Skip to main content

Daily Devotion: Hebrews 11:4

By

Hebrews 11:4    "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 speaketh."

We all remember the account of Cain and Abel.  I've often wondered about the difference in their offerings. The law had not been given at that time concerning sacrificial offerings, so we cannot use the law as judgment for or against either of these sons of Adam and Eve. But we will use it in trying to examine the difference between their offerings. For there is a principle that should be applied before the law was given, after the law was given, and even today when the law has been fulfilled by Christ. That principle of heart and mind tells us that we should always give our best unto the Lord. He gave His best to us.

Why would I bring that principle into this particular devotion? We look at the two offerings made by Cain and Abel. Some say God accepted Abel's sacrifice because the lamb was slain and blood was shed. That is a viable reason and I won't completely discount it. But in my opinion, there was a little more to be considered.  Let me bring in the account in Genesis.  "And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.  (4)  And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering." (Genesis 4:3-4)  We cannot totally say God had respect unto Abel because of the blood offering; for Cain was a tiller of the ground. He was a farmer.  We cannot use the law as our only judgment; yet, under the law God made provision for the feast of the ingathering of the crops. There was a time when they would bring the first of the sheaves and wave them before the Lord in thanksgiving.

So, why did God not have respect to Cain's offering?  According to our text today, Cain did not make his offering by faith.  When you look at the Genesis account, we read Cain brought his offering "in the process of time."  Other than the fact God's Word does not tell us Cain offered by faith, we can know he didn't because he did not bring of the firstfruits of the harvest.  He brought "leftovers" to God. Abel "brought of the firstlings of his flock."  Abel had respect unto the Lord and brought the best he had. God testifies, even to this day, of the faith of Abel.

God is not calling us to bring him the leftovers of our time and efforts.  "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." (Romans 12:1)  Our Heavenly Father gave His very best to us. He gave His only begotten Son to die for our sins. Should we not give our best efforts to Him?

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Daily Devotion: Psalm 88:1-4

By
Psalm 88:1-4  A Song or Psalm for the sons of Korah, to the chief Musician upon Mahalath Leannoth, Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite. "O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:  (2)  Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;  (3)  For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.  (4)  I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength" I've said this before and I will say it again (and probably more times before we get to the end of the Psalms) - I love the Psalms because I can surely identify with them. Most Psalms start in a low place and as the writer expresses his thoughts, the Lord begins to lift him up out of that dry place.  Though this entire Psalm is a fervent cry unto the Lord, the Psalmist tells us specifically in three verses that he cried daily unto the Lord. Just a few Psalms ago, we were reminded that God always hears our prayers. ...
Read more

Daily Devotion (Video): I Will Fear No Evil - Psalm 23:4

By
Read more

Daily Devotion: Knowing God By Bearing Fruit

By
Some will notice the title is not “Bearing fruit because we know God,” so to avoid getting sidetracked with that, we can start with the fact that we won’t bear any godly fruit unless our heart has been changed and the Holy Spirit dwells within us. Also, to avoid confusion, I’ll be using the terms “bearing fruit,” “good works” and “service” interchangeably.  I took this article’s title from Part 7, of John Piper’s “Look at the Book” session on Colossians 1:9-12. I greatly encourage you to view that short video to get his excellent exposition on this subject.  When I saw the title of the video earlier this year, I got kind of excited because that’s the direction my thinking has gone in the past several years. My thinking was founded Biblically with verses on good works like Matthew 5:16 – “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father, who is in heaven.” But I couldn’t expand it to expla...
Read more