I
have read different thoughts as regards the sacrifice of Cain and Abel. Diverse
epistles on why the sacrifice of Cain was rejected and that of Abel accepted by
the Lord. I was invited to share with some brethren on the topic “man and His
service” and the story of Cain and Abel was the reference scripture. I was
having a hard time relating the topic to the bible text. As such I had almost
nothing prepared down to share. However, the Holy Ghost led us into discussing
the reason why Cain’s sacrifice was rejected, the importance of this to our
present world and to you as a Christian in the new covenant.
“And
in the process of time came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the
ground an offering unto the Lord. 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 offerings. But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain
was very wroth, and his countenance fell” Gen4vs4
Reading
this scripture could bring reasons to why Cain’s sacrifice was rejected. I have
heard some submissions on this and one of the most prominent one is that Cain
offered unto God a sacrifice that had no blood.
I
need to establish that what both of them brought forth was an offering and it fell
in the class of a will offering. It was a form of worship. Abel brought from
what he had and so did Cain. Now, on God rejecting Cain for not bringing a
sacrifice that had blood will be doing injustice to Cain as he brought forth
from what he had. Also, looking through the scriptures, it was not strange to
see the people bringing forth fruits as an offering to the Lord.
“The
first of the first-ripe fruits and all the gifts for the Lord shall go to the
priests. The first samples of each harvest of grain shall be donated to the
priests too, so that the Lord will bless your homes” Ezek45vs30
If
this scripture could make us understand through harvest of grain been offered
to the Lord the homes of those sacrificing shall be blessed, then, Cain should
not have been an exception. It wasn’t about the blood sacrifice.
The
book of Hebrews gave us the answer to this:
“By
faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain…” Heb 11vs4
Abel’s
sacrifice was distinguished by faith. This sacrifice represented a form of
worship. It was a service unto God, it wasn’t as if they were doing that for
remission of sin. It was a way of ministering to the Lord. Abel offered his
worship believing he was accepted and not his sacrifice qualifying him for the
acceptance. The Lord then accepted him first before his sacrifice. Cain on the
other hand offered his sacrifice out of contention and expected his offering to
qualify him for acceptance before God. So, when this wasn’t the case he became
wrought. This is the implication of what happened; God accepted each men first,
not their sacrifices. Their acceptance meant the acceptance of their sacrifice.
Friend,
one cogent reason why you may get into trouble in your relationship with God
and get easily discouraged is because you think you can get God’s acceptance
through your service. If I give God this, he should give me this. That’s not
the gospel. Your acceptance is by faith in the saving grace of Jesus. If you
read the latter part of the story, you will discover that his lack of faith was
what God said will lead him to sin. Trying to buy God’s blessings with your
effort will only end up in frustration. You know what? That makes it look as if
Jesus didn’t do all well enough. You don’t worship God to be accepted, you
worship Him because you are accepted.
So,
each time the devil makes you feel you have not done enough, point him to
Jesus. He finished all for you. If you try to do it like Cain, you may also end
up unhappy. Go ahead and enter into God’s presence anytime, the sacrifice is
living and always available. You don’t give to be accepted, you can only give
from your acceptance.
Olufemi Ibitoye
@toyeolufemi
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