The Hall of Faith | Abel’s Faith Through His Offering – Hebrews 11:4
By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.
The narrative of Cain and Abel, the offspring of Adam and Eve, takes place in Genesis 4. While it does not span a long amount of space in the biblical work, its impact on the world and among the biblical narrative forms a significant impact throughout scripture. While sin had been introduced into the world by Adam and Eve, here we see the first murder take place. Yet, where Cain showed jealousy over his brother’s offering to God, Abel, demonstrated a faith in God that would continue to have an impact throughout the generations. Abel demonstrated faith through the bringing of an offering that would demonstrate the importance of the God He serves. Furthermore, while Abel may have been murdered by his brother, Abel’s faith made a continued impact among the generations and as a foundational story of the faith of Israel. Faith, while expressed outward, displays itself by taking priority over every aspect of our lives and leaves a lasting impact that points to the glory of God.
The Faith of Offering
Cain and Abel held very different jobs in the family. For Cain, his job was to work in teh field producing the crops. Abel, on the other hand kept care of the sheep. “In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering.” (Genesis 4:3-4, ESV). Abel’s offering exceeded Cain’s offering. Abel’s offering meant that blood would need to be shed and life lost. The crops would endlessly provide the sacrifice to God whereas the life of the sheep would only be able to be lost once. Sheep held more worth than crops as they were sources of income, food, and provision for the people. Thus, Abel’s sacrifice demonstrated an understanding of the worth of God by not offering up a mere paltry offering. As the two offerings to God are described, there is more detail for Abel’s offering as the first fruits of his labor whereas Cain’s seems to be more of an afterthought.
Authentic faith displays itself as the primary driving factor in a person’s life based on the understanding of the importance of God. For God to be everything to a person, His priority goes above and beyond all other aspects of a persons life. God is worth the first fruits of a person’s labor because they understand that God is the source of provision in the first place. Faith in God goes above every aspect of our life and expresses itself through every aspect of our life. Even our work is a testimony to God that we should be willing to give everything to God. When we have faith that Jesus Christ is the source of life, then every aspect and area of ours becomes subject to His will. Whatever is required from God, we should be willing to submit to Him. He is the King over all. He is the ruler of all creation and everything bows before Him. In faith, having not seen the Lord but trusting in His rule and reign, we give our all to Him because God first gave His all for us to return to Him. All for His glory.
The Impact of Faith in the Face of Death
The story of Cain and Abel does not end with the immediate blessing of Abel. We do not see the reigning down of blessings, health, wealth, and prosperity on the life of Abel. Instead, we see the complete opposite.Cain, confronted with the inadequacy of his own offerings to God and enraged with jealousy, committed the first murder and the life of Abel came to an end. Yet, the legacy of Abel would continue to make an impact on the people and on the family. The author of Hebrews makes its clear that Abel’s foundation of faith left a resounding impact beyond the life of Abel for generations to come. For Abel, his faith would cost him more than the first fruits of the labor of a fully burnt offering, but it would cost his life. This message would go beyond Abel as a demonstration of the worth of God to those around him. Even Cain understood that Abel held God in high esteem and high regard. Yet, instead of seeking to treasure God within his own heart, Cain needed to kill Abel out of jealous rather than bow to God out of reverence.
The Christian should demonstrate a similar faith as we bow before the holiness and righteousness of God. Holding faith in God serves as a witness for generations to come. First, we saw the family of Abel impacted by his faith, seeing that his faith was one worth dying for. Even in the face of challenge, Abel lived out his faith so strongly that the world opposed it. Furthermore, Abel would become a key part of the story of faith throughout the generations. Faith in God is worth dying for because it trusts and hopes in God who goes beyond life and death and sets us on the foundation of eternity by grace. Faith should be lived out for everyone to see and make an impact on the generations to come. Our children, our communities, and those around us will see our faith and see its importance. While some may not necessarily take kindly to our faith, we still stand firm in faith knowing that our God is worth the fullness of our life even if that is the cost we pay to serve Him.
About The Author
Daniel Burton is the founder of The Gospel Outpost. He is passionate about discipleship and seeing people grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. To find out more about him, check out his Author Page.
