Abel & Cain

The story about these two has always confused me. Sunday school stories are pretty good for laying out the facts, but the explanations? Granted, I’m just a little girl when I hear these stories, but twenty, er…thirty years later… an explanation of this story is still pretty hard to come by. Countless readings have given me little insight. The story goes like this…

Gen.4:2-7 "Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

The only thing we know about these two, prior to this, is that they are the first and second born of Adam and Eve. I’ve always thought it was pretty unfair of God to be ‘pleased’ with one offering, and not ‘pleased’ with the other. I’ve always thought there wasn’t enough information in this story for me to ‘justify’ God’s behaviour here. As if I need to justify God’s behaviour!

This is the first recorded time in history that anyone made an ‘offering’ to God. It doesn’t say why they are bringing an offering… It’s likely that it was a thank offering, because it was the ‘first fruits’ of their labour. The book of Leviticus had not yet been written, where God explains in minute detail the requirements of the many and varied sacrifices. Did Cain know ahead of time that God preferred meat? I don’t know the answer to these questions. Based on what seems to be a face to face conversation between Cain and God, I’m willing to assume that Cain was not completely clueless. I’m willing to assume that this was not the first time God and Cain had spoken. And Cain sure got defensive and huffy in a hurry, maybe an indication of a guilty conscience? I don’t know…

One thing I do notice though. Here, as in the case of the fig leaves, the ‘fruits of the soil’ don’t cut it. The blood does. Two for two…

Andrew Murray says it well. "In light of later revelation, this testimony, given at the very beginning of human history, is of deep significance. It shows that there can be no approach to God, no fellowship with Him by faith , no enjoyment of his favor, apart from the blood."