We discussed the ‘Way of Cain’ which was ‘Will-Worship’ and now we turn to his younger brother Abel who may have been his twin brother and here we see, ‘The Way of God.’ Not much is said in scripture about this first martyr who apparently left no offspring, but he is mentioned by Christ as an historical figure, Matt. 23:35; Luke 11:51. He is a keeper of sheep, whereas his brother Cain is a farmer. His name in Hebrew (hebel) has several meanings, breathe, vapor, vanity, transitory, and can even be translated meadow and ‘morning mist’ for brevity of life. We know from the context that the three brothers Cain, Abel and Seth were guided and taught by their father Adam in the proper duty of worshiping Jehovah God, the language implies previous instruction in the mode of worship. “And in the process of time” i.e. “in the end of days” probably the Sabbath, they brought their offerings. Gen. 4:4. “And the LORD (YeHoVaH) had respect unto” in Hebrew it means, ‘to look at with a keen earnest glance,’ and has been translated, ‘to kindle a fire.’ So, Divine approval is shown in a consuming fire and this is seen throughout scripture.

“By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain; (Cain offered a bloodless sacrifice to God for sin – unacceptable!) By which he (Abel) obtained witness that he was righteous; (But to Cain and his offering God had no respect-unacceptable!)  God testifying of his (Abel’s) gifts, and by it he being yet dead speaks.” Heb. 11:4.  The first one in “The Hall of Faith,” the first martyr and his blood is still speaking to God from the ground today, Gen. 4:10 is written in the present tense, as if it is still crying out today. It appears that Abel not Cain was going to bear the lineage of the Messiah and Cain out of jealousy killed him, just like Esau was going to do to Jacob.

Abel must have made an altar to present his offering to God. There are three requirements for an altar; Sacrifice, the firstling of the flock and it had to be perfect; Worship, attributing worth and praise to YeHoVaH Elohim, “The LORD had respect for Abel and his offering;” Prayer, communion with the Creator of the universe! Abel had all three and he knew that it was the blood that made atonement for his sin, long before Lev. 17:11 was written. His father and mother learned that in the garden after they sinned and God had to kill the lambs to atone for their sin and cover their nakedness. The LORD had no respect for Cain and his offering, why? No Blood! And possibly no worship! No sacrifice for sure, you don’t sacrifice grapes and apples. To sacrifice means to slaughter, to smite with deadly intent. How do you slaughter fruit?  Without blood we cannot enter into the presence of God. Fruit is great but blood is the requirement. Heb. 10:19, “Having therefore brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.” We too can enter the Holiest, the Holy of Holies, just like faithful Abel because of the blood of the sacrifice, the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus! Our sacrifices of prayer and praise Heb. 13:15 are accepted by His blood, so as we enter into the holy place, our prayer chamber, let us be mindful of the shed blood of Christ and use it to cleanse us and make us acceptable before a pure and Holy God. Then God will look on us and have respect on us and on our offerings. May we like faithful Abel bring our firstlings, build our altars, pray to Jehovah Elohim and worship Him. Abel to be listed in the “Hall of Faith” had to be a ‘Man of Faith,’ a man of God, and a man of prayer. Even his blood still today cries out to God, what does that tell you about the blood of all the martyrs, from Abel to Zachariah in the Older Testament to John the Baptist and James, Peter, Paul, the early church, the middle ages, Jim Elliot, the 165,000 Christians martyred last year. You need to read Acts 1:8 a little more carefully. When a saint is martyred Jesus stands up to receive them into His presence Acts 7:55. The name Stephen means ‘Crown’ and there have been more martyrs in the last 100 years than in the previous 2,000 years, in fact the blood of martyrs is the seed-bed of the church. Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote a poem about Stephen, “He heeded not reviling tones; Nor sold his heart to idle moans; Though cursed and scorned and bruised with stones. But looking upward, full of grace; He prayed—and from a happy place; God’s glory smote him on the face.” And it all started with Abel who offered a more perfect sacrifice then his brother Cain who killed him and buried him in his garden and yet his blood still cries out to God from the ground today.

“LORD, may You find us faithful like Abel, may You find us righteous like Abel, and may You have respect unto us and our offerings like You had for Abel’s. Father, may we not go in the way of Cain who worshiped You after his own will, but may we accept redemption by the precious blood of the Lamb. May we worship You, Your way and come to You, in prayer through the blood of Your only begotten Son, Jesus The Christ, as a ‘God-Pleaser like Abel.”

Eve gives birth to a third son Seth in Gen. 4:25, “For God (Elohim) said she, has appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.” So we know who was to carry on the Messianic line, Abel whom Cain murdered. Sounds a lot like Jacob and Esau. Not much is said about Sheth or Seth other than his name means ‘appointed’ or ‘seat of the body-buttocks.’ He lived 105 years and begot Enosh ‘mortal’ who lived 905 years, “Then began men to call upon the name of the LORD (YeHoVaH) the covenant name of God. It is now 235 years since creation, could man have waited that long to worship God in prayer, five generations after creation? Adam prayed in the garden in Gen.3, Abel prayed for his sacrifice in Gen. 4. In fact Adam was created by God for sweet, intimate communion and fellowship with Him. Therefore prayer had to be a dictate of nature, or as one writer put it, “Prayer was a constituted instinct in-wrought by the Maker.” So fellowship, communion,and prayer had to be going on since day one! The word Enosh in our text means ‘Mortal’ hence a man in general, singular or collectively. The word ‘men’ is in italics and is not in the Hebrew text so we get all our meaning form the word ‘Enosh’ and I believe it is a reference to Mankind or Corporate Worship. I believe it is an indication of man realizing and recognizing his frailty, therefore he is calling on the LORD Jehovah for help! “Then mankind began to call upon the name of YeHoVaH!” Our reference must be to social worship not individual prayer. The word call means, ‘to call out to,’ or ‘to address by name!’ “YeHoVaH God, thank you, for corporate worship and prayer. That not only alone in our closets but together as a body we can come to You and pour out our hearts and make our requests known. Thank You, that You are the God Who hears the prayers of all mankind, individually or collectively. Thank you for Your word today it truly was precious and refreshing.” In Yeshua’s Name. Amen!            ‘Between The Lines’

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” (Abel – Part #1)