ABEL- THE MAN WHO DIED TOO YOUNG

Genesis 4:8-10

Morning Meditation 9/24/2012

"And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground."

Abel is the second son of Adam and Eve and the first man to be murdered. Cain viciously attacked Abel and killed him for no reason other than Abel's faith in the right approach to God. There is no indication that Abel so much as criticized Cain for offering an unacceptable sacrifice to the LORD.

The Scripture says of Abel's offering of a lamb in Genesis 4:4, "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:" Grace unites the man to his sacrifice.

John Phillips says of Cain and Abel, "They were well taught, those boys. They knew there was a God. They knew sin was an offense to Him."

Then he says, "Then Abel came. He brought a lamb, a lamb without blemish or spot. He built, no doubt, a small altar of stones. He cut his kindling, struck his fire, and set his logs ablaze. Then he took hold of his lamb. We can visualize the trusting, gentle, innocent thing's looking up at him with big, liquid eyes. He placed his hand upon it, and the little thing trembled at his touch. How could he do that thing? Then swift and sure he seized his knife and cut its throat and watched the red blood spurt. He watched it die. Then, with a sob in his soul, we can see him lift the silent form, place it on the flames, and offer it up to God, tears running down his cheeks. It was a dreadful way to approach God. But sin is a dreadful thing." But God had respect to Abel and his offering.

Cain offered an offering of the fruit of the ground. This offering represents man's approach to God. God did not accept his offering. One does not come to God his own way. These two men, Cain and Abel, illustrate the only two approaches there is to God. All religion falls under one of two ways to approach God. One is by works, the other by faith. One is a bloodless offering, the other is a blood offering.

Just as Cain was infuriated by God's rejection of his offering, and His acceptance of Abel's offering, those who believe in salvation by works are still infuriated by those who approach God through the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ.

Abel paid with his own life by being right. Cain could not be neutral in this matter. If he allowed Abel to live, his approach to God with the right sacrifice would continually expose the sin of his wrong sacrifice. So he assumed he would get rid of the problem by killing Abel.

But he was wrong. He silenced Abel's voice but he could not silence his blood crying out to God from the ground. Cain could not hear Abel's cry but God could. So, God showed up on the scene and asked Cain, "Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, 'I know not.'" This was simply a lie. He knew exactly where Abel's body lay. What he didn't know is that one can kill the body but he cannot kill the soul. One sin leads to another and in the end God holds man accountable for his sins whether it be murder or a lie.

Abel died too young. Why would God allow such a thing to happen? God allowed this tragedy to happen to show the total depravity of the human heart. Cain was a sinner by nature and a sinner by choice. He killed his brother and had less remorse than did Abel when he killed the spotless lamb to offer by faith in his stead.

Abel's sacrifice changed him and his relationship to God. Cain's sacrifice deepened him in his sin and brought a curse upon himself and the earth. Cain lived and died as the author of salvation by works, and has been in hell since his death, and will remain there forever.

Abel died at the hands of his brother and he is in the happy state of paradise awaiting the resurrection of the body. 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."

Death is not the end. A life short lived seems a tragedy to us. But to God, the psalmist said in Psalms 116:15, "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints."

To God nothing is lost by the death of His saints. But to the lost, all is lost and forever.

If someone you know dies too young, remember Abel. If we are saved, it is only a matter of a short time that we will be eternally reunited in a land where death is not even in the vocabulary.

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White