Articles
Are You Abel?
Are You Abel?
Genesis 4:1-8 – “And Adam knew Eve as his wife, and she became pregnant and bore Cain; and she said, “I have gotten and gained a man with the help of the Lord. And [next] she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground. And Abel brought of the firstborn of his flock and of the fat portions. And the Lord had respect and regard for Abel and for his offering, but for Cain and his offering He had no respect or regard. So Cain was exceedingly angry and indignant, and he looked sad and depressed. And the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? And why do you look sad and depressed and dejected? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you, but you must master it. And Cain said to his brother, Let us go out to the field. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.”
Abel was the second son of Adam and Eve. In the scriptural text, his brother Cain put him to death. In this story of Cain and Abel, it is necessarily inferred both Cain and Abel were guided by the instruction of their father, Adam, in the duty of worshipping God. What leads us to this inescapable conclusion is the phrased used in Genesis 4:3, "And in the course of time." “And in the course of time” literally means, “at the end of days,” which we understand to be “on the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week.” It was on this day, both Cain and Abel offered up to God of the first fruits of their labors. Cain the farmer offered the fruits of the field; Abel the shepherd offered of the firstlings of his flock. "And the Lord had respect and regard for Abel and for his offering, but for Cain and his offering He had no respect or regard" (Genesis 4:4-5). On this account, Cain was angry with his brother, and formed the design of putting him to death; a design, which he at length found an opportunity of carrying into effect. Listen to your Bible! In Genesis 4:8, the Bible reads, “And Cain said to his brother, Let us go out to the field. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.” Also, in 1 John 3:11-12, the Bible reads, “For this is the message (the announcement) which you have heard from the first, that we should love one another, [And] not be like Cain who [took his nature and got his motivation] from the evil one and slew his brother. And why did he slay him? Because his deeds (activities, works) were wicked and malicious and his brother’s were righteous (virtuous).” Abel’s death was no accident. It was not something that happened on the spur of the moment, but Cain premeditated and devised a plan to have his brother’s life taken.
One would think Abel’s life was short, too short to have any significant importance to it. One would think the legacy of Abel would end in Genesis 4. However, the life Abel lived while here on this earth achieved sacred immortality, for there are several references to Abel in the New Testament scriptures. Jesus Christ speaks of Abel as being "righteous" in Matthew 23:35. Abel’s innocent blood being shed serves as the type to the blood of Jesus being shed on the cross of Calvary in Hebrews 12:24. In Hebrews 11:4, the Bible talks about the faith of Abel. The faith Abel had vested in God, not only as the Creator and the God of providence, but especially in God as the great Redeemer, whose sacrifice was typified by the sacrifices which, no doubt by the divine institution, were offered from the days of Adam downward. On account of that "faith" which looked forward to the great atoning sacrifice, Abel's offering was accepted of God. Cain's offering had no such reference, and therefore was rejected. Abel was the first martyr, as he was the first of the human race to die for doing the right thing.
So, are we Abel? This question is asking us, “Can God say the same things about us He says about Abel?” Do we sacrifice to God the way Abel did? Do we have faith like Abel had faith in God? Are we obedient like Abel was obedient? Can Jesus call us righteous like He called Abel righteous? Does our message ring out like Abel’s message does? Are we Abel?
