The Sacrifices Of Cain And Abel

2009-09-05 21:47

God, the source of a curse and a blessing, let Adam and Eve, who were made in God's image according to God's likeness, give birth to Cain the object of a curse and Abel the object of a blessing.

The Bible says about it, "Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, 'With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.' Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. 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 master it.' Now Cain said to his brother Abel, 'Let's go out to the field.' And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, 'Where is your brother Abel?' 'I don't know,' he replied. 'Am I my brother's keeper?' The LORD said, 'What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth." (Genesis 4:1-12).

The offering that Cain and Abel gave to God was not a sin offering, but a thank offering. And so Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to God because he was a tiller of the ground. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock because he was a keeper of sheep.

Both Cain and Abel brought their own products as an offering to God. But God did not accept Cain's offering, but Abel's offering. Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him because of it. And when God said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?", he even lied to God, "I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?"

The Bible said about the descendants of Cain, "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44).

Therefore, it exhorts us, "Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous." (1 John 3:12). And it says about Abel, "By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead." (Hebrews 11:4).

With this, the Bible makes us distinguish between the sacrifices of Cain and Abel so that we who will inherit salvation can be wise for salvation. It is written, "He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God." (Psalms 50:23).

God accepted Abel and his offering, but He did not accept Cain and his offering. It was because Abel thought that he and all his posessions were God's own and offered them to God with thanks, but Cain thought that he and all his possessions were his own and offered them to God without thanks.

It is written, "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had." (Acts 4:32). By this faith, Abel sacrificed to God and pleased him.

Likewise, the Lord Jesus himself said, "All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them." (John 17:10). Such ones are joined and built together with the Lord Jesus the cornerstone to become the church of God.

It is written, "Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. 'But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. O LORD our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you." (1 Chronicles 29:11-16). The church, that is, the house of God is built in accordance with these words.

Christ is the head of the church. Now there are many churches of the sons of disobedience, who think all their possessions are their own, but there is not yet the church of the sons of obedience, who think all their possessions are God's own as Abel did.

Therefore, the Bible says, "The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God." (Romans 8:19-21).

The church of the sons of God will be rebuilt where the blood the holy ones shed cries out to God from the ground--The holy ones were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.

"This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'You who now hear these words spoken by the prophets who were there when the foundation was laid for the house of the LORD Almighty, let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built." (Zechariah 8:9). Amen, Amen. Thank you, Lord.