“He Being Dead Yet Speaketh”—
Hebrews 11:4
The first and most obvious
significance of these words is that, by his obedient faith as recorded in
Genesis 4 and Hebrews 11, Abel preaches
a very important, needed sermon to us.
Substitution
There comes to us a voice from the
far distant past, from the other side of the flood, saying, “Fallen man can
only approach unto God through the death of an innocent Substitute. No sinner
will ever, if left to himself, know and acknowledge his need of such a
Substitute. None will set aside their own righteousness and their own
inclinations, bow to God’s revealed will, and submit to the righteousness of
God in Christ. Only those chosen sinners called by his grace, and made willing
in the day of his power will trust Christ alone for acceptance with God,
finding all their righteousness in him alone. Still, all who do so trust the
Lord Jesus Christ obtain witness that they are “righteous” (Matthew 13:43), and
receive divine assurance that they are accepted in the Beloved and are heirs of
eternal life in Christ.
Offense
of the Cross
Abel declares that “the offense of the cross” shall never
cease as long as the world stands. Abel died by the murderous hand of a
religious hypocrite who hated him. – His own brother! The seed of the serpent
murdered the seed of the woman. “He that
was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit”
(Galatians 4:29). In fact, Abel’s death foreshadowed and represented the death
of Christ himself. Like his Redeemer, Abel was murdered by the religious world.
Those who are approved of God must ever expect to be disproved of men,
particularly by those self-righteous religionists. But the time is coming when
the present situation shall be reversed.
Judgment
In Genesis 4:10 God said to Cain,
“The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth
unto me from the ground.” Abel’s own blood spoke, crying to God for
vengeance. “And by it he being dead yet speaketh.” He is among that
multitude John “ saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for
the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held, and they cried with a
loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and
avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” (Rev. 6:9-10).
Thus,
Abel is not only a type of the persecution and suffering of the godly, but also
a pledge of the certain vengeance God will take in due time upon all who
despise and persecute his people in this world. God shall yet avenge his own
elect (those in heaven as well as those on earth) who cry unto him day and
night for him to avenge them (Luke
18:7, 8). For now, let us seek grace to possess our souls in patience. Soon God
almighty will publicly own and honor his own with everlasting glory and punish
the wicked with everlasting fire and confusion in hell.