February 22, 2015 Part 3 -- Hebrews 11:5-6 Pastor David King

We offer an Acceptable Sacrifice

By Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”, for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:5-6

In the middle of the genealogies of Genesis 5 (verses 22-24) we get this blip on the Biblical radar screen of a great man of faith, Enoch. A man who lived his life walking with a God he could not see and one day God chose to translate him into heaven without Enoch ever experiencing death. Elijah is the only other man in Biblical record that did not experience death before being ushered into the presence of God. We learn from Enoch that God is pleased when his creation walks with Him. Enoch is not known for great feats of faith, amazing victories in battle, or great deliverances from his enemies. Enoch’s “great feat”...Enoch walked with God! Dr. Pieper says it well, “God is most pleased with us when we are most satisfied with Him.”

BIG IDEA: Are you leaning into your relationship with God?

Enoch’s Life Testified of His FaithGenesis 5:1-4, 20-22

Enoch had this testimony…To whom was this testimony? Before God, Before Men, Both?

Enoch’s Faith was foundational to His ability to please God…2 Corinthians 5:9-- Enoch’s Faith believed Yahweh alone is the self-existent, Sovereign GodJohn 8:58, Exodus 3:14, Genesis 1:1 – Jesus is self-existent, sovereign God

Enoch’s Faith leaned into a relationship with GodIllustration—Enoch walked with God and one day, God said, you’re closer to my home than yours why don’t you come with me. PROBLEM…Faith involved believing what we cannot see

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ENOCH'S LIFE TESTIFIED OF HIS FAITHbefore he was taken he had this testimony...he pleased God.

ENOCH'S FAITH WAS FOUNDATIONAL TO HIS ABILITY TO PLEASE GOD

without faith it is impossible to please Him

ENOCH'S FAITH BELIEVED YAHWEH ALONE IS THE SELF-EXISTENT, SOVEREIGN GOD

believe that He is

ENOCH'S FAITH LEANED INTO A RELATIONSHIP WITH GODthrough it he being dead still speaks

or handle, Enoch, like us didn’t see God with his eyes, yet he believed God was true and had a relationship with the unseen God we worship today!

Enoch—faith walking (vv. 5–6). Our faith in God grows as we fellowship with God. We must have both the desire to please Him and the diligence to seek Him. Prayer, meditating on the Word, worship, discipline—all of these help us in our walk with God. Enoch walked with God in the wicked world, before the Flood came; he was able to keep his life pure. Enoch was taken to heaven one day (“translated” =“carried across”) and seen no more. Abel died a violent death, but Enoch never died. God has a different plan for each one who trusts Him. Some see in the translation of Enoch a picture of the Rapture of the church when Jesus Christ returns (1 Thes. 4:13–18).1

Was translated (μετετεθη [metetethē]). First aorist passive indicative of μετατιθημι [metatithēmi], old verb to transpose, to change as in 7:12; Acts 7:16. That he should not see death (του μη ἰδειν θανατον [tou mē idein thanaton]). Here again του [tou] with the infinitive usually expresses purpose, but in this case result is the idea as in Matt. 21:23; Rom. 1:24; 7:3, etc. (Robertson, Grammar, p. 1002). He was not found (οὐχ ηὑρισκετο [ouch hēurisketo]). Imperfect passive of εὑρισκω [heuriskō] from Gen. 5:24. Was still not found. Translated (μετεθηκεν [metethēken]). First aorist active of same verb as μετετεθη [metetethē] just before. Translation (μεταθεσεως [metatheseōs]). Substantive from the same verb μετατιθημι [metatithēmi], used already in 7:12 for change. See also 12:27. Our very word “metathesis.” He hath had witness borne him (μεμαρτυρηται [memarturētai]). Perfect passive indicative of μαρτυρεω [martureō], stands on record still, “he has been testified to.” That he had been well-pleasing unto God (εὐαρεστηκεναι τῳ θεῳ [euarestēkenai tōi theōi]). Perfect active infinitive of

1 Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 318.

εὐαρεστεω [euaresteō], late compound from εὐαρεστος [euarestos] (well-pleasing), in N. T. only in Heb. 11:5f. and 13:16. With dative case θεῳ [theōi]. Quoted here from Gen. 5:22, 24. The word is common of a servant pleasing his master.2

Genesis 4:3–7 3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 6 So the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”

Matthew 23:35 35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

1 John 3:12 12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.

“The author proceeds to demonstrate the universality of faith in those God approves. He selects a number of men and women universally regarded among the Jews as especially outstanding (though we cannot always see why he has chosen one not another). He begins by looking to remote antiquity and showing that faith was manifested in the lives of certain great men who lived before the Flood.” (Morris 1981)

ABLE OFFERED A MORE EXCELLENT SACRIFICEPROPOSITIONAL STATEMENT:

ABEL’S OFFERING CAME FROM A PLACE OF FAITH

2 A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933), Heb 11:5.

By Faith… ABEL’S OFFERING GAVE OUTWARD WITNESS TO INWARD

RIGHTEOUSNESS (1 John 3:12)he obtained witness that he was righteousMatthew 23:35, “that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Able to the blood of Zechariah…1 John 3:12, “not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous. ABEL’S OFFERING WAS VALIDATED BY GOD’S APPROVALGod testifying of his gifts ABEL’S OFFERING CONTINUES TO SPEAK TO THIS DAY

Sentence Diagram:

“Scripture never says there was anything inherently superior in Abel’s offering. It may be relevant that there are some reference to Abel as being a righteous man (Matt. 23:35, 1 John 3:12), while the author of Hebrews insists on the importance of Abel’s faith. Abel was right with God and his offering was a demonstration of his faith.” (Morris 1981)

“Once again, NIV’s ‘commended’ represents the passive of the verb ‘to witness’: ‘it was witnessed’ or ‘testified’ that he was righteous (cf. v. 1). This is explained as that God ‘bore witness’ to (NIV, ‘spoke well of’) his offerings. This indicates the importance the author attached to Abel’s sacrifice offered in faith, for very rarely is God said to have borne witness. The meaning may be either that on the basis of Abel’s sacrifice God testified to his servant of that God bore witness about the gifts Abel offered. We should probably accept NIV’s ‘And by faith he still speaks,’ though the Greek is simply “through it,’ where ‘it’ might refer either to ‘sacrifice’ or to ‘faith.’ Whichever way we resolve this problem, the main point is that Abel is not to be thought of as one long-since dead and of no present account. He is dead, but his faith is a living voice.” (Morris 1981)

“First, it was ‘by faith’ that Abel offered unto God his sacrifice. He is the first man, according to the sacred record, whoever did so. He had no established precedent to follow, no example to emulate, no outward encouragement to stimulate.” (Pink 1967, reprint 1968)

Hebrews 11:1-3“A definition and description of faith, with an illustration of its action, is contained in these frist two verses of Chapter Eleven.” (Newell 1947, reprint 1980)“The term ‘the elders’ has in view the Old Testmaent saints, especially those pointed to in this chapter as prominent in the activity of faith.” (Newell 1947, reprint 1980)“The same word in verse 2 is wrongfully rendered in the Authorized Version ‘obtained a good report.’ The word here used in Chapter 11 as connected with personal faith expresses the approval by God of that faith to the consciousness of him exercising it. The ‘elders’ obtained from the Divine side a conscious inner testimony. The word has absolutely nothing to do with any ‘good report’ to those outside! In fact, ‘the elders’ of verse 2, and those associated with them, so far from having from the world ‘ a good report,’ are described in verses 35-38 as ‘tortured,’ ‘mocked,’ ‘Scourged,’ ‘imprisoned;’ stoned,’ tempted,’ ‘slain with the sword,’ ‘going about in sheepskins, in goatskins,’ ‘destitute,’ ‘afflicted,’ ‘ill-treated,’ ‘wandering in deserts and mountains and caves, and the holes of the earth’!” (Newell 1947, reprint 1980)

Genesis 4:3ff

The subject of chapter 4 is the spread of godless society. Here is man in rebellion against God—man who did not obey and who destroyed the godly and denied his responsibility and culpability for it. The ungodly here are portrayed as living on in the world (with a protective mark of grace; cf. comments on v. 15) without being saved. Their sense of guilt was eased by their cultural development and their geographical expansion.

Under Moses’ leadership Israel would move into a world of cultures. Civilizations with music, art, industry, and enterprise would be on every side. These would be antagonistic to Israel, and would help cause God’s people to reject the sacrifices and live as cursed people. Israel needed to be warned against such arrogant opposition.

In the story of Cain and Abel the seed of the woman met the seed of the serpent (3:15). Cain fell to the prey of the crouching evil and eventually went out to form a godless society, rejecting God’s way. The “way of Cain” (Jude 11), then, is a lack of faith which shows itself in envy of God’s dealings with the righteous, in murderous acts, in denial of responsibility, and in refusal to accept God’s punishment.

4:1–5. Cain and Abel were played off against each other, reversing the subjects clause after clause. In fact, the entire chapter contrasts them: Cain is mentioned 13 times in verses 1–16. Seven times Abel is mentioned, and three other times “brother” is substituted. Rightly the Apostle John saw murder as a sin against one’s brother (1 John 3:12, 15).

The nature of rebellious man unfolds in the person of Cain who had an auspicious beginning as the child of hope. But the narrative lines him up with the curse; he worked the soil (lit., ground, ’ăḏāmâh, Gen. 4:2; cf. 3:17). Abel, however, seems to be lined up with man’s original purpose, to have dominion over life (cf. 1:28); he kept flocks. These coincidental descriptions are enhanced with their actions in worship. Abel went out of his way to please God (which meant he had faith in God, Heb. 11:6), whereas Cain was simply discharging a duty. Abel’s actions were righteous, whereas Cain’s were evil (1 John 3:12). These two types of people are still present.

Cain’s lack of faith shows up in his response to God’s rejection of his offering of fruit (Gen. 4:5). Rather than being concerned about remedying the situation and pleasing God, he was very angry.

4:6–7. Cain was so angry he would not be talked out of his sin—even by God. Eve, however, had to be talked into her sin by Satan; but Cain “belonged to the evil one” (1 John 3:12). It is as if he could not wait to destroy his brother—a natural man’s solution to his own failure.

God’s advice was that if Cain would please God by doing what is right, all would be well. But if not sin would be crouching (rōḇēṣ is used here in the figure of a crouching animal) at his door, ready to overcome him. Sin desires to have Cain (these words show God’s interpretation of “desire,” the same Heb. word, in Gen. 3:16), but Cain could have the mastery over it. Here is the perpetual struggle between good and evil. Anyone filled with envy and strife is prey for the evil one.

4:8–16. After murdering his brother (v. 8) Cain repudiated responsibility for it (v. 9) and claimed that God’s punishment (cropless soil and wandering, vv. 10–12) was too severe (v. 13). God graciously protected him by some mark or sign that would be a deterrent to an avenger (v. 15—nowhere is the nature of this “mark” clarified), but God condemned him to a life of ceaseless wandering (v. 12). This was his curse, to be banished from God’s presence (v. 14). But Cain defied that curse by living in a city in the land of Nod (lit., “wandering”), east of Eden (v. 16).

Several Mosaic motifs were founded here: (1) Sacrifices should be offered to God from a heart of faith, and should be the best of the livestock, the firstborn (v. 4). (2) Israelites had responsibilities to their brothers—they were each others’ keepers and must not kill one another. (3) Homicidal blood polluted the land, crying out for vengeance—spilled blood raised its voice of accusation (v. 10). (4) Blood revenge was averted by God through protective care, just as later removal to a city of refuge would avert an avenger. (5) Punishment for guilt was at the foundation of Israel’s theocracy. (6) Life without God is a dangerous life without protection. (7)

Sometimes the elder was rejected in favor of the younger, turning the normative societal custom around.3

3 Allen P. Ross, “Genesis,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 33–34.