A recent exposé in Newsweek (a secular publication, no less!) documented the increasing worldwide persecution of Christians, specifically in the Muslim world:
A fair-minded assessment of recent events and trends leads to the conclusion that the scale and severity of Islamophobia pales in comparison with the bloody Christophobia currently coursing through Muslim-majority nations from one end of the globe to the other. The conspiracy of silence surrounding this violent expression of religious intolerance has to stop. Nothing less than the fate of Christianity—and ultimately of all religious minorities—in the Islamic world is at stake.
Society is finally catching up to what the church has always taken for granted: believers have been persecuted since the time of Christ. But is that all? The author of the Hebrew epistle begins his treatise on faith by reminding us that history’s very first murder victim was martyred for his faith: “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks” (Heb. 11:4). You see, believers have been suffering for their faith since well before the time of Christ.
Inspiring cultural references from Shakespeare to Hollywood, the story of Cain and Abel (Gen. 4:1-15) has become the standard against which all other conflicts are measured. Arguably, no greater human dichotomy existed than that between history’s first brothers: the first man born and the first man to die. As we will see, the first example of faith cited by the author of Hebrews is a fitting counterpart to the last and greatest example cited in this chronicle of faith.
Falter at the altar
The prevalent view is that sacrificial blood was the basis for God’s acceptance of Abel’s “more excellent sacrifice” over Cain’s bloodless offering. Let us consider an alternative view. Aside from the fact that atonement was not the stated objective, no specific prescription for sacrifice existed before the Law. Even when the Levitical economy was established, it was true that all sacrifices were offerings; but not all offerings were sacrifices (cf. Lev. 6:14-23). Abel brought a sacrifice while Cain brought an offering. Didn’t the Lord Jesus give Himself for us “an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” (Eph. 5:2)? We are told specifically that Abel was a keeper of sheep while Cain was a tiller of the ground. It stands to reason that they would offer the outcome of their toil to the Lord. So, regarding Cain’s offering, to what exactly did God take exception?
It appears as though the Holy Spirit is directing the reader to notice the contrast in quality of the respective offerings. The phrasing of Genesis 4:4-5 is telling. Notice that Abel specifically offered the firstborn of his flock and its fat, tantamount to offering the first and the best. Regarding Cain’s offering, all we are told is that he offered fruit from the ground, with no reference to its grade. The difference between the two offerings is that Abel faithfully relinquished the firstborn of his flock (a picture of Christ’s sacrifice) for the Lord before satisfying his own needs—even at the risk of his ewe never giving birth to another lamb.
The Lord received His portion first. Cain, the first man born, evidently kept the firstfruits (a picture of Christ’s resurrected glory) for himself, offering God the remnant of his crop. Had something befallen Cain’s harvest, the Lord would have received nothing. Cain’s offering exposed his depravity. We might succeed in hiding our heart’s true nature from our fellow man; but, as Cain discovered, we can’t fool God (Gen. 4:7).
Worship reciprocates God’s grace and provision toward us. Where Calvary satisfied God’s demands of the sinner through Christ, worship now responds to God’s demands of the believer in Christ. In offering his prized possession, Abel essentially offered himself upon the altar (cf. Rom. 12:1).
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my heart, my life, my all.
—Isaac Watts
First blood
John reminds us that we shouldn’t be surprised by the world’s response to righteous living since only one adversary (a brother) gave us the first martyr. “Love one another, not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you” (1 Jn. 3:11-13).
The first reference to blood in Scripture is that of Abel’s (Gen. 4:10). Human blood had not been shed until Cain took the life of his brother. Abel’s name is a reference to the brevity of life (Heb. havel, “vapor”). Like Abel, we ought to live righteously on borrowed time: “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (Jas. 4:14).
The Lord is not indifferent to the sufferings of His children: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints” (Ps. 116:15). Abel’s testimony received its highest accolade when the Lord Jesus condemned the hypocrites of His day. “On you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah” (Mt. 23:35; cf. Lk. 11:51).
Since the Lord requited Abel’s innocent blood, we would do well to acknowledge the blood of the most righteous Man who ever lived: “Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel” (Heb. 12:24). While Abel died innocently, only the Lord Jesus died sinless. Abel’s blood demanded an avenger, while the blood of the Lord Jesus demonstrated God’s mercy. Have you been washed in the blood of the Lord Jesus?
Faithful champion
If Abel is the first character of faith identified in Hebrews 11, who is the last? This is one case where the chapter divisions interrupt the thought flow. This writer believes that the eleventh chapter of Hebrews ends too soon, as the opening passage of the twelfth chapter is the fitting conclusion to the chronicle of faith: “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of [our] faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2).
In the original Greek text there is no “our” before the word faith, properly rendering it, “author and finisher of faith.” You see, the Lord Jesus is the very centerpiece of faith! Old Testament saints, like Abel, anticipated Him in faith while New Testament saints are generated from Him through faith.
Abel’s voice still speaks to us as the first testimony of righteous suffering. As we anticipate the day of Christ, may our ears be open until the cry of the final martyr. “O Lord, how long…?”