Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Hebrews 11:4
The readers could identify with Abel because he, too, had a better sacrifice. Those who based their hope of God’s acceptance on an inferior sacrifice, as in Judaism, would experience disappointment, as Cain did.By the way, what made Abel’s offering superior to Cain’s was evidently its being an offering of the "firstlings" (first-born) and its including the "fat" (Genesis 4:4). Ancient Near Easterners commonly held that a deity deserved the first of whatever man, beast, or crop brought forth.... read more
Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Hebrews 11:3
However faith is a way of viewing all of life, what lies ahead as well as what is in the past. It involves accepting God’s viewpoint as He has revealed it in His Word. This extends to how the universe came into being (cf. Hebrews 1:2-3) as well as how it will end."Belief in the existence of the world is not faith, nor is it faith when men hold that the world was made out of some preexisting ’stuff.’ (In the first century there were people who did not believe in God but who held to some kind of... read more