Genesis 4:3-4 "And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. (4) And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering"
After being banned from the Garden of Eden, we find that Adam and Eve had two
sons, named Cain and Abel. Later, we will see more children added to them.
These two sons were assigned duties as they grew older. Abel was a shepherd and
Cain was a farmer. Adam and Eve apparently taught them the importance of
worship. When it was time for the yearly offering unto the Lord, they brought
their sacrifices. In reading those first verses of chapter 4, we find that
"in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the
ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the
firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. (Genesis 4:3-4)
Hundreds of years later, God gave instructions concerning the offerings to be
made. Those instructions included the presenting of the sheaves of grain unto
the Lord as a proper offering. The reason I bring this into the devotion is to
understand that Cain was within his rights to bring "the fruit of the
ground" as "an offering unto the Lord." Abel brought "of
the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof." There are differing
thoughts as to why God "had respect unto Abel's offering but not unto
Cain's. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto
Cain and to his offering he had not respect." (Genesis 4:4-5) It
seems to me that Cain did not bring the "firstfruits" of his crops.
But the only sure reason we can know about God's decision to accept Abel's and
reject Cain's is found in Hebrews chapter 11:4, "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." It is understood by this verse that one offering was made
by faith and the other was not.
"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to
God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently
seek him." (Hebrews 11:6) The only sure conclusion to which we can come is
found in those Hebrews verses. By faith, Abel offered his best unto God;
whereas, Cain did not. What does this show unto us? We must approach God
through faith in the truth of who He is, how much He knows, what He can do, and
how much He cares about us. We must believe that God is faithful to His Word
and to His promises. We "must believe that He is (God)." Sounds
simple doesn't it? But our efforts are fruitless if we pray to Him
without believing all of the above things. We are to bring our best unto the
Lord as "living sacrifices." (See Romans 12:1-2)