Both Cain and Abel worked hard as a farmer and a herdsman. When it came time for each of them to make a sacrifice before God, only Abel’s sacrifice was acceptable to the Almighty. Cain brought the benefits of his tilling the ground. Abel brought the firstlings of his flock. Their parents, Adam and Eve, surely told them about their experience in the Garden of Eden and their expulsion so they were not ignorant for what they should do.
The two brothers discussed God’s reaction to their sacrifices. Their talk accomplished nothing. One day they were in a field together. Cain’s anger had been brewing within him. We are not told exactly how Cain accomplished the first murder in history that was of his brother. In the same way that God asked Adam and Eve what they had done in the garden as their sin of disobedience, so did God ask Cain what he had done by inquiring what was the whereabouts of Abel?
Cain carried over his rebellious spirit by replying to God in a question. He asked if he was his brother’s keeper. God gave Cain the opportunity to own his crime but instead he lied. As a result, God placed a curse on Cain as a punishment for the killing and the lying.
We know that Cain was wrong in murdering his brother. We know he was wrong in making excuses to God. However, why was God not pleased with Cain’s sacrifice?
In the garden, Adam and Eve were naked and were aware of their condition by hiding from God. He set a precedent that was to last all the way to Jesus for the shedding of blood in response to sin. God used the heights of animals to clothe Adam and Eve. From then on, the shedding of blood was intracule as part of redemption from sin.
Cain’s sacrifice was unacceptable because it was result of his work and not the result of obedience. Ever since then mankind has tried to please God through their own efforts. Our good works amount to nothing because it is our good works, not what God established as a means of redemption. There is nothing we can do to earn God’s approval! When we are trying for our own salvation, we must answer the question that God asked Cain. He asked, “What have you done?” Not only must we rely on the shed blood of Jesus for our salvation, we must make confession for our sinful nature and the sin we commit.
This event thousands and thousands of years ago has a direct connection to John 3: 18 that says, “He that believes on him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God.” We must honor and confess sincerely, not in a casual fashion to ask for God’s forgiveness. With Genesis and John together, we learn that salvation is available to any penitent person. If a specific person rejects God’s method of salvation as did Cain, it is his responsibility, he is the cause, for his own destiny in hell. God made the way. We cannot substitute our way for his way. In the case of Cain, he doomed himself. In the case of every person since then, they doomed themselves by rejecting Jesus.
Christian Writer 