The fourth chapter of Genesis reveals the first recorded accounts in history of a murderous act, and it all begins with a simple offering. In this passage from the Bible, readers learn about two brothers and their offerings to God — one being accepted and honored while the other is rejected for reasons we’ll seek to uncover. Despite Cain’s betrayal afterward, there are many lessons that can be learned from this story about faithfulness and rejection. So let’s dive into Genesis 4:1-8, exploring these themes as we uncover why Abel’s offering was so key in what followed next – resulting in one of the most infamous murders recorded in history.
Before we look thoroughly at Genesis 4, we must remember what happened in the last chapter: the man and woman were expelled from the Garden of Eden, and the woman was informed that she will experience pain while bearing children from conception to birth. It is essential to recall this before we begin.
1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten[a] a man with the help of the Lord.
Adam had intimacy with his wife Eve. Some claim that the sexual intercourse was a result of sin but I don’t find that to make any sense. Because even in chapters 1-2 , the man and the woman as well as all the animal world were told to multiply and fill the earth. And that would only be possible through physical intimacy or sexual intercourse. What is very important to note here is the statement made by Eve. She said with the help of the Lord I have gotten a man. In essence, she admits that the grace of God was what allowed her to conceive and give birth. She makes this statement in light of the judgement she received in Chapter 3. She is extolling God’s grace by saying that even though she was supposed to conceive and give birth to children in pain, the Lord has intervened on her behalf and shown her grace. This is why she gave him the name Cain, which is Hebrew for acquisition, since she is aware that she could only have gotten him through God’s grace.
2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.
We are now introduced to Abel. Due to the fact that the Bible only records the woman’s first conception, some people have speculated that Cain and Abel were twins. I can’t verify this , I’m just putting this out there. We also earn about their line of work.
Cain was a worker of the ground, a farmer in modern terms ( except that he didn’t raise any animals). Let’s recall that in chapter 3, the ground was cursed , no longer benefited from the favor of God. It didn’t mean that it wouldn’t produce food but what it meant was that through sweat and hard work would man eat from it. We can infer from this that Cain’s job was quite challenging.
Abel was a shepherd and I don’t think his job was any easier but this is the first time we are introduced to this profession , as a matter of fact , we could say that he was the very first shepherd that ever existed. Now their profession or line of work will set a stage to the sacrifice that they both brought the Lord in verses 3 through 7.
3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted?[b] And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to[c] you, but you must rule over it.”
The first thing that we need to mention is that Cain brought his offerings before Abel could. Are we allowed to make any inference on that , I don’t think we should but it is worth mentioning. Maybe he brought his first because he was the firstborn. Secondly, we need to see the types of offerings they each brought. Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground and Abel brought offerings of the firstborn of his flock , and of their fat portions. So the first difference worth mentioning is that Abel’s offerings were of the fat portions of the firstborn of the flock while Cain’s offerings were of the fruits of the ground. So the size was different and the ranking ( if I could use that term was different). Now what happened next is important because we need to let the Scripture be its own interpret. God accepted Abel’s offering but rejected Cain’s. Cain was obviously enraged and angry because his offerings had been rejected but God didn’t leave him without an answer. God told him exactly why his offering was rejected- If you do what is right , will you not be accepted ? This means that Cain knew what was right to do and failed to do it, and the rejection shouldn’t have come as a surprise to him. It wasn’t as if God rejection was arbitrary and was done in a vacuum. Cain knew the prescription for the offering and failed to do as instructed by God. He made his offerings according to his own judgement not God’s. And the Apostle John enlightens us on this in 1 John 3:11-12,
11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous
The scripture calls Cain’s offerings evil, that which was ungodly so this support the fact that Cain knew what was right to do and didn’t do it. What else do we learn? God didn’t leave him without an explanation but gave him an opportunity to repent and do the right thing. God warned him of the danger of his unrighteous actions. Let’s take a closer look at what might have been wrong about Cain’s offering.
It wasn’t offered in faith
In Hebrews 11:4, we read the following,
4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks
Abel offered his gift by faith. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith, it is impossible to please God. And we know from Romans 10:17 that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. So the word of God produces faith, which means Abel and Cain both heard the word from God about what would be acceptable as an offering. Abel did according to the word Of GOD and Cain didn’t and his offering was rejected, and he shouldn’t have been flabbergasted by God’s response.
In Exodus 34:36, we read the following,
26 The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
The best of the firstfruits of the ground the people of Israel were supposed to bring to the Lord. Now this was instituted after Moses led them out of Egypt and gave them the law. We don’t know whether this command was also given to Cain, we can only make inferences but we have to be careful not to make the Bible say what it doesn’t say. All we know is that Abel brought far portions of the firstborn of His flock while Cain brought ‘ some fruits ‘ ( not the firstfruits) of the ground.
We know from Chapter 3 that Sin had entered the world and its effect was immediate, as depicted in the case of Cain. Sin was looking to take control of Cain and God pointed it out to him but did he listen? Something that is crouching at the door seems like it is eagerly waiting for someone to walk out so it can overtake him/her. That is what the author of the statement wants the reader to understand. Cain was in a very dangerous place and was warned about it, how did he react ? Verse 8 tells us what happened next – Sin overtook him and as a result he killed his brother out of jealousy and envy. Verse 8 confirms what was told the woman in Chapter 3 about the enmity between the her and the serpent. It didn’t take too long to start. The apostle John certainly tells us that Cain was of the seed of the serpent ( the evil one ). Even though both Cain and Abel were blood brothers , as far as their spiritual relationship was concerned, they were diametrically opposed, Cain was of the evil one and consequently killed his brother.
8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother.[d] And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him
This verse is more complex than it looks. When the Bible says that Cain spoke to his brother Abel. We must pause and consider this statement carefully. We already know that Abel is his brother; therefore, why does the Scripture follows the name of Abel with the word “brother.” They are blood brothers, as the reader is already aware. This is prepping us for the murder that will soon occur. But it also reveals to us something we might not have known. After reading the French translation of this verse, it became evident to me. When the Bible says that Cain spoke to Abel his brother, what is being conveyed is that he finally addressed him ( in other words, he finally spoke to his brother). And what happens next is the first murder that was ever recorded in the history of humanity.
What Can We Learn From This Passage?
Does one profession affect his/her view of the character of God? Cain was a worker of the ground and Scripture tells us that the ground had been cursed by God, and as a result working it was a painful endeavor. Could it be that Cain developed a bitter attitude towards God because of the nature of his work. Abel on the other hand was a shepherd and by nature couldn’t help but be a protector, a guardian. When you have a flock under your care, it can be a catalyst for softening your heart. He may have recognized the love of God by being a channel of love himself. These are all observations, and the Scripture gives us a glimpse of Abel and Cain hearts’ posture before the Lord. Abel gave to the Lord generously while it appears that Cain didn’t do so ( we mentioned the size and the ranking of their offerings). So what is this to you and I?
What’s your heart posture before the Lord?
Do we sow generously into the kingdom of God or do we so sparingly? The size and ranking of your gift will reveal your heart attitude toward God. If you want to measure your love for God, look at your offerings ( your giving of your time, talent, money to the Lord). Do you prioritize pleasing Him first? It is actually absurd to rob God of anything, HE is the one who has given us the abilities we have in the first place. Giving, especially when it comes to my finances has been an area of struggle in my own life. And my prayer has been for the Lord to circumcise my heart so that I can give by faith. A passage that comes to mind is 2 Corinthians 8:1-6, where Paul is encouraging the Corinthian church members to give generously and gives them an example to follow, the Macedonian church,
8 We want you to know, brothers,[a] about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor[b] of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 6 Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace.
How Do You Respond to the Holy Spirit conviction?
Cain’s heart hardened when God questioned or convicted him about his heart attitude. And the results were disastrous. However, it is quite convenient for you and I to blame Cain while ignoring the darkness in our own souls. In addition to being resentful and jealous of his brother, Cain also craved attention. And in this day and age, even the church has been afflicted by jealousy, covetousness, envy, and attention. As we have seen in this account, these attitudes can ruin a life if they are not corrected. Therefore, it’s crucial that we pay attention to the voice of the Spirit when we are convicted. The appropriate course of action is to concur with God, confess the indicated fault, and HE pledges to pardon us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. And this ought to be a daily practice for the believer in Christ.
The Love of God
In the book of Hebrews, we are told that God discipline whom He loves. Cain’s hearts hardened, and he became indignant rather than viewing God’s reprimand as love. The character of God is revealed in this chapter; He is kind and eager to cooperate with us so that we can share in His holiness. God is working to cleanse a people for Himself, and in the course of this process, He corrects us out of the goodness of His Holy Love so that we can become more like His Son, Jesus Christ. God attempted to do that with Cain, but he rejected it, and unless our hearts are regenerate, so do we.
PS: I started Tayibs.com for the sole purpose of exploring difficult questions about the Christian faith that most of us shy away from. All the content generated on this website is thoroughly analyzed prior to being shared. And the site is run solely by myself, your generous support is very much appreciated
My name is Tayib Salami and I started Tayibs.com for the sole purpose of exploring difficult questions about the Christian faith that most of us shy away from. In 2017, I entered a very dark time in my life and it’s only by the grace of the Living God that I’m still alive today. It led me to really go deeper in my faith and consider a myriad of questions that I never thought about asking myself or others before. Welcome and enjoy the ride with me.