"Abel was a keeper of the flocks,
and Cain was a tiller of the ground.
and Cain was a tiller of the ground.
The Lord had regard for Abel's,
but for Cain and for his offering,
He had no regard." (3:2, 5)
but for Cain and for his offering,
He had no regard." (3:2, 5)
Why didn't God regard Cain's offering?
First we can look at Cain's response (4:4-7) when God disregarded his sacrifice and what God says to Cain. Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.
We can also look at 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,
though he is dead,
he still speaks."
This says that Abel's offering was offered by faith. This might imply that Cain's was not. His anger afterwards certainly implies that to me.
In addition, Hebrews 9:22 (which correlates with Leviticus 17:11) says:
"And according to the Law, one may almost say,
all things are cleansed with blood,
and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."
The Law has not been given through Moses yet, but the picture of sacrifice has already been set in motion by the sacrifice of the animal(s) in order to use the skins to cover Adam and Eve's nakedness after the Fall.
I also love how God does give Cain an opportunity to "do well" even after Cain makes an unacceptable sacrifice.
Sadly, he doesn't. It says that his "countenance fell." The Hebrew definition of the word for countenance (or face) is very interesting:
Like Adam and Eve, Cain was given the opportunity to tell the truth, but he did not do so. Also like Adam, the ground was cursed, and he was sent away. Cain "went out from the presence of the Lord" as a vagrant and a wanderer. Like Adam and Eve, there is a picture of separation in the relationship. Yet, even in this, God wants Cain to be protected. Amazing!
In the Bible the “face” (along with the other parts of the body) is described not merely as an exterior instrument in one’s physiology, but rather as being engaged in some form of behavioral pattern, and is thus characterized by some personal quality. It is only natural that the face was considered to be extraordinarily revealing vis-a-vis a man’s emotions, moods, and dispositions. . . . A “fallen” face stems from very strong anger or displeasure (Gen 4:5). Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (p. 727)When his countenance fell, Cain quit his upward gaze at God and looked away and gave into anger and jealousy. It results in the murder of Abel and lying to God.
Like Adam and Eve, Cain was given the opportunity to tell the truth, but he did not do so. Also like Adam, the ground was cursed, and he was sent away. Cain "went out from the presence of the Lord" as a vagrant and a wanderer. Like Adam and Eve, there is a picture of separation in the relationship. Yet, even in this, God wants Cain to be protected. Amazing!
Other New Testament Scriptures that give insight into Cain are 1 John 3:11-12 and Jude 11.
The rest of the passage is Adam's family tree. Here is a question a person new to the Bible might ask: Where did Cain get his wife? How would you answer them?
The Scarlet Thread of Redemption
Seth is mentioned as a son born to Adam and Eve to replace Abel. If you go to Luke 3:36-38, you will see that Seth is in the genealogy of Jesus!
REFLECTION
Sometimes we get angry at God when He doesn't give us what we think we deserve. Cain thought he deserved God's regard. I want any sacrifice I make (praise or service or material things) to be offered in faith and with a joyful heart and with no strings attached. When I feel a sense of entitlement in the Kingdom work He has planned for me, I need to see that as sin. I need to "master it." I know that Satan prowls around like a roaring lion wanting to devour me (1 Peter 5:8), and not wanting me to live by faith. He wants my countenance to fall and to not gaze up at God, doubting His goodness. I want to resist that at all cost by my faith!
APPLICATION
Ponder areas where you might be angry at God because He is not giving you what you think you deserve. Turn your gaze upward, come to Him, and talk to Him about it.
Update 2023: from my reading this morning in the Ignatian Book of Days by Jim Manney, there is a quote by Margaret Silf, author of Inner Compass, that is so pertinent for today's reading and application:
So allow your feelings and your moods to have their say. If you have feelings of tenderness or apprehension or anger in the situation . . ., this is telling you something about what is happening between you and God at that particular moment... [Y]our feelings and reactions in your relationship with God are very significant, even if at times they may appear to be negative. We often learn more from our negative reactions than from the more comfortable ones. . .
Amen! "...allow your feelings and your moods to have their say" and find out what God is trying to tell you through them.
I find that this Emotions Wheel is helpful for identifying feelings, both negative and positive.
PRAYER
Lord, I present my body as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to You, which is my spiritual service of worship. I do not want to be conformed to this world. I want to be transformed by the renewing of my mind so that I may prove Your good, perfect, and acceptable will. (Romans 12:1,2). I know as I renew my mind, I will gaze upward and learn more about what it means to live by faith in You. Amen.
14 comments:
Carol, your reflection and application are exactly where the passage took me, too. I wonder, too, how much Cain's anger at his sacrifice not being accepted was tied in to the fact that Abel's was. Iow, he compared and got jealous and envious.
I am hit by how sin begets sin. Cain, really was angry with God, but he took his anger out on his brother. I agree with all you've said about the possible reasons God didn't regard Cain's sacrifice, but really, as I've thought about it this a.m., I've realized it doesn't matter. God, to whom the sacrifice was offered and so the one who had the right to say if it was acceptable or not, wasn't happy with Cain's sacrifice and when He told Cain that, asking him to "do well," Cain got angry. Seems to me that Cain wanted God's favor, but on Cain's terms, not God's. And then Cain's anger turned to jealousy and envy... then hatred... then he killed his brother. That verse about "sin crouching at the door" is so vivid. Cain cracked open the door to sin and it pounced. Such a lesson to us.
We see the progression of sin, too, and how it affects others, in this chapter. Adam and Eve's sin affected their children; Cain's sin affected his. Lamech bragged about his sin of murder. Views of life, values became skewed.
Something that hit me for the first time today, and I'm not going anywhere with this, just noting it, is that God did not demand Cain's life for Abel's.
Cain & Abel -- I'm not sure I can articulate my thoughts, but I'll give it a shot.
There has been a bit of tension between me and my sister recently, and when I read this passage Cain's attitude & actions jumped out at me. I can't control what my sister does, but I am responsible for my response to her. And my response is not just an item in itself, but is a reflection of my attitude. So maybe I get angry at her actions because my attitude isn't right in the first place, before she even does anything. My focus has been to try to control my reaction to her, but I think I need to look at some underlying attitudes before I'm going to be able to do that.
This realization is actually very freeing to me. I can do that. I can go to God in prayer and let Him work with me on the underlying issues. I think it will be very cleansing and leave me refreshed. Then what my sister does will no longer bother me.
In this passage, Abel didn't do anything wrong. Cain was angry at God for not accepting his offering. So it's not quite the same as me and my sister.
Still, everything hinges on verse seven. "If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it."
I have a choice to make. I must master sin or it will master me.
I like your reflection, Carol. We tend to think we know what's best and expect God to follow our plans and give us what we want. I want to resist that sense of entitlement and remember that God is God and I am not. :)
In school I was taught evolution, and along with the idea of the evolution of man was this "cave man" image. "Early" man was presented as basically dumb, only gathering what was out there and using a club to kill animals for meat.
In contrast, in this account, Adam & Eve were given the task of cultivating the garden of Eden. Then we have the first generation after Adam & Eve being farmers. Abel kept livestock, and Cain cultivated crops. They weren't just hunter/gatherers. And it wasn't long before there were many skilled workers, such as tent-makers, musicians, metal workers, and poets (verses 20-24).
It's just a very different picture of what life was like then.
Amazing that we went in the same direction today! (BTW everyone, my direction is just my direction, please feel very FREE to share the reflection that God takes you. Also, if you want to contribute on the main blog too, I can send you an invite!)
"God's favor on Cain's terms" is a good way to put it, and how many times do we want that? God's favor on our terms. Poor Abel had to pay the price for Cain's anger at God.
Yes, this is the first example of jealousy and envy. It makes me realize that I need to nip it in the bud when jealousy is crouching at the door. Confess it and not let it simmer.
I had a woman who had been quite unfair and mean to me once, after I confessed EVERYTHING I knew I had done wrong to her (I reacted poorly to her meanness), she came out and said that her unkindness to me all stemmed from her jealousy of my leadership, that she was afraid all "her" women were going to follow me and not her. That was such a hidden motive in her heart that I hadn't even guest at. I thought she just didn't like me! Well, needless to say, that melted my heart. I admired her so much for admitting that, and we have a very warm relationship today. She nipped her jealousy in the bud by confessing it to me!
Katrina, loved your thoughts on attitude. We can do something with our attitude before it becomes outward actions toward another person.
Gotta' go and read history with the boys!
Since God didn't "accept" Cain's sacrifice, I really see it as an opportunity that He is giving Cain to demonstrate his acceptance of God's will. Just this last year I have realized that it is easy being good and kind when others act in ways that we perceive as good and kind, but the real Christian challenge is to act in a good and kind way when another's actions are contrary to what we would want.
So true, CC, I really agree with that statement. God often is giving us an opportunity to respond to Him rather than react. My story above about the lady who was mean to me. God gave me an opportunity to respond in well, and I did not! It is so true that is easier when people are good and kind to us. I had a roommate who said, "We like the people who like us." That is SO true. The real test of a person's character is to love the people who don't love us!
I agree with all you've said about the possible reasons God didn't regard Cain's sacrifice, but really, as I've thought about it this a.m., I've realized it doesn't matter. God, to whom the sacrifice was offered and so the one who had the right to say if it was acceptable or not, wasn't happy with Cain's sacrifice and when He told Cain that, asking him to "do well," Cain got angry.,
This is a great point, and I like also how Carol and CC fleshed it out more, too. God's actions are God's actions--he does what he decides is right and good; sometimes he explains his reasons and makes clear what role I've played, but often he does not. I think there are two main ways to respond (which parallel human dynamics, too): either by continuing to poke around at God's side of the interaction, trying to figure out his motivations, or by turning my attention to MY side of the interaction to ask not "What was in God's heart and mind?" (which is perhaps not given me to know) but "What was in my heart and mind?"
When I read a Bible story like this, I like to ask myself which part is me, where I fit into the story. Sometimes I want not only to be God in the story, but to stand as judge over him, deciding whether what he did is right or wrong, fair or logical or understandable, figuring out why he did what he did. That's not my role. Instead I am Cain, the one who responds to God, not the one who judges him, and my efforts at understanding or changing the situation might better begin with myself and my attitudes and motivations and actions. It's like any conflict--I'd rather judge and fix and correct and dissect the other guy than look honestly at myself and take responsibility for what I've done, just like Cain didn't like having a finger pointed at him. So for me, an appropriate application question for this chapter is, "How am I like Cain; how do I behave toward God as Cain did?"
Rachel,
What you said made a lot of sense to me. I particularly found myself agreeing with your comment about "fixing" things. The last couple of years I have found myself trying to figure things out with an attitude of fixing circumstances that are really beyond my control. Just recently( I must be a slow learner because it seems quite obvious now) I realized that instead of trying to fix these things, I need to reassess my role in these circumstances. I have always thought that I have a very strong faith in God's goodness, but somehow still tried to meddle with things as they came my way, instead of seeing the face of God even in what seem to be the most trying of situations. Your point about how we may be responding to God as Cain did, is very thought-provoking and concise.
Hello and Happy New Year to everyone. I am really excited to be a part of this Bible Book Club. Carol, thank you so much for your invitation.
One thing that stood out from this passage is from verses 3 & 4 of Chapter 4. "3 When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought a gift—the best of the firstborn lambs from his flock."
14 years ago when I was doing an inductive study of Genesis, I thought that God did not regard Cain's offering because of his attitude and he brought "some" of his crop as an offering. In contrast, Abel brought "the best" of the firstborn lambs. The fact of the matter is God required the shedding of blood for forgiveness. Hebrews 9:22 says, "In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." (NIV)
Going back to Genesis 3:21, God was the one Who provided "garments of skin" for Adam and Eve. "21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them." (NIV, Genesis 3:21). Where did these "skins" come from? Probably from the first animal sacrifice in the history. Adam & Eve wore their animal skins prior to having their sons. Therefore, one can only conclude that they were taught that blood needed to be shed for atonement. Cain knew the requirements for bring a sacrifice to God. God even gave him a second chance.
However, we are also reminded in 1 Samuel 15:22 "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice". (Keith Green sings a song, "To Obey is Better than Sacrifice" on his "No Compromise" CD. http://play.rhapsody.com/keithgreen/
Also wanted to add to the song list, Don Francisco has a song, "Adam, Where Are You." You can listen to a video song on www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW1s21zJNbM
Finally, Carol, I have to tell you that you should never feel guilty about not making coffee for your dh, George. You know, it is biblical that he makes his own coffee. The NT has "He brews" not "She brews". Just kidding. Once I tried to tell my own husband that our president, the original George W brings the First Lady her coffee in the morning. John told me that he was not George and that I was no Laura.
Thank you for all your relections, comments, and thoughts.
I wonder if Cain was "holding back" in his sacrifice. Just going through the motions, not giving his all. I think of all the times I go to church and sit through the sermon and sing the songs but don't REALLY bring a sacrifice or worship at the feet of Jesus. My mind is on what happened last night or where we are headed after the service is over. Maybe Cain had bigger veggies in his garden that he kept back for himself. I used to think that it was because he offered vegetables and Abel offered meat but this time, reading it through, I realized that it was more about attitude than about offering.
Hebrews 11:4 says that faith is what made Abel's offering acceptable and showed him to be a Godly man. In contrast Cain was lacking faith when he became angry at God and killed his brother. It should be a comfort to us that all we have to do is come by faith alone.
Connie
Thanks Dorothy! I loved what you said!
I should add too that when us West Coasters add our thoughts later on in the day, many of those East Coasters don't see them until the next day. So, hopefully, they will comment when they get up tomorrow moring!
I had to laught when I read about George W. and Laura because you know that I have a "George W." in my house too, but I don't drink coffee!
Thanks Connie for reiterating the issue of faith because Hebrews does indicate that Abel's offering was one by faith. I liked what you said about holding back. God knows when we are holding back. He knew Cain's heart and God was not pleased.
May we people who do not hold back.
Hi Carol,
I've spent time off and on today reading through everything since you started. I think I'll give it a try...I'll have to see how I can fit it in with some other things I'm already committed to doing. At the very least, I'll try reading along. I've enjoyed reading it all so far: your posts and others comments! Good to go back and revisit my previous study of Christianity is Jewish.
Lisa Pulliam
Checking back in before bed... I got a chuckle out of Dorothy's "He-brews"! Thanks! And I've read all the thoughtful comments others have made. So good. I see myself in Cain, though I don't like to admit it, wanting God's approval even while wanting things my way (which really, when I think about it, is not faith).
I've thought about Abel, too, throughout today. Looking at him from a purely earthly standpoint, he had a tragic, unfulfilled life. Not exactly what we want to think of with faith. And yet he was commended in Hebrews.
Oh, and Dorothy, I listened to Don Fransisco many years ago! Love his music. His lyrics are good. I still remember most of "Adam, Adam Where Are You?" I'm going to go dig out the cassette right now! Thanks for the reminder.
2023 - I am reading through my Bible ones again with the Bible Book Club and reading what I wrote so many years ago. Cain was angry, and God was trying to encourage him to pay attention to that anger and deal with it. I added a quote by Margaret Silf about letting "emotions have their say." So important to not stuff them but work through them and listen to what God might reveal to you through them.
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