior who was to come.
Cain killed his brother out of jealousy, rather than accept the atonement provided freely by God. He gained nothing from the murder and spent his life in exile because of his lack of repentance toward the One Who Saves.
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