GENESIS 4:1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the LORD.” 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.6 So the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” 8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
There was a married man that didn’t get along with his mother-in-law. He was walking on the beach and yes, he found a majic lamp. He rubbed it and sure enough, out popped a Genie. Yes, he told him he could have 3 wishes, but with one condition....everything that he wished for and got, his mother-in-law would get double. He wished for a million dollars. His mother-in-law got 2 million. He wished for a beautiful, fancy house.....his mother-in-law got 2 houses. Finally, the Genie asked for his last wish. The man thought a moment and said "I want you to take this baseball bat...and beat me HALF to death!"
Jealousy is ugly! One sign of jealousy is when it’s easier to show sympathy and "weep with those who weep" than it is to exhibit joy and "rejoice with those who rejoice." As human beings, we love to make comparisons. Almost everything we do, from our cars, our clothes, our appliances, our food – almost everything we have we tend to compare to that of others.
The problem with making comparisons is that we take them too far. We have a tendency to determine the value of ourselves and other human beings by comparing one person to another. How many times have people thought, “I’m better than so and so....I have a better car ...better house.....better job. Even sometimes we say "I’m a better Christian than so-and-so". By the way, you’re not the judge of that!
As I thought about this, I began to realize that there isn’t one thing that I can think of that I do, but that somebody I know does it better. A lot of preachers can play golf better than me....just about everyone I know is more organized than I am. Lots of people can sing and play music better. I can name a hundred guys who are better preachers, and on it goes. If excellence comes by comparison, by excelling among my peers than I might as well quit. Ordinary is probably about as good as I am going to get.
The more I thought about this, the more I have realized how much different God is than we are. The verse in Isaiah that tells us, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.” speaks volumes to this. We – human beings – need to constantly compare. We feel good or bad about ourselves based on how we stack up against others. God, on the other hand, has only one standard. He values everything based on His excellence.
When we think of the story of Cain and Abel, we sometimes picture the scene like this;
Two men – brothers – Cain and Abel; Cain is a farmer, Abel is a rancher. Cain goes out to harvest his crops, as he does, he puts together an offering to God. Abel also puts together an offering to God. He picks out an animal and offers it to God. God looks at both offerings – Cain’s on the left, Abel’s on the right...after considering them both, He chooses Abel’s over Cain’s. It’s like God is saying – I’ll take the lamb chops over the brussel sprouts and spinach.”
Let’s slow down and look at it. First of all, we are never told that the offerings were made together. Each offering is made independently of the other. In verse 3, we are told that Cain brought an offering from the fruit of the ground. In verse 4, we are that Abel also made an offering – from the firstlings of his flock. Nowhere are we told that these offerings were made together – as if they are in competition. We are simply told that they each made an offering to God.
God considered each offering....not compared to each other.....He considered each offering based on its own merit. As He did, He made this conclusion in verses 4 and 5; “And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard.”
Now, God did not reject Cain’s offering because Abel’s was better. And, He did not accept Abel’s because Cain’s was inferior. Remember this, God could have accepted both offerings and He could have rejected both offerings. The fact of the matter is, He didn’t do either. Why? Why did God accept Abel’s and reject Cain’s?
First, let’s consider Cain’s offering. Who was Cain? Cain was the first born son of Adam and Eve. Cain” is his name, but the meaning of the name is very significant. The Hebrew word “Cain” literally means of God. They must have been so happy! They had just got kicked out of their home (no bail-out for them) and then comes a little baby. You know how proud and happy first time parents are. But after a while, newness wears off of babies...By the time their second son was born, they called him “Abel.” Know what "Abel" means? "Emptiness.” Do you see the irony in the names these boys received? Cain – which means “of God,” turns out to be worthless. Abel – which means “worthless” – turns out to be the righteous one.
Back to our story. Cain grows up and becomes a farmer. He goes out into his fields one day and harvest some of his crops. As he is gathering his crops, he decides that he will put together an offering for God. He grabs some of his wheat and corn and milo and alfalfa, and combines it all together and offers it as a burnt offering to the Lord. The Lord, on his part considers Cain’s offering and decides that it is unacceptable. The question that I have to ask is’ “Why not?” Why wasn’t Cain’s offering acceptable to God?
Some people have suggested that it was because the offering did not contain blood. They believe that for any offering to be acceptable, an animal would have to be sacrificed.
Maybe not. In Leviticus 2, God goes to great lengths to instruct Moses on the proper way to make grain offerings. He concludes by saying that they are pleasing and acceptable to Him. Cain was a farmer. Giving a grain offering would be a natural and acceptable thing to do.
You see, it wasn’t the content of the offering that God rejected it was the person making the offering. Notice that we are told; “but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard.” It was not just the offering that God rejected, but Cain himself. 1 JOHN 3:11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.
The problem was not in what Cain was offering, the problem was in Cain himself.
1 John tells us that “his deeds were evil.” The best way that I can explain it is that Cain had a problem of the heart. It was evil and full of wickedness. It seems to me that Cain’s sacrifice was more of an attempt to appease God than it was an act of faith and worship.
It reminds me so much of the Christianity that we see practiced today. In our world today, most people think that Christianity is practiced on Sunday morning from 10:45 to noon. A person goes to church every Sunday, hoping that this sacrifice will appease God. Then, from noon of Sunday till 10:45 the next Sunday, they live their lives the way they want. With no regards to a holy and just God, we practice all kinds of selfishness. We are filled with ego and pride. We live from day to day filling our lives with things that offend our Lord. We give no regard to our neighbors, to the hurting, to the needy. We have very little time for devotions, prayer, or Bible study. About the only time that we remember God is when we want something else from Him.
The success of our our Christian lives and churches is not based on what happens on Sunday mornings, it is based on what happens from Monday through Saturday. What we do within these four walls every Sunday morning beginning at 10:45 is not Christianity. It is worship. It is our offering to God. Christianity is what we do when we leave the confines of this sanctuary. God can only accept our worship on Sunday morning if our lives demonstrate our faith the rest of the week. That is where Cain failed. He believed that his worship would appease God and that the rest of his life wouldn’t matter. When he discovered that his worship was not acceptable to God, he became angry.
It reminds me of the child who doesn’t get his way. You know the scene. Dad is sitting on the chair, reading the newspaper when his son comes into the room. “Dad,” he says, “I love you.” Dad – being rather wise to the tactic, says, “Uh-huh, what do you want?” “Nothing Dad, I just wanted to tell you how much I love you and what a great dad you are.” “OK – thanks,” Dad responds. “Oh by the way Dad, can I borrow the car and stay out late tonight – I’m going to a party.” Now, the father understands, “No, I told you before, you can’t go our past 11:00 and I need the car tonight.”
So, what happens? What does the son do? He goes stomping out of the room, forgetting how much he loves Dad and what a great guy he is. The worship was only a way to appease Dad and get what he wants. There was no real meaning attached to it, except for a selfish desire. Think about that a minute.....
Doesn’t that sound like Cain? He comes to God with an offering. God, seeing that his heart isn’t right cannot accept it. Cain, instead of repenting and changing his life, storms off angry, bitter and jealous. “I can’t get my own way.”.....God loves Abel more than me...If I get rid of Abel, there will be no one else and God will have to accept me!" And the heart stays black and cold and unresponsive to God’s leading.
Let’s look at Abel’s offering and see why it is different. Why was God willing to accept Abel’s offering? The main reason, and probably the only reason is found in Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. You see, Abel’s offering to God was better, because it was based on faith. If there is one word that makes a difference in these offerings, this is it – Faith. By faith, Abel offered to God . . .
He knew he could not appease God. He understood that he needed God’s grace. He understood that he was at God’s mercy, and so he made a sacrifice that represented his heart’s desire to follow the Lord. With a broken and contrite heart, Abel sacrificed the first-born of his flock. By faith, he asked for and received God’s grace and forgiveness.
His worship was from the heart.
Verses 4 and 5 in our text tells us God had regard for Abel’s offering but none for Cain’s. Why? Because of the their heart. Not because of their offering. God regarded the person over the offering. Understand, worship is a matter of the heart – it is not a matter of form. Cain’s form was fine – there was nothing wrong with a grain offering. The problem was a matter of the heart. He could make all of the sacrifices that he wanted to, but until his heart was right he could never have a relationship with God.
Listen, there are millions of people all over the world this morning who are in church, but they are just like Cain. Their form is fine – but they have no faith. They believe in God, but they do not have a relationship with the Savior. They attempt to appease God every Sunday with their sacrifice. Thinking that God loves their church attendance and the way they "get into the worship service". Some are leaders in their churches and in their communities. They are teaching Sunday School, working in the nursery, singing on stage. As they do, they are hoping that all of this will make them acceptable to God. They believe that they can buy their way into heaven with gifts, good works and by giving money to the church.
The fact of the matter is, God has already been appeased. Jesus Christ bought and paid for our salvation 2000 years ago on the cross of Calvary. Our response must be the same as Abel’s. The only way we can have a relationship with God is through Faith. What do I mean when I say Faith? Well, most of us understand Faith to mean “trust,” or “believe.” These are good definitions. In fact, if you think about it, everybody has some kind of faith.....
Some trust in their own deeds – believing like Cain that they can do the right things....Some believe that there is no God – a stupid faith, but a faith none the less....Some just trust and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. They are the ones who have a relationship with God.
Why was God pleased with Abel’s offering and not Cain’s? Because God was pleased with Abel and not Cain. It doesn’t matter what you sacrifice for God. If your heart is not right with Him, he cannot and will not accept your offering. However, if you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, your offering, your sacrifice will be a pleasing aroma before the Lord.
One more thing I want to show you...in vs 6, after Cain got angry, God gave him some advice...6 So the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” Sin lies at all of our doors....it desires us! You should rule over it, and God has given you what you need to do just that! If you do well, you will be accepted.
