The First Sunday of Advent, November 30

CAIN AND ABEL: GOD'S CALL FROM THE START

Genesis 4: 1-16

Well, let's get one thing settled from the start, for if we don’t, it will be too easy to discount everything that will follow on this page—not to mention everything that is said on the coming pages as well.  THIS IS NOT FICTION—It is not a fable or legend, which, by the way, is what I was taught in seminary.  Cain and Abel, as well as their parents before them—Adam and Eve—were real people.  The author of the Book of Hebrews, whom many believe to be Paul himself, as well as the gospel and epistle writer John, refer to them as real people—and I doubt very much that they, inspired by the Holy Spirit, believed something that was untrue. (Heb. 11:4; 1 John 3:12)  So, if this passage about Cain and Abel is true, and of course it is, what can we learn from it?

Well, after Adam and Eve were removed from the Garden of Eden for their sin of rebellion, they began to have children.  Cain, the first-born, became a farmer, producing, well, produce—fruits and vegetables.  Abel, on the other hand, kept and fed sheep.  Verse 3 tells us, "In the process of time it came to pass" that Cain brought some of his harvest for an offering unto the Lord, while Abel brought the first-born of his flocks.  As it turned out, God favored Abel for his offering, but Cain's, He didn't like.  Why?  Well, many people have put forth  possible reasons—some suggest that it is because one was a blood offering, and the other was not.  God Himself had made the very first blood offering when He killed some animals to provide Adam and Eve with some clothes.  Do you think maybe God was speaking His call right from the very start—"…without shedding of blood there is no remission (of sin)," (Heb. 9:22b)—a picture of the blood to be shed at Calvary to take away our sin?  There is no "maybe" about it—God had a plan and He is in control! 

Some have thought that God's favor rested on Abel's offering because it came from the first-born of the flock, and Cain just brought some of what he had—no real sacrifice, no real heart.  I'm sure there is truth in all of this, but let's stick with what the Bible actually says.  Scripture clearly indicates that the answer is found in the matter of attitude.  When Cain got mad, God told him, "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door." (vs.7a)  Do you see what God is saying?  It was Cain's attitude before he had made the offering that got him into trouble.  His offering was rejected because he lacked a sincerely obedient faith and because "his own deeds were evil." (1 John 3:12)  Abel, on the other hand, had been righteous, which his offering proves (Heb. 11:4), and Cain was envious.  But instead of coming to the Lord for a changed heart, Cain killed his brother in a jealous rage.  Yes, an attitude that refuses to get right with the Lord begins in the heart, but it will always become reflected throughout the life.  Praise God—so will a right relationship with the Lord, and that has been His call from the start—that is His plan.  Seek the only perfect offering—Jesus, and God alone will get the glory.

~ Rev. Roy D. Warren, Jr.