Text: “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.” – Hebrews 11:4.
Explanation: Some people sometimes refer to St. Paul’s statement about Abel at Hebrews 11: 4, that “he (Abel) being dead yet speaketh”. This does not mean that Abel was talking after his death. Rather the apostle was explaining how by Abel’s illustrious example of faith, which made him offer a better sacrifice than Cain, he is being spoken of up till today as a righteous man to teach people about faith in God and the doing of things that are pleasing in His sight. The paraphrased epistles, LIVING LETTERS, by Kenneth N. Taylor, renders the text thus: “It was by faith that Abel obeyed God and brought an offering that pleased God more than Cain’s offering did. God accepted Abel and proved it by accepting his gift; and though Abel is long dead, we can still learn from him about trusting God.”