Personalities of the Old Testament # 2 - Cain and Abel "Submission to God"

 Today, we will do the second study in our series, “Personalities of the Old Testament.”  We will take a look at what can be used to instruct us in the story of Cain and Abel.  How many know that the histories found in the Old Testament are there to instruct us by showing us how our behaviors affect our lives and our relationship with God.  There are good behaviors and bad behaviors that can be seen here. 

Review of Last Lesson

As we looked Adam’s life, we saw how sin can affect our relationship with God and the blessings that God intended for us.  What was God’s intention with the Garden of Eden?  To meet every need of man!  What was the sin in the Garden?  Eating the Fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  What was the outcome of that sin?  How did God react?  He kicked them out of the Garden.  They were separated from God and lost paradise.  What is the Garden of Eden an analogy of?  Heaven.

Cain and Abel

Genesis 4:1-2 NKJV

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, "I have acquired a man from the LORD." Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

This took place after Adam and Eve were removed from the Garden.  The name Cain means “Acquired” of the Lord.  The name Abel means “Vanity or Wind”.  The Bible isn’t specific but many of the commentaries believe that they were twins.  Those same commentaries think that Abel was given the name meaning wind because of the shortness of his life. 

Offerings

Genesis 4:3-4 NKJV

And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering,

Let’s look, first at Abel and his offering. 

The question is what makes Abel’s sacrifice a sacrifice of Faith?  There are a number of things.  The First being that the offering of the firstborn is a foreshadowing (a look at the future) of Jesus:

1st:  Firstborn Sacrifice: Abel offered the firstborn of his flock, which is a picture of Jesus as God's "only begotten Son". Jesus is often referred to as the ultimate sacrificial Lamb, fulfilling the imagery of a perfect and unblemished offering to God.

John 3:16 NKJV

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

The Bible tells us that Jesus was always with God, before man was created.  The firstborn.

John 1:1-2 NKJV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

2^nd: Faith and Righteousness: Abel's sacrifice was accepted because it was offered in faith. Similarly, Jesus' sacrifice was the ultimate act of obedience and faith, bringing righteousness to all who believe in Him.

Hebrews 11:4 NKJV

By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.

3^rd:  Innocence and Suffering: Abel was killed by his brother Cain out of jealousy and sin.  In the same way that Jesus was killed despite His innocence, out of the sinful hearts of humanity. This parallel emphasizes the theme of suffering and sacrifice for righteousness.

4^th:  Blood as Atonement: Abel's sacrifice involved the shedding of blood, which is significant in biblical theology as "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" Jesus' sacrifice on the cross fulfills this on a universal and eternal scale.

 Hebrews 9:22 NKJV

And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.

There’s one last thing that I want to point out about Abel’s sacrifice.  The very first sacrifice that was made was by God.  It involved the shedding of blood, and it was an example of what God would have expected in a sacrifice.  Abel saw that an prepared a sacrifice that was an imitation of God’s first sacrifice.

Genesis 3:21 NKJV

Also, for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.

All of these things made Abel’s sacrifice acceptable to God.  1) the First Born; 2) the Foreshadowing of Jesus; 3) the Shedding of Blood and 4) the Imitation of God’s Sacrifice in the Garden.

But what of Cain’s sacrifice, what was it that made it unacceptable? 

Genesis 4:5-7 NKJV

but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."

Cain’s offering was not accepted because it was not offered in faith.  In fact, let’s look at Luke 11:37–51, and we’re not going to read all of it but I will summarize it for you. 

Jesus has gone to eat with one of the Pharisees.  The Pharisee comments that Jesus didn’t wash up before he ate.  Jesus begins to rebuke the Pharisees for being concerned about appearances but not about their hearts.  In other words, they were concerned about looking good but not living well for God.  This is possibly Cain’s error in his sacrifice because look at the final verse of this passage:

Luke 11:51 NKJV

from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.

Jesus is comparing the actions of the Pharisees to Cain’s actions.  His sacrifice was more to look righteous, rather than living in righteousness.  So, God didn’t accept Cain’s sacrifice.  Look how God explained the problem to Cain, himself.

Genesis 4:7 NKJV

If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."

“If you do well, will you not be accepted.”  Doing well could be considered to be doing things with a right heart toward God’s will.

2Corinthians 9:7 NKJV

So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

We may be able to conclude through this that Cain was not a cheerful giver. 

Finally, how did Cain and Abel know if their sacrifices were acceptable?  Some commentators explain it in this way:

Leviticus 9:24 NKJV

and fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.

When Abel’s sacrifice was consumed by God it was an indication of God’s approval of Abel’s offering.  That Cain’s offering just laid there was an indication of God’s lack of acceptance.  So, Cain became angry and his countenance fell.  He became unhappy.

Sin Lies at the Door

I want to look at one more thing here:  It is in Genesis 4:7:

Genesis 4:7 NKJV

If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."

Sin lies at the door.  That word translated as lies means to crouch.  It’s like a cat crouching and preparing to spring on some unwary prey.

After this incident what happened:

Genesis 4:8 NKJV

Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

God told Cain that if he didn’t do well that sin was waiting to spring into his life and overtake his actions.  Cain’s next act after giving his unacceptable offering because he did it without genuine submission to the will of God, rose up and killed his brother.

Sin has sprung and it rules over his life.  We can see that in the curse that was placed on him. 

Genesis 4:11-12 NKJV

So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth."

His life has been destroyed by sin.  This can happen to us as well if we are not submitted to God’s will. 

James 4:7 NKJV

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

An unsubmitted life will result in a life “ruled over” by sin!

Summary:

1)  Abel gave a sacrifice that was acceptable to God because it was given in submission to God.  It demonstrates his faith and righteousness of heart.  This is how we should approach sacrifice not just in giving but in every sacrifice, we make for others, too.

2)  Cain’s sacrifice was unacceptable to God because it was given not in submission but in obligation.  He wanted to look righteous and faithful, but those things were not in his heart.

3) If we live our lives absent of submission to the will of God we are also in danger of being controlled by sin.  Sin destroys lives and relationships.  We need to examine our hearts to be sure that we are living with right motives to God’s will.

4)  We will be accepted by God if we do well.

 

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