Hebrews 11:4 Commentary and Bible Study

Abel obtained witness that he was righteous; God somehow revealed to Abel that he was accepted by him, the living God, and that he had pleased God. Perhaps God sent fire down upon his sacrifice; we are not told the details. Perhaps there was some other highly significant way in which even his godless brother Cain could see that Abel had been especially blessed. God rewarded him and even others around could see that the favour of God was upon Abel. The Jews had a tremendous struggle with faith. One saved, another rejected? On what basis? On the basis that one was righteous and the other not? No, neither of them was righteous, but one had faith. Cain tilled the ground; Abel kept sheep. Both made an offering – Cain bringing of the fruit of the ground, and Abel bringing the firstlings of his flock and the fat from it. It is clear that Abel offers a sin offering, and we conclude that God had revealed that this was to be a sin offering. Under the law Israel was allowed to bring an offering of grain, but not as a sacrifice for sin; the meat offering (or meal offering), was a picture of man offering perfect obedience to God. For sin to be taken away, there must be an animal whose blood was shed as an essential part of the picture of atonement. There is no doubt that mankind had been instructed to offer up animal sacrifices, otherwise Abel’s sacrifice would not have been accepted. Both knew the history of the fall. Their parents, it is hinted in Genesis, had repented and become sorry for their sin. The boys knew a descendant would come who would make salvation possible. Salvation would come through one who would shed his blood, the Saviour, the Messiah promised to Abraham. God promised Adam all the way back in the Garden of Eden that a great descendant would come through whom all the nations of the world would be blessed. He would suffer and die on Calvary and bear the punishment on behalf of all his people for their sin and so sin would have to be purged by the shedding of blood. Offerings are ordained throughout the Bible and the practice began then. They were taught – your sin is so terrible that blood must be shed. Therefore take a lamb and offer it up; bow your heads and understand there must be a sacrifice for sin. If you do that, then God will receive you. It is significant that this was the first recorded offering that each of them brought, and that Cain did not bring a gift that acknowledged his need to forgiveness and atonement. He bought instead his own produce. Although grain offerings were ordained under the law, no one could offer them who did not first offer sacrifices for sin, but this grain offering was all Cain seems to have offered. He seems to say, ‘This represents me, my toil. I expect God to accept me on my own merit.’‘By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness [from God] that he was righteous,’ declared righteous by God. He wasn't righteous of course; he was a sinner and a fallen man, but he was regarded by God as righteous and accepted by him because he had repented of his sin and obediently offered up a symbolic sin offering. ‘And by it he being dead yet speaketh’ – Abel was the first martyr. He was murdered by his jealous brother Cain, who was filled with fury that God accepted his brother’s offering and not his. Abel speaks because his action commended an atonement; he had a testimony, and others clearly learned from him.