Do you ever wonder what God thinks of you? Is He pleased with you or is He displeased? Since we can’t see God and we can’t read His facial expressions, how do we know what He thinks? Genesis 4 gives us some guidance in this area by telling us why God had a high opinion of Abel and a low opinion of Cain. Let’s take a look.
Read the following verses and notice all the differences between Cain and Abel. Pay attention to the description of Cain’s offering versus the description of Abel’s offering.
Gen. 4:1 ¶ Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a manchild with the help of the LORD.”
Gen. 4:2 Again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Gen. 4:3 So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the LORD of the fruit of the ground.
Gen. 4:4 Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering;
Gen. 4:5 but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.
The author of Genesis used the words “firstlings” and “fat” to describe Abel’s offering. However, Cain’s offering is not described at all; the text simply mentions that he brought an offering. This tells us that Abel brought his first and his best to God, but apparently Cain did not. Therefore, God had regard for Abel but not for Cain. The book of Hebrews adds some insight about this.
Heb. 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Heb. 11:2 For by it the men of old gained approval.
Heb. 11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.
Hebrews tells us that Abel had faith, whereas Cain did not. Abel brought his first and his best, but Cain did not. God was pleased with Abel, but not with Cain.
What about you? Does God have regard for you? Does God get the first and the best of your time, talents, and possessions? Or does God get your leftovers? If you want God to have regard for you, give him your first and your best.
Would you like to be notified when new posts are published?
If yes, please choose one or more of the following.
“Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.”