By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent
sacrifice
than Cain
The apostle proceeds to examples of faith, and begins with Abel:
it may seem strange that Adam and Eve are not mentioned; this
omission is not because they were not believers; but either
because of the fall and ruin of mankind by them; or because the
apostle speaks only of such who had received some eminent
testimony by faith, and therefore passes by many believers, and
hastens to Abraham, the father of the Jews. The superior
excellency of Abel's sacrifice to Cain's, lay both in the matter,
and in the manner of it; the one was offered heartily to the
Lord, the other only in show; the one was offered in faith, the
other not; Abel looked through his sacrifice to the sacrifice of
Christ, not so Cain. Abel's sacrifice was a lamb, a type of
Christ, the Lamb of God; a firstling, a figure of him who is the
firstborn of every creature; one of the fattest of his flock,
expressive of the excellency of Christ; and this was offered up
at the end of days, as Christ at the end of the world; and the
superior excellency of the sacrifice of the one to that of the
other, appears from God's regard to the one, and not to the
other, ( Genesis
4:3-5 ) from whence it may be observed, that sacrifices were
of divine institution, and were very early types of Christ; and
that there always were two sorts of worshippers, spiritual and
carnal ones, whom God can distinguish, for he seeth not as man
seeth; that the acceptance of persons is in Christ, and is
previous to their offerings; that whatsoever works do not spring
from faith are unacceptable to God; that no dependence is to be
had on birth privileges, or outward actions; and that electing
and distinguishing grace very early took place, and appeared.
By which he obtained witness that he was
righteous;
not righteous by his offering, nor by his faith, but by the
righteousness of Christ, which his faith in his sacrifice looked
unto; though it was by his faith that he obtained, or received a
witness in his own conscience, from the Spirit of God, testifying
that he was a justified person; and in consequence of this, he
had an outward testimony bore to him in the Scriptures, that he
was a righteous person hence he is called righteous Abel, (
Matthew
23:35 ) .
God testifying of his gifts:
not of his own gifts, temporal or spiritual, but of Abel's gifts,
which he offered to the Lord; that is, his sacrifices; of these
he testified, when he showed respect either by an audible voice,
declaring his acceptance of them; or by sending down fire from
heaven, upon his sacrifice, which in later times was a symbol of
acceptance.
And by it, he being dead, yet speaketh;
good men die, and some of them die a violent death, as did Abel,
yet he speaks in the Scriptures, which have a voice in them, (
Luke 16:29 ) or
by his blood, which calls for vengeance; or rather by, or because
of his faith, though he is dead, "he is yet spoken of", as the
word may be rendered.