Genesis chapter 4 recounts the story of Cain and Abel and their offerings to God. Abel was the keeper of flocks and had brought the firstlings of his flock to God as a sacrifice. Cain was a farmer and had brought some of the fruit of the ground as an offering to the Lord. Which one do you think God accepted as a acceptable sacrifice?
As I read through, I was suprised to find that Cain's offering was not accepted by the Lord, and Abels was. As we read last time, blood had to be shed for the covering of sins.
Hebrews 9:22 "In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
I'm not sure if this is the reason for Cain's offering not being accepted, but it makes sense. Cains hard work and the ground brought forth the grain and fruit which he offered, and there is obviously no blood involved with grain, so where is the sacrifice and suffering? It could have also been that Cain brought his offering with the wrong attitude or motive.
Abels offering was accepted by God but why?
We can see that he brought the firstlings of the flock out of reverance and faith in God.
Hebrews 11:6 "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
An observation of Abel can be that he approached the giving of his offering to the Lord with faith. Faith that God is who He says He is and can do what He say's He can do.
The sacrifice that Abel brought to the Lord was only enough to cover his sins and not to forgive them. A more perfect sacrifice was to come, one that would remove and forgive all sin.
We can learn from Cain and Abel that not all worship is acceptable to God. It must be done God's way and not ours.
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