As
the writer of Hebrews continued to share concerning the importance of
“faith” in a
person's life, he included how “faith”
was employed to believe the “worlds were framed”
by God. In chapter eleven and verse four of Hebrews the writer
shares about how falling into the
“Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than
Cain” where we read:
By faith
Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which
he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his
gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaks.
The
verse begins, “By
faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain,
...”. The
writer began with the words, “By
faith”
which means “through the conviction of the truth of anything and
belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in
God or in Christ which springs from trust in the same” “Abel”
whose name
means “vanity (that is “transitory)” and was “the second son
of Adam, murdered by his brother Cain” “unto
God” which
refers to “the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God
the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit” “a
more excellent” or
“a greater in quantity, quality and superior”
“sacrifice”
which means “victim” “than Cain”
whose name
means “maker, fabricator and literally smith” and was “the
firstborn of Adam who slew his brother Abel”. “Abel”
“through faith” gave
a “sacrifice” to God that was “superior” to his brother
“Cain's”.
The
verse continues, “by which he obtained witness that he
was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead
yet speaks.”. The writer added
the words, “by which” or
“through and by means that” “he obtained witness”
or “he affirmed and received utter honorable testimony and good
report” “that he was righteous”
which means “that he came to be, exist, happen and be present as
observing divine laws, virtuous and keeping the commands of God”,
“God” which refers
to “the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the
Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit” “testifying”
or “bearing witness to utter honorable testimony and good report”
“of his gifts” which means
“pertaining to Abel's sacrifices and other expressions of honor
offered to God”: “and by it” or
“by Abel's faith” “he being dead”
which means “lying in death whether natural or violent” “yet
speaks” or “still utters,
talks and articulates sounds by use of the tongue or the faculty of
speech”. Though Abel was killed by his brother, he gained the title
of “righteous”
through his “faith”
because God saw and bore witness to his sacrifices.
When
we consider these words in Hebrews, we see how “faith”
played a major role in Abel's offering to God. He believed God and
desired to offer him only the finest of sacrifices, and even though
he was killed by his brother Cain, his “faith” was counted
as “righteousness” for him. Jesus Christ desires that we
have this same “faith”, and when we trust in Him enough to
offer our very best, we shall “obtain” not only the
description of “righteous”, but know He shall acknowledge
and give testimony of our deeds.
Next
time the writer shares how “Enoch
was translated that he should not see death”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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