Cain and Abel know that God made the first sacrifice for sins when their parents sinned against Him in the garden. Since then, though the law has not yet been given, sacrifices have been made. We know this because Job, who was believed to have lived around the time of Abraham and before the law was given, performed sacrifices for himself and his family. Before the law of Moses was given, men like Job acted as "priest" for their families, which is what we find Job doing in Job 1:5. Abel, who brought a sacrifice for sin in yesterday's passage, may have been performing a priestly role for his family. But even if he only brought the sacrifice for his own sins, this still shows us that he has an awareness of his own faults and that he has a desire to make things right with God.
We read in our passage yesterday that the Lord was pleased with Abel's sacrifice from his flock but the Lord was not pleased with the offering Cain brought from the crops he grew. What is the difference between these two offerings?
Abel brought a sacrifice for atonement. In doing so, he acknowledged his sinfulness. He has a humble spirit. He has a heart that seeks the Lord. He is mindful of his shortcomings and he has placed his trust in the Lord that the Lord will impute to him the righteousness he lacks. King David wrote a psalm about the value of a humble and repentant attitude, saying to the Lord, "My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart You, God, will not despise." (Psalm 51:17) Abel's sacrifice was acceptable in the eyes of God because of what was in his heart. He had a broken and contrite heart over his inability to live a perfect life. Abel is an example of a person who was saved by faith.
Cain is an example of a person who tries to obtain salvation by works---trying to bypass humility and repentance and instead trying to gain favor in God's eyes by bringing Him something obtained by prideful human effort. Cain brought the Lord what was probably either a grain offering or a firstfruits offering. These offerings are honorable if brought in the right spirit. But Cain may have brought his offering with a prideful heart because of the beauty of the crops he had managed to bring from the earth. Instead of placing his offering before the Lord in an attitude of thankfulness, it could be that he brought it with a sense of personal accomplishment, expecting the Lord to brag on his efforts and give him a pat on the head.
It's difficult to know for certain what each of these brothers was thinking or how they knew whose sacrifice was pleasing to the Lord and whose wasn't. But when Cain realizes the Lord isn't happy with what he brought, instead of repenting of whatever he did wrong, he becomes angry and resentful. "So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast." (Genesis 4:5b)
We would expect Cain to ask the Lord why his offering was not pleasing. We would expect Cain to want to make things right. But instead, because of the attitude of his heart, he finds fault with the Lord instead of with himself. He's angry that the Lord preferred Abel's sacrifice over his. Soon Cain's resentment toward the Lord will spill over onto his brother, but first the Lord tries to reason with him. "Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.'" (Genesis 4:6-7) The Lord says something like, "Cain, your offering would be acceptable if the state of your heart was acceptable. You know the difference between right and wrong. Something in you wants to always be stubborn and rebellious. You do not have a humble and submissive heart toward Me. Beware! Sin is waiting outside your door and you are in danger of flinging the door wide open and letting it master you. You must not give in! If you allow your bad attitude and your resentment to fester, sin is going to own you and you are going to do things you can't imagine yourself doing."
The Lord Jesus said a similar thing to His friend Peter on the night before the crucifixion: "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." (Luke 22:31-32) Simon Peter is an example of a person who did not allow sin to be his master. He temporarily stumbled and denied knowing Jesus, but with the help of the Lord he got back up and moved on and became a great minister of the gospel and the author of two books of the Holy Bible. Cain, however, is an example of a man who did allow sin to be his master. The Lord is offering him the strength to resist but Cain is a man who wants to do everything by his own power. His own power isn't going to be enough. It never is. We can't fight the temptations of Satan---a supernatural being---on our own. It is Christ in us who gives us the strength to keep from allowing sin to be our master. The Bible tells us that human beings are created "a little lower than the angels". (Psalm 8:5, Hebrews 2:7) We can't fight against an angel (not even a fallen one) on our own. But Christ is the One through whom all things were made (John 1:3, Colossians 1:16), including angels, and He is far more powerful than anyone or anything that will ever come against us. This is why the Holy Bible assures us that, "The One who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4) The One who is in us (Christ) is greater than the one (the devil) who prowls the earth like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8) Sin may crouch outside the door waiting for an invitation to come in, and as long as we live in mortal bodies we are going to make mistakes, but by the power of Christ we can keep from descending into life-shattering mistakes like the one Cain will soon make.
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