Hebrews 11:4-7
By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice…By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death…
Abel is the first Old Testament saint held up to us as an example of faith. Abel’s example teaches us about how true faith manifests itself in the kinds of things we offer to the Lord. Genesis 4:4–5 tells us that God “had regard” for, was pleased with, Abel’s offering but not with Cain’s. Theologians have tried to discern what set Abel’s gift apart as acceptable to the Lord, some suggesting that Abel offered a blood sacrifice while Cain offered a grain sacrifice. Now, this is understandable, since we know sin cannot be forgiven except through the offering of blood. But, God did not reject Cain’s sacrifice because it was grain, not blood. Grain offerings were prescribed in the Mosaic law and were acceptable to God when offered rightly. “When offered rightly” is key to understanding God’s acceptance of Abel’s offering. The Genesis account says that Abel brought the “firstborn” and the “fat portions” for an offering, the first and the best of the animal sacrificed. Cain, on the other hand, brought an “offering of the fruit of the ground.” This suggests that Cain offered his sacrifice to the Lord as an afterthought, not motivated by true faith. Abel trusted God to provide for his needs even if he gave the best of his labor. That is the posture of faith, the heart of the one offering the sacrifice. The history of Enoch, brief as it is in Genesis, only says about him that he “walked with God” which “pleased God.” To “walk with God” is a Hebrew idiom for obeying God. Enoch stood out in his generation, which was the generation that was drowned in the Great Flood, for his faithfulness to the Lord, his walking with God being rooted and grounded in faith. We should remind ourselves that any good we do cannot truly please God unless it is motivated by our heart-felt trust in Him and His promises. Faith leads us into a saving relationship with our Creator, and that faith bears the fruit of love for Him and for our neighbor. As Enoch was received into blessedness, we, who live by faith in the Lord, will one day be received into blessedness as well. Abel and Enoch remind us that, when motivated by true faith, we give of our best willingly to God and walk with Him continually. Let us give our first and best to God with cheerful hearts and seek to walk with Him and serve Him in every area of life.
Source: S C Ball April 14, 2024
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