With the dawning of a new year, I have begun reading through my Bible again. Nothing nourishes the soul like “the eternal, living word of God” (1 Peter 1:23). When Scripture speaks, God speaks. When I read my Bible, it also reads me. Nobody “speaks the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15) like God.
Even the most familiar stories convey fresh lessons for today. Such is the case with the offerings of Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam and Eve. Scripture says,
When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground. When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.
“Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” (Genesis 4:2b-7)
Despite their fall into sin, Adam and Eve passed on to their sons the importance of worshiping God. But the brothers did so in two different ways, with two different results. Whereas Cain “presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord,” Abel brought “the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock.” See the difference? The text indicates that Cain gave God a bit of what he had, whereas Abel gave God the best.
But the main difference between these two brothers was the manner in which they presented their respective offerings to God. Hebrews 11:4 states,
By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And though he died, he still speaks.
The book of Hebrews is all about the supremacy of the Son of God. He is “the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him” (Heb. 11:9). All the Old Testament sacrifices provided a temporary covering for sin as they pointed to the ultimate, once-for-all sacrifice of the promised Deliverer — “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
The first mention of the gospel, often referred to as the protoevangelium (proto, “first” + evangelium, “gospel”) appears in Genesis 3:15, when God promised that the woman’s offspring would crush the serpent’s head. Then “the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them” (Gen. 3:21). An innocent animal had to be killed in order to provide a covering for Adam and Eve.
So the first mention of the gospel was followed by the first animal sacrifice, which pointed to the eventual sacrifice of Christ for sinners.
Because Abel presented his gift to the Lord “by faith,” his offering was one of atonement, whereas Cain’s offering was one of attainment. That is to say, Abel trusted in the Lord and his work, whereas Cain trusted in himself and his work. As a result, God received Abel’s offering but rejected Cain’s.
When God rejected Cain’s gift, he became angry. But the Lord spoke to Cain and assured him, “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” (Gen. 4:7). At the same time God also warned Cain that if he did not master sin, sin would master him.
Sadly, Cain did not listen to God and made the wrong choice. Sin became his master, and Cain murdered his brother. “And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s were righteous” (1 John 3:12).
Cain’s offering stands as a warning to us that it’s possible to go through the motions of worship while missing the entire point of it. But Abel stands out as a true worshiper, one whom God commended, and one whose testimony still speaks to us today — thousands of years after his death.
Incidentally, the name Abel means “breath.” His parents rejoiced as they saw him take his first breath, and they grieved greatly after he had breathed his last. Abel’s life was cut short by an act of cruel violence. But Abel’s godly legacy lives on.
May the same be true of us. Let us “by faith” give God our best, knowing that God gave us his.