More Than Abel.
Part III of Epic Mini-Series: Horseshoes, Handgrenades and Gifts He’ll Love.
Woah there, Nugget.
This is Part III of a glorious, ongoing Epic Mini-Series all about what NOT to give God, even though its basically what He says He wants, every time. So, before you try to give it to Him, take it from me: start at Part I: Duck is Cover. Then, ‘mon back now, ya hear?!
Read Part I…
Scripture
And through faith [Abel] still speaks, although he is dead.
Hebrews 11:4
Part III: More Than Abel
I’m going to go ahead and be honest I really didn’t know what that Scripture (above) meant for a really long time. In fact, it wasn’t until I started wrestling with this Behold(en) post that I started to get some insight into what God has been saying, since the beginning.
But for us to end up in the right place, I think we should start with what we don’t have – how on Earth did Abel know what to give God?
Think about it. It’s only Genesis 4. The mandate for properly offering up animals doesn’t happen for 100 more pages in my Bible, let alone a couple hundred more generations.
Before this moment, there’s no record of Adam ever giving a thanks offering, let alone saying thank you to God at all. Come to think of it, it’s REALLY interesting that the first sacrifice ever recorded in the Bible is by his kids – NOT by Adam, God’s previously favorite son (by default) himself.
Something also very interesting is that as of this moment in history, there’s no transcript of a conversation from God to mankind saying what He wants to get.
So, quick recap:
No recorded prior history of gifts to God…
No previous family history of gratitude to God…
No mention yet of God’s preferences in History…
In fact, no one’s story has sacrifices in it, yet at all…
So how does Abel go from a baseline of nothing, to killing it at gift-giving?
Let alone, how did he know that killing it is what GOD really wanted?
Well, we know Abel had to have gotten it somewhere;
Possibly from Adam?
I think there’s a couple good reasons we can think that:
First, Adam was there at the slaughter of the animal that he now wears instead of a fig leaf, and as he watched God’s hands prepare, knit together, and hand over a new wardrobe, I think the best Father in the Universe was probably aware of His now-captive audience and took advantage of the teaching moment – inherently showing Adam and Eve how to slaughter an animal (think about it, never seen THAT before) and letting His kids know not just what this represented for all time, but prescribed it for any acute symptoms of guilt, shame, and remorse:
Feeling isolated and buried under the weight of sin and separation from God? Take two pigeons and call on Me until morning…
Let alone we do have record that Adam had conversations with God on the regular. Perhaps a late-night fireside chat delves into each other’s love languages, and God reveals His is: gift giving; and, shares what He loves to receive more than most things is: the smell of devoted beef on the bar-bee.
At which point, Adam sarcastically asks, ‘you like ribs?’
And God belly laughs. For a while.
Lastly, the fact that his brother Cain is also offering up something, implies familial familiarity. A knowledge passed down from the generation. Both boys knew what to do and how to do it – almost like they’d been taught by someone, before. And, there’s literally no one else who could have done it.
But it’s also possible Abel got a glimpse, or a Revelation of what God really wants, directly from God. Sometimes that happens spontaneously, but in my experience usually a preexisting relationship is required. And I think there’s sufficient evidence on all sides of this Scripture that Abel had a relationship with His Heavenly Father.
A one-time pleasing acceptance by GOD that resonates through all time tells me that Abel’s gift of a blood sacrifice is dripping with affection, love, and gratitude. Which to me more than implies that this one gift wasn’t a one-off thing; there’s some serious history between these two. Like anything we offer up that He chooses to inhabit today, the sweet worship and subsequent pleasing aroma was first seasoned by all the years Abel has been walking with God.
Perhaps like Cain, in the miserableness and harshness of a barbaric childhood, Abel had nowhere to turn, but unlike Cain he didn’t turn it all inward – instead, he poured out all his heart at the Feet of God.
The definition of worship.
And in this humble beginning of something special, the youngest son, alone in the fields – Abel developed a personal, courageous trust in His LORD, found true belonging in his Heavenly Father, and sweet solace in His intentionally cultivated Presence – all, while he watched over his family’s flock.
Why does that sound familiar?
Horseshoes, Handgrenades and Gifts He’ll Love. “More Than Abel.” Behold(en), still. Copyright © 2026 Behold(en), still.
Small, but Mighty!
Now, THAT was a set up for the ages. And if you thought THAT was good, you should read THIS: Part IV: The Price is Might.
Read Part IV…
One more thing
Spoiler alert: Abel knew God would love whatever he gave Him because: he knew God.
Do you?
If you don’t know, or don’t know how to even answer that, then do yourself the 8-minute favor and click the below.