1 Genesis 4: Preaching/Teaching
EOT-Cain murders his brother because of his jealousy that his brother’s offering is accepted and his is not. EOS-Symptoms of unpleasing worship to God. DDS-that we would bring God the best of our TTT in a specific way this week
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The first symptom of unpleasing worship is:
1. bringing God Leftovers(Cain verses Abel) (1-5)
Abel, however, seems to be lined up with man’s original purpose, to have dominion over life (cf. 1:28); he kept flocks. These coincidental descriptions are enhanced with their actions in worship.
Pleasing Offering (Abel):
By offering the firstborn Abel signified that he recognized God as the Author and Owner of Life. In common with the rest of the ancient Near East, the Hebrews believed that the deity, or lord of the manor, was entitled to the first share of all produce. The firstfruits of plants and the firstborn of animals and man were his. . . .
Pleasing Offering (Abel):
The second symptom of unpleasing worship is:
2. directly rejecting God’s word (5-8)
Contrasts how God responded to Cain’s offering.
Bad worship put Cain in a state of depression.
When our worship is out of line God is gracious reaches out to us.
“If you want to find out Cain’s condition of heart you will find it after the service which he pretended to render; you know a man best out of church . . .”
The last symptom of unpleasing worship is:
3. not loving our brother/sister well (9)
The Apostle John revealed the reason Cain killed Abel in 1 John 3:12: “. . . his own works were evil and his brother’s righteous.” Abel’s attitude of faith in God resulted in righteous works that produced guilt in Cain. The seriousness of Cain’s sin is clear from God’s repeated references to Abel as Cain’s “brother” (vv. 9, 10, 11).
Our worship affects how we love other.
By offering the firstborn Abel signified that he recognized God as the Author and Owner of Life. In common with the rest of the ancient Near East, the Hebrews believed that the deity, or lord of the manor, was entitled to the first share of all produce. The firstfruits of plants and the firstborn of animals and man were his. . . .
“Abel also offered the ‘fat’ which in the so-called ‘P’ [Priestly] material belonged to the Lord and was burned symbolically by the priests. This tastiest and best burning part of the offering represented the best. Abel’s sacrifice, the interlocutor aims to say, passed the test with flying colors. Cain’s sacrifice, however, lacks a parallel to ‘fat.’”