WWUTT 1858 By Faith Abel and Enoch (Hebrews 11:4-6)

WWUTT Podcast

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:00

By faith, Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, and he was approved as being righteous.

00:07

By faith, Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death. And we have the promise of eternity as well, when we understand the text.

00:24

This is When We Understand the Text, a daily study of God's word, that we may be filled with the knowledge of His will.

00:31

For questions and comments send us an email to whenweunderstandthetext at gmail .com

00:37

Here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. In our study of Hebrews, we are in chapter 11.

00:43

If you want to open a Bible and join with me there, as with yesterday, I'm going to start by reading the first seven verses out of the

00:50

Legacy Standard Bible. This is the word of the Lord. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

01:02

For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

01:17

By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he was approved as being righteous,

01:25

God approving his gifts. And through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.

01:33

By faith Enoch was taken up, so that he would not see death, and he was not found, because God took him up, for prior to being taken up, he was approved as being pleasing to God.

01:46

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who draws near to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.

01:58

By faith Noah, being warned about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

02:14

Now the transition there in that section that I read probably is at the end of verse 6.

02:21

I've been reading that section this week as though the transition is at Abraham, because we talk about Abraham for quite a few verses, but it's that little, you know, sort of parenthetical reference right in the middle there in verse 6.

02:33

Without faith it's impossible to please him, for he who draws near to God must believe that he is, and is a rewarder of those who seek him.

02:41

And that's kind of a bookmark with verse 1. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen, for by it the men of old gained approval.

02:53

Without faith we can't please God. So then in between you've got the reference to God creating the worlds through his word.

03:01

You have the reference to Abel, and you have the reference to Enoch. Now let me come back to verse 3 here once again, as we spent all of our time yesterday considering verse 3.

03:11

By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God.

03:17

Now why that word? Why worlds? You know the great hymn, How Great Thou Art, uses that word there too.

03:24

Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds thy hands have made.

03:32

Some sing that song, the works thy hands have made. I think there's some translations of that hymn in some hymnals that will replace the word worlds with works, but it's specifically worlds.

03:44

That's what the first writer of the hymn had originally intended. And the word here in Hebrews 11 .3

03:50

is more accurately translated worlds. Not universe, which is what is used in the

03:57

English Standard Version. The ESV, Hebrews 11 .3, by faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

04:07

So why the word worlds? Why should we prefer that word instead? Well because it's more literally ages.

04:16

And for whatever reason in the Greek that comes out more directly worlds, but it would have been understood by a

04:23

Greek speaker to be ages. By the word of God, the ages were prepared, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

04:36

And when you understand it as ages, that even changes how you might understand what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

04:44

So a lot of what I said yesterday was mostly with regards to the creation story, and that's still accurate.

04:49

We can still understand it that way, but that's just partially what is being said here. If we understand it, the things that are made were not made out of things which are visible, well that's what we see in creation at the very beginning of Genesis.

05:03

And as the preacher is going through these things in succession, it would make sense to start there.

05:09

In Genesis 1, by faith we know all things came into existence. We believe that God spoke these things into existence, and they are.

05:17

The visible things which we can observe were not made out of those things which are visible.

05:24

Those things which we can see came out of nothing. God created ex nihilo. So it's not unreasonable to consider the verse that way, but when you recognize that worlds mean ages, then those things that are seen might not necessarily be material.

05:42

It might be events. That's a correct way to interpret that as well. You can read it both ways, that all things, all things physical were created by God out of invisible things just by speaking a word.

05:56

By that same understanding, even the ages have been prepared by God.

06:02

And the things that we're able to observe, those things that we can see, what

06:07

God has done throughout history were not made out of things that were visible.

06:14

We could not have seen those things in advance. God prepared them in advance, but those things have come by his word.

06:23

And that's especially relevant to think about when you consider where we're going from this point through Hebrews 11.

06:30

Where do we go? We go throughout history. We look at the men and women of history who by faith believed

06:37

God and received their approval, and it was credited to them as righteousness.

06:43

But we could not have known that this was what God was going to do throughout history.

06:48

We put our faith in God, and now we see what he has done, which he brought about through things that are not visible.

06:58

That's wild, isn't it? Mind -blowing to consider both of those understandings of Hebrews 11.

07:05

We can certainly take it to mean that all things have been created by God by the speaking of a word.

07:11

He said, and they were, according to Genesis 1, over and over again, creating those things by speaking them into existence.

07:19

But as we also understand the worlds, meaning ages, God has brought the ages to be.

07:26

He has determined the timeline. He has directed the course.

07:32

All things happen by his sovereignty, by his providence, by his ordination.

07:39

There is nothing that happens in all of the existence of all of the ages outside of God's will.

07:49

He brought these things into existence by those things that are not visible. We could not have seen, we could not have known the divine decree that God issued before the ages began.

08:00

Consider Isaiah 46, beginning in verse 8, remember this and be assured, cause it to return to your heart, you transgressors.

08:10

Remember the former things long past. That's what we're doing here. As we're reading through Hebrews 11, we're remembering the former things long past.

08:19

Going on, for I am God and there is no other. I am God and there is no one like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, my counsel will be established and I will accomplish all my good pleasure.

08:43

That goes right along with what we read here in Hebrews 11, 3, by faith we understand the ages were prepared by God's word, his sovereign decree, so that what is seen, what we can observe happening throughout the course of redemptive history, it was not made out of things which are visible.

09:07

It was made by the wise counsel of God. And remember from Hebrews 1, who is the one who brought all these things into existence?

09:17

Specifically Jesus Christ. It is the Son who is the creator of all things.

09:24

And so then what we read from verse 4 on are those things that have taken place in redemptive history.

09:32

Those things that God foreordained and they came to be and they've come to be for our instruction.

09:38

Paul says in Romans 15, 4, for whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction so that through the perseverance and the encouragement of the scriptures, we might have hope.

09:52

And isn't that the objective here with this Hebrew audience, the preacher wants the

09:58

Hebrews to remember those things which God has done in redemptive history so they would continue to hold fast their faith and not lose it.

10:08

How will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, as was said previously in Hebrews 2.

10:15

So we continue on here in verse 4. Now we get to our first example, our first example in the hall of faith of those persons from the

10:25

Old Testament that the preacher is putting forth for us to imitate, for his audience to imitate.

10:31

Verse 4, Abel is the first. By faith, Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he was approved as being righteous,

10:44

God approving his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.

10:52

Now, this question has been asked of me a few times. Why was Abel's sacrifice better than Cain's?

10:59

Because after all, Abel was one who tended flocks and Cain was a person who tilled the ground.

11:06

He grew crops. Abel had livestock. Cain had agriculture. So isn't

11:12

Cain supposed to bring the best of his crops before the Lord? And if that's what he did, and Abel is bringing the best of his flock, then why is

11:21

Abel's sacrifice better? Especially considering that there was no law at this time. God had not given the law, which wouldn't come until Moses.

11:30

That's even talked about here in Hebrews. We read it also in Romans 5, one of those verses I read to you yesterday.

11:36

So if there is no law, there's no command that you're supposed to bring an animal for sacrifice, why is it that Abel's sacrifice was better than Cain's?

11:44

Let's go back and look at it. So let's turn back to Genesis 4, and I'm going to start in verse 1.

11:50

Now the man, referring to Adam, knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain.

11:56

And she said, I have gotten a man with the help of Yahweh. And again, she gave birth to his brother

12:02

Abel. Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a cultivator of the ground. So it happened in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to Yahweh of the fruit of the ground.

12:14

Abel, on his part, also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions.

12:20

And Yahweh had regard for Abel and for his offering. But for Cain and for his offering, he had no regard.

12:28

So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell. Then Yahweh said to Cain, why are you angry?

12:35

And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up?

12:41

And if you do not do well, sin is lying at the door, and its desire is for you.

12:47

But you must rule over it. And then you know where the story goes from here. Cain took his brother

12:53

Abel out and killed him. Because hey, maybe if Abel's out of the picture, God will regard my sacrifice instead of Abel's.

13:01

What made Abel's sacrifice better than Cain's? And surely you know.

13:06

Surely you can recognize. Abel's sacrifice was one of blood, whereas Cain's was not.

13:14

Now, it doesn't say that Cain did not have any flocks. Maybe he did. But his primary job, what he mostly did, was working the ground.

13:23

So he probably had a few sheep and goats. Or he could have bought one from his brother.

13:29

Here's some of the produce that I have gotten. May I have one of your lambs that I may sacrifice unto

13:36

God. And then that lamb is the first fruits of what he has brought up from the ground.

13:43

He gives his best to Abel for some of the best of his flock that he may offer a worthy sacrifice unto

13:49

God. Abel's sacrifice demonstrated that Abel recognized his sin required a blood offering.

13:59

Whereas Cain did not feel the same way about his own sin. And so his sacrifice was not reflective of the fact that he sinned before God and needed an atoning sacrifice.

14:10

And so he gave from the produce of his ground instead of a sacrifice of blood.

14:17

That's why Abel's sacrifice was better. That's what we understand from that.

14:23

And yeah, true. No law had been given yet. There wasn't a law that said you have to sacrifice this and the animal must be this way and so on and so forth.

14:32

That doesn't come until Moses. But the precedent was still set after Adam and Eve sinned and God sacrificed an animal on their behalf.

14:43

Use the animal's skin. And it was probably two animals, because in Genesis 3, it says skins.

14:48

God clothed them with skins. So took the skin of the animal and clothed Adam and Eve to cover the shame of their nakedness.

14:55

So God had already set forth that because of sin is death. The wages of sin is death.

15:02

To atone for sin requires a death. Now, as we've read in Hebrews, the blood of bulls and goats was powerless to forgive sins anyway.

15:13

But these are types and shadows of the sacrifice that is to come. The greater sacrifice who is

15:19

Christ. And of course, this sacrifice was foreshadowed even in Genesis 3, even at the fall in Genesis 3 15.

15:27

God said to the serpent that I will put enmity between your offspring and the woman's offspring.

15:33

He will crush your head and you will bruise his heel. That's what we call the Evangelion or the first declaration of the gospel.

15:39

This was the first promise of the one who would come who would destroy the works of the devil. That's what said in 1

15:46

John 3 8. The son of God was manifested for this purpose to destroy the works of the devil.

15:53

And that promise is first given in Genesis 3 15. So anyway, this is why we understand that Abel's sacrifice was better than Cain's.

16:03

By faith, he offered a better sacrifice. By faith, he understood and Cain did not. And Abel understood in giving this sacrifice.

16:11

That my sins are forgiven by God, by his grace toward me.

16:17

And he was approved as righteous, as it says here in verse 4. This is the same as said of Abraham, that he believed

16:24

God and it was credited to him as righteousness. So the same could be said of Abel.

16:29

Also, God approved of his gifts. And look at the last part of verse 4 and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.

16:41

Still speaks in what way? Well, the testimony of what Abel did, the blood that was spilled on the ground when

16:49

Cain killed him, that testimony still speaks to us today through the word of God, through what we read in the

16:56

Pentateuch in Genesis chapter 4. Even when Cain killed

17:02

Abel, God said to Cain, his blood cries out to me from the ground. And so that testimony continues to this day that a man believed

17:09

God. He put his faith in God. He obeyed God and he was persecuted and killed for it.

17:17

And yet Abel died in faith. And so this is the instruction.

17:22

This is the example that's being set forth for all of us. The reason why all these examples are chosen in Hebrews 11.

17:29

They continued in faith and they persevered in faith. They died in faith so that they might live forever with God and receive the eternal reward.

17:40

Abel continues to be a testimony of that, even though he has died. So then the next one, verse 5, by faith,

17:47

Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death. And he was not found because God took him for prior to being taken up.

17:57

He was approved as being pleasing to God. Now, praise

18:03

God for this verse, because I think when we read in the genealogy in Genesis 5, we would probably be rather confused as to what happened to Enoch.

18:10

But the preacher speaks plainly here that Enoch was taken up. He did not see death.

18:16

God raptured him, just took him up to be in heaven with him, a righteous man who walked with God.

18:23

If you consider the genealogy in Genesis 5, you have this list of names. And these men lived a very long time.

18:29

As you're probably aware, Methuselah was 969 years old. He's the oldest one that's mentioned in this genealogy.

18:36

But these men lived for hundreds of years. Yet you see, he lived for this many years and he died.

18:42

He lived and he died. He lived and he died. That's all the way down the genealogy, except with Enoch.

18:48

So it says in verse 21, Enoch lived 65 years and became the father of Methuselah.

18:54

Then Enoch walked with God 300 years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he became the father of other sons and daughters.

19:02

So all the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him.

19:11

So he's the only one that said here in this genealogy that was taken by God.

19:17

It doesn't say that he died. It says that he walked with God and then he was not because God took him. And so the preacher here in Hebrews 11 states plainly, he was taken up and did not see death.

19:28

So only two men in the Old Testament, this is ever said of Enoch. And of course, you probably know the other one being

19:34

Elijah, but God took him up. This is yet a man that continued in faith until the end of his days, though he does not die.

19:43

God takes him up, but he continued, he persevered in faith. And so the same promise is for us.

19:50

Either our life might turn out like Abel's or it might turn out like Enoch's. These are the first two examples that we have in the

19:56

Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11. And all of us are going to end in one of two ways, either like Abel or like Enoch.

20:03

Now, the likelihood, the greatest likelihood is that you're going to die. Because every single person dies.

20:10

One out of every one person dies. It was the statistic that was true last year. It continues to be true this year.

20:16

Unless this is the year that Jesus returns, in which case we won't taste death.

20:22

We will be caught up together with him in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord, as said in First Thessalonians chapter four.

20:29

So you might end up like Abel, which is the most common way most people go.

20:35

They die. Or you might end up like Enoch, which is very, very uncommon. But nonetheless, the promise is given that if we happen to be alive in the day that Jesus returns, we'll be caught up together with him in the air.

20:48

Either way, we finish our lives in faith and we dwell forever with God.

20:55

So these are our first two examples in the Hall of Faith. Abel and Enoch. He was approved as being pleasing to God.

21:05

And finally, we end these first two examples with this note in verse six.

21:10

And without faith, it is impossible to please him. How did these men gain their approval?

21:18

How were they credited as righteous? By faith. Without faith, it's impossible to please him.

21:24

For he who draws near to God must believe that he is. Well, that makes sense.

21:30

If you're going to draw near to God, you must believe that God is there. Remember, we've had it said previously for us in Hebrews that we now have access to God in the very holy place through Jesus Christ, our

21:42

Savior. So that's what's in view here when it says that we draw near to God. We have we are able to come into the presence of God through Jesus Christ, our great high priest who intercedes for us on our behalf, who entered into the holy of holies into the heavenly tabernacle for us.

21:59

We must believe that he exists to draw near to him and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.

22:08

Indeed, God has a reward for us. He had a reward for Abel. He had a reward for Enoch, and he has a reward for us.

22:16

James said that you do not have because you do not ask or you do not have because you ask and you ask with wrong motives.

22:23

So we must come before God and ask and he will give to us who ask. Jesus said that very thing.

22:30

And we also read in Psalm 37 for delight yourself in Yahweh and he will give you the desires of your heart.

22:39

Now, that verse does not mean whatever you want, you ask of God and he will give it to you.

22:45

That's not what that means. It means you ask of God and he gives you the desires that we should have those things that are pleasing to God.

22:57

He gives you the very desire of your heart. That desire should be

23:03

God for God, for his way, for his will to be done to worship him, to be with him, to live as he wants us to live on this earth.

23:13

That's the desire of your heart. Ask it of Yahweh. He will give it to you that we may continue and persevere in faith and receive the reward at the end.

23:25

Amen. Heavenly Father, we thank you for these good words that we have read and may they guide our steps, our very lives to you to be pleasing unto you.

23:37

And this wonderful gospel message that we have heard of Christ who died for our sins and rose again from the dead, exalted to the right hand of the

23:47

Father. He who has done these things for us, if we believe in him, we are forgiven our sins and have eternal life.

23:54

May that be the gospel message that we take to this lost, dying and sinful world, that they may also come to faith and believe and so live.