Abel and Cain

And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

Gen 4:3-5 (KJV)

"Why was Abel's sacrifice pleasing to the Lord, but Cain's was not?" It's a common question, and to an unbeliever it probably seems to be unfair that Cain and Abel both offer something to God, and that God chooses arbitrarily which one has the acceptable sacrifice.

However, that's not the case.

Turn in your Bibles back one chapter, and we'll see that the story is not what it appears to be on the surface.

Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

Gen 3:21 (KJV)

As a result of sin, God made coats of skin to clothe them. Because of their sin, Adam and Eve knew that they were naked (Gen. 3:10-11)

And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? Gen 3:9-11 (KJV)

Thus because of their sin, they required a covering, or an atonement. Because of their sin, God shed blood of an animal to cover them. This is a type, a future prediction of the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Although the Bible does not specifically say, we can safely deduce that God must have taught Adam and Eve about the blood offering for sin, and a careful teaching of what salvation is and is not. Why?

Because in verse 4:4, we read...

And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. Gen 4:4 (KJV)

How would Abel know about bringing a sin offering? It's not just the killing of an animal, as we see the words, "and the fat thereof", which tells us that Abel knew about how a sacrifice was to be offered.

This was a teaching of what God considered acceptable. Sin requires a covering, a shedding of blood. And there's no shed blood that can completely take away your sins except that of the Lord Jesus Christ. THe Bible tells us in For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.

Heb 10:4 (KJV)

So, Abel KNEW about this... and he looked forward to the day when the blood of Jesus Christ would once and for all lift his sins away and purge them.

Now Cain had something different going on. While Abel offered the firstlings of his flock, and obeyed God in offering the blood and the fat of thereof, Cain brought the work of his own hands. "See Lord? Here's MY Sacrifice, MY works of MY hands."

The Lord has no use for us trying to accomplish our own works of salvation. They are useless without the Shed blood of Jesus Christ. We cannot earn our way to heaven.

This is why the Lord had respect unto Abel and his offering, because it relied upon the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Would you like to know the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ? If you do not know the Lord, and are like Cain trying to earn your own way to heaven, it won't help you at all. Trust in the saving power of the death and ressurection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and let Him save you.