There is a phrase in Proverbs 23:7 that captures the very essence of who we are: “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” It is a reminder that we are more than the sum of our actions – that the heart of the problem is the problem with our heart.
We ought to think about that every now and then when we think about coming to worship God. Is worship a matter of life and death, or are we just tossing pebbles? Is our Christianity something we take seriously? Or do we minimize it by putting a fish on our car and a gold cross around our neck and wear our Christianity like a bumper sticker, but then live like everyone else?
But the trouble that began in the garden spills over beyond the borders of paradise. Cain becomes a farmer, Abel a shepherd. Their relationship is strained – not because they’re farmer and shepherd, but because their attitudes toward life and toward God are different.
There is an interesting question raised that has no definitive answer. Why were Cain and Abel presenting offerings to the Lord? The text, even in what has gone before it and in what comes after it, never says. We might speculate that they saw their parents do it, or that they were commanded to do it, or that they just felt like doing it, but the Bible just doesn’t say why. All we have to go on is that “in the course of time,” they presented their offerings. The absence of a biblical reason for so doing should tell us that the detail is not important. What is supremely important is why they offered what they did offer, not why they offered something in the first place. For this question, the Bible is more revealing.
There is a naturalness to the story that is very encouraging. Cain was a farmer, so he offered out of the labor of his hands; Abel was a shepherd, so he offered out of the labor of his hands. But there is also an unnaturalness to this story. For no apparent reason, Cain’s offering was not found acceptable by God and Abel’s was. Can we take a hard look at the text and find out why? I think we can, for the writer of this story has left us some very telling clues.
Abel’s “first fruits” indicate that some baby lambs have been born to his ewes. Even though they could grow up to be valuable member of his herd, he chooses to give them to God. In the Bible “first fruits” always indicates off the top and from the very best. His “fat portions” demonstrate that not only was he willing to sacrifice, but that he would give of the best he had.
Cain’s offering is not described in either way. The text says Cain brought “some of the fruits of the soil.” The contrast is glaring. Cain was neither sacrificial or giving of his best.
That raises another question though, why was Abel acceptable and Cain not acceptable? Again, that phrase, “in the course of time” gives us some indication. It lets us know that the offerings were made after the crops had grown and the sheep had delivered. In other words, their offerings were made in response to their yield or blessing.
Notice that there’s no indication that one type of sacrifice was preferred over the other. God didn’t ask for an animal sacrifice from Cain – we don’t see God scolding Cain because he offered the wrong type of sacrifice. His grain offering was natural and appropriate for a farmer – the problem comes from much deeper.
Cain’s offering indicates that he did not share Abel’s sentiment. The Hebrew indicates that, not only did he not exercise care in his selection, but that it was entirely random. Cain was neither thankful, nor dependent in his attitude toward God.
And this is the emphasis we see when God says 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 master it.
The emphasis is Cain’s need to “be better” not just bring a better offering. Cain’s offering simply exposed what was lacking in Cain.
And there’s the problem – for Abel worshiping God was an important matter, worthy of his best efforts – for Cain, he was tossing pebbles.
Cain’s attitudes of defensiveness, jealousy and hostility escalate. In his bitterness toward God, he takes a cue from his parents and blames his brother for his own lack of faith and takes revenge by killing Abel.
As in chapter 3, God begins asking questions, not to seek information but to bring him face to face with what is going on in his heart: “Where is your brother?... What have you done?” And Cain’s answer was an indictment of the very attitude which had caused Cain to bring an unacceptable offering to God – “Am I my brother’s keeper?” His selfishness and self-centeredness are what brought him at odds with his brother and at odds with God.
It tragically ends with Cain’s rejection of God, God’s sorrowful punishment of Cain and banishment to a nomadic life of endless wandering. And in vs. 16, one of the saddest verses in the Bible: “So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence.” Not just geographically, but spiritually. And the story begins a headlong rush towards chapter 6 and the flood.
Does it strike you how, within two generations, people had so messed up their relationship with God, their relationships with each other, their relationship with creation, that God’s heart was already breaking?
Have you ever messed up things so badly that you thought they were beyond redemption? Have you ever thought – even God can’t sort this mess out? Then you need to remember God wasn’t finished then, and he certainly isn’t finished now. God can redeem any life, bring reconciliation to any relationship – if we will seek him.
1) God desires my worship. We too have lived “in the course of time.” We too have seen the evidence of God’s bounty in our lives. We also have seen our own thankfulness and dependence upon God, or our own lack of it in the manner of our offerings to God. God desires our response of worship – our recognition that he is the Lord of our lives.
2) God desires my heart. While God may require certain things from us, the mere doing of these things isn’t what pleases God. Our motivation for obedience is as important as the performance of our obedience. God’s desire is not just for worshipers, but sincere worshipers, who not only bring their offerings, but their hearts as well.
3) God’s love never quits. No situation is unredeemable, no life so far gone that God quits on us. But the key is found in those last words of Genesis 4. It’s time to start calling on the Lord.