LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
Abel, Enoch and Noah
In a previous meditation we took two characters from Hebrews 11 to show two aspects of the walk of faith. We saw how Abel shows us justification by faith, and Enoch approval through faith. Now we want to add another character, closely linked to the previous ones, placed next in the exemplary gallery of Hebrews 11: Noah. So we have Abel, Enoch and Noah.
"By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, whereby he obtained witness that he was righteous, God bearing witness of his offerings; and being dead, he yet speaketh by it" (Heb. 11:4). Abel attained the righteousness of God because of his offering. God bears witness to his offerings, not to Abel. Righteous Abel attained righteousness because of his offering, not because of his inherent righteousness. "And yet he speaks by it". What does Abel tell us today by his offering? That man attains righteousness not by something he has in himself, but by something outside himself, that is, by his offering.
What offering do we have, are we -our righteousness, our goodness, natural- the offering with which we present ourselves before God? If so, we shall be ashamed, for there is no such righteousness in us. God will say to us: "Bring me no more a vain offering" (Isaiah 1:13). Abel's offering was the blood of an animal, as atonement for his sins. Our offering, of which that one speaks to us, is "the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot ... manifested in the last times for your sakes" (1 Pet. 1:19-20).
"By faith Enoch was transposed that he should not see death, and was not found, because God had transposed him; and before he was transposed, he had testimony that he pleased God" (Heb. 11:5). Enoch had testimony of having pleased God in his life of faith. It is not only the act of faith by which he was declared righteous, but a whole life in intimate communion with God. Such was his closeness to God that God decided to take him in the middle of his days. Are we walking with God to be pleasing to Him?
"By faith Noah, when he was warned by God of things not yet seen, fearfully prepared an ark to save his house: and by that faith he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which cometh by faith" (Heb. 11:7). Noah stands at the end of one age and the beginning of another. By his faith he condemned the ancient world, and as a consequence, God was able to send his judgment.
The old world ended because of Noah's faith. But his faith enabled him to pass into the next age and become heir of the world. So do we. The world to come has been subjected, not to angels, but to the offspring of faith that Abraham has. Those who believe in Jesus Christ are children of God and heirs. "If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Gal. 3:29). This is what Noah, the "righteous man", speaks of (Gen. 6:9).
So we have exemplified in Abel the way in which God's righteousness is bestowed; in Enoch, the way to please God; and in Noah, how the inheritance of a new world is obtained, all in Christ, by faith.