Day 17 – Why Didn’t God Accept Cain’s Sacrifice?
~Genesis 4:2-7 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And 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. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee [shall be] his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
From the beginning of man’s fall, God provided a way for man to have an acceptable sacrifice for atonement for man’s sin. The sacrifice had to be the shed blood of a spotless animal.
~Leviticus 1:3 If his offering [be] a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.
Granted, at the time of Cain’s life, the Oracles had not been written down. However, the same God that required a perfect sacrifice during Moses’ time, set the ground rules for offering such sacrifices during Adam and Eve’s time.
~Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
~Malachi 3:6 For I [am] the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
We know that Adam and Eve passed on the sacrifice requirements to their children because of Genesis 4:4. Abel brought the “firstlings” of his flock for a sacrifice. Because God is the same and does not change, the same process of sacrifice was given to Moses for the Israelites (Deuteronomy 12:6). Therefore, Cain had was taught this by his parents.
But what did Cain bring for an offering? Genesis 4:3 says he brought the fruit of his crops. Cain knew what was required. He knew that nothing would do but the shedding of blood of a spotless lamb. However, Cain chose to disobey God. Instead, he wanted to gain access to God his own way and through another door!
The shedding of the blood of a spotless lamb was a picture of what was to come. Jesus Christ left Heaven to take on human form so He could live a sinless life and shed His blood for the remission of sins. Just as Christ is the only way to Heaven, so was the sacrifice of a spotless lamb in Cain’s time.
~John 14:6-9 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
Cain was so jealous of his own brother for doing what was required that he did not even want to go buy a lamb from Abel so he could have a sacrifice to give to the Lord. Instead, he wanted to do it his way. However, God’s response to Cain’s offering was not favorable and Cain was upset! Here Cain did what was wrong yet he was upset with Abel, who did what was right! So much so, he killed Abel! We know that Cain knew to do the right thing by Genesis 4:7. God asked Cain that if he did what was right, wouldn’t it be accepted? Cain didn’t do what was wrong out of ignorance.
It amazes me that this same “attitude of Cain” is alive and well today. People get angry when they are told that there is only one way to Heaven, as the Scriptures dictate. So much so, they kill true born-again Christians in the name of religion!
Leave a Reply