Devotions for Wednesday, August 17, 2011
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.
Pastor Ben’s Commentary:
So today I am also going to try something new….I’m not going to give any commentary. I want you guys to think through the verse and/or get the info from some tools ( which you can find links to in the sidebar in the “Bible Study Links” section).
I’ll comment to at the end of the day.
Study the Scriptures with Ben Jennings 
Is it saying that god had wittnes for his gift and Dead but he still speaks it???
I don’t understand this verse! Can someone help me?
This verse uses the example of when Cain killed his own brother Abel. It was the first murder, and they were Adam & Eve’s sons. (Genesis 4) The first fews verses of Genesis 4 explain that Cain was a tiller of the ground, and Abel was the keeper of sheep. Overtime Cain brought fruit from the ground to God, and Abel brought the firstborn sheep of the flock. It then says the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but he didnt respect Cain’s offering. Cain became very angry. He went to talk with his brother Abel, and then he ended up killing him. God ended up punishing Cain for the rest of his life because he lied to him saying he didn’t know where Abel was, and because he killed him.
So, after reading this I think that the verse means that Abel showed his faith in God and did what God had wanted Him to. Even though in the end he was murdered by his brother, he had the greater faith in God!
One thing i think is that we need to have faith no matter what the circumstances. As Christians we will go through hard times but it is so important to have faith.
As Lindsey had mentioned, Genesis 4:1-15 describe how Abel was the more favored one or the more excellent one. Abel was the one with great faith and Cain was the one that didn’t have any belief at all! Abel’s faith was what got him the “more excellent” approach. It wasn’t the fact that his offering was better, but that his faith got him through and Cain was just for show! Abel was at a right standing with God and was considered righteous by Him! Without faith it’s impossible to be considered righteous! That’s why Cain was not considered righteous because he didn’t have authentic faith like Abel had! It says so in Genesis 15:6 “And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.”
I think this is a great story and reminder to let us know how important faith is. It’s important to focus on our own specific faith, and not to let jealousy get the best of us thinking that someone is better then us. God’s worried about our faith in Him and we need to have strong authentic faith to honor and glorify Him! We don’t want to be an unbeliever like Cain who let his jealousy win by killing his brother!
i don’t understand this.can simeone please help me.