Offering Rejected

"Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 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.'" -Genesis 4.6-7

I've been thinking about this story for the past few days, and I'll be honest, I've started to wonder about it. Why was Cain's offering rejected? I've always heard it explained that Cain knew it was supposed to be an animal offering, but did he? Later in scripture we see that grain offerings are accepted by God. And so why is this one rejected?

Verses 3b-4a tell us that "Cain brought an offering to the LORD of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and their fat portions." There is the added clarification that Abel's offering was from the first, that it was given to God first, before anything was taken for himself. It doesn't tell us that with Cain, and so it could be that Cain gave God his leftovers, making sure his needs were taken care of first and then given some of what was left to God.

Whatever the reason, God rejected it, and then we wee these words, "If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up?" This implies that Cain did have some knowledge of what was a suitable offering to God, and since his offering is rejected, he clearly didn't bring it. God says "Why are you upset? You know what to do, and yet you aren't doing it."

And then we see this warning, "And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you". Sin is there, encouraging us to do what is not right. It leads us to believe that anything is good enough to give to God, it's the thought that counts after all. It leans us to do what is easy, not what is right. It desires us, and it is never satisfied, so we must master it or we will be consumed. We must master the tendency for ease.

I found a new quote to add to the left side, its fitting for this passage, "Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Speak the truth, always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong. That is your oath." (Kingdom of Heaven) Speak the truth, do no wrong, master sin.

Today, let us give our best to God. Let us give Him the first of our time and energy. May we wake up and praise Him before anything else. And as we do this, we will have our countenance lifted, we will master sin, we will be pleasing to God.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor