By Faith Abel Offers a Better Sacrifice

The first person we are introduced to in the “Hall of Faith” is Abel. For those who don’t know his story, it is given in the 4th chapter of the book of Genesis. He is the second son of Adam and Eve, and his name means [according to the footnotes of the Schofield Reference Bible] exhalation or that which ascends. He has an older brother named Cain. It says that in the course of time, that Abel and his brother Cain brought offerings to the LORD. Cain was a farmer by trade, and Abel kept flocks. As such, Cain brings some of the fruits of his labor as an offering, and Abel brings the fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock for the same. In what may seem strange to a lot of people, it says the LORD looked with favor on Abel’s offering, but he was displeased with what Cain brought. It is apparent at this time that God still communicated in a very direct fashion with people, because Cain was immediately aware of God’s response to his offering. Cain became very angry, and it says, “his face was downcast.”
The LORD then speaks with Cain about his attitude, warns him, and exhorts him to “do what is right.” Instead Cain continues to harbor his resentment of his brother, whose offering God had found acceptable. Ultimately it led to Cain rising up against his brother out in the field and killing him.
And that is the extent of what we are told of Abel in the Scriptures. The few other mentions of him are all in connection with this particular story. So what does Hebrews 11:4 mean when it says, “By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead?”
First, it might be useful to discuss what is meant by a “better sacrifice.” Why was God pleased with Abel’s offering but not with Cain’s? Surely they were both sacrifices for each man, and surely it represented the best of what they produced. Is God just heartless? We are not told directly in the context of the story why He was displeased, but from the rest of Scripture, we can confidently surmise that it was the nature of the offering itself that provides the answer. Assuming the purpose of the offering was for the atonement of sin, Cain’s offering lacked the vital characteristic of what God finds acceptable in such a sacrifice: no innocent blood was shed. For the sins of his own parents, God shed the blood of animals to make coverings for them. In other atonement offerings down through the Scriptures, innocent blood was required. The Passover provides a good example. As a final judgment upon the Egyptian people because of the Pharoah’s hard heart, God required the blood of all the firstborn of the land. In order to avoid this judgment, all (Egyptians and Hebrews alike) had to sacrifice a lamb and place the blood on the doorposts and lentils. This blood “covering” would signal the LORD’s death angel to “pass over” that home. In the same way, Hebrew priests would later make annual sacrifices for the atonement of the people. As described in Leviticus 16, the High Priest would go in before the LORD (he appeared in a cloud over the atonement cover) and sprinkle the blood of the sacrifices with his fingers on the cover and before it. The next chapter states it unequivocally in verse 11; “it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” The sacrifice of Jesus himself on the cross is in keeping with this very pattern. Note the following verses:
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”—II Corinthians 5:21
“In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”—Hebrews 9:22
“Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest [Jesus] had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.”—Hebrews 10:11-12
So what is the point? The point is Abel’s sacrifice is better because it is in keeping with God’s requirements for such things, and because it accurately depicts Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice for all of humanity.
Where does faith enter in? Faith enters in through Abel’s willingness to abide by God’s design. I’m sure what Cain offered was some of the choicest things that he was able to produce. But the Scriptures declare that to obey is better than sacrifice (I Samuel 15:22). Abel obeyed, and Cain did not—even when given another chance by the LORD. Furthermore, Abel’s offering illustrates another principle of faith. It says that he gave of the firstborn of his flock. Everything we have belongs to the LORD and comes from Him. As such, we should give to Him of the first fruits of that with which He has blessed us, not what’s left over. However, our natural inclination is to wait and see if we have anything left at the end, and then maybe we will give it. This illustrates the lack of faith many of us have in the LORD’s ability to supply all our needs.
Because of his faith, Abel was commended as a righteous man by our Savior in Matthew 23:35 and Luke 11:51, because his life stood in contrast to those upon whom Jesus was pronouncing judgment. He was also commended in I John 3:12.
His story and the words of those who commended him now speak to us today, as it states at the end of the verse, because we have them preserved in Scripture. So remember, it is Abel’s faith which brought him to offer a sacrifice to God, to do it God’s way, and to give Him the best of what he had. For Abel this had serious consequences, but consider the alternative. I John 3:12 describes the faithless Cain as belonging to “the evil one.” This is the unfortunate truth of the situation for those who have not placed their faith in God. Examine yourself. Are you in the faith?