Why was Cain's Offering Rejected by God?

WHY WAS CAIN'S OFFERING REJECTED BY GOD?

By Ezekiel Kimosop

Why was Cain's offering rejected by God? Was Cain's offering laced with some physical blemish? Was it wrong for him to have offered the fruit of the ground to God? Some think so. Others say Cain's blood sacrifice was accepted because it was a shadow of what God would offer in Christ. This is undeniable. However, it does not conclusively answer the question at hand.

I am hesitant to accede to the argument that the fruit of the ground was cursed and therefore not pleasing to God. If this argument is plausible, then why were grain offerings demanded under the Levitical ritual worship?

Did God have a mere preference for the first born of Abel's flock rather than the fruit of the ground offered by Cain? How should the reader of Scripture reconcile this theological paradox?

Here is how the Bible outlines God's evaluation of the two sets of offerings. Genesis 4:4-5 says "...Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat And the LORD  respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell."

Notice that Scripture describes God's assessment of both the man and his offering under each case! My view is that God found Abel righteous in His sight and on this basis, his offering was accepted to God. Abel pleased God.

Now concerning his brother Cain, God rejected him and his offering. Why? Because Cain did not please God in his life. He approached God, not with a polluted offering but with an evil heart. His attitude was actuated by a volcano of evil that the passage of Genesis 4:1-15 subsequently outlines.

Instead of repenting for his wickedness and seeking God's approval, Cain chose to handle things his way. He harbored burning jealousy because his brother, a morally righteous man, was approved of God and his gift was therefore accepted. 

Some people try to outdo others in serving God in the hope they will outshine them. God is always concerned about the state of our hearts far above the measure of our  efforts, resources, or social status in the eyes of men.

No matter how privileged or disadvantaged we may be in our societies of context, one factor stands out in Scripture: God is not a respecter of persons. He has His divine standards by which to judge our motives and approve or reject our offering or service. Let us therefore serve Him from a clear conscience. The Bible says in 1 John 3:20-21 "For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God."

The Bible also says in Jeremiah 17:9-10 that "The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings" (NKJV). 

If God searches our hearts and tests our minds, there is nothing concerning our motives that can be concealed before His presence. God's divine omniscience is unlimited. God sees the inner things. We learn this from David's election by God to kingship in 1 Samuel 16:7. The Bible says "...the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

God indeed searches the hearts of men. He searched the hearts of David's seven brothers and by His divine counsel turned them down. Surprisingly, David, who never made it to the original shortlist of  Samuel the priest and his father Jesse, was sought from the wilderness! God saw in David what no one mortal could have seen at the time. This is how deeply God peers through our hearts and souls. 

God therefore knows our intentions even before we approach His presence in worship or service. 

Back to our story of Cain and Abel...

The Bible reveals that Cain's heart was not right with God and this explains why his offering was rejected by God. There was nothing wrong with his grain offering per se.

Some Bible teachers say Cain offered a wrong sacrifice. This claim is however not discernible from the passage of Genesis 4:1-7. Genesis 4:7 in fact reveals the reason for Cain's rejection. Scripture says that Cain did not do well and sin lay at his door. His moral and spiritual deportment was unacceptable to God.

The idea of sin lying at the door is a Hebrew phrase that suggests that Cain had lost his moral compass or bearing. He was exceeding given to evil and the consequences of his persistent imprudence would shortly be laid bare in the passage.

Notice that shortly after his offering was rejected, Cain went on to commit the first murder in biblical history. He killed his own brother unprovoked and could not express any remorse for the heinous transgression even when God confronted him (Genesis 4:8-15). His conscience was seared with hot iron because of wickedness (cf. 1 Timothy 4:2).

The murder of Abel was primarily motivated by Cain's evil heart and his burning jealousy. It was not a reflex action or an act of manslaughter. It was a premeditated and well calculated act of murder. God cursed him because of His exceeding evil. Genesis 4:11-12 says "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.”

There is something lethal about unbridled jealousy, anger, and bitterness being nursed over time. It will ultimately result in tragic choices often made outside God's counsel. This is the reason that we should constantly ask God to search our hearts and heal us. David earnestly cried to God in Psalm 139:23-24, saying, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting."

God's cure for sin is found in Christ alone. Only in His atoning blood was the solution for our sinful condemnation found. When a sinner turns to Christ, he is freed from the eternal consequences of sin and is reconciled with God in Christ. He should henceforth submit to fellowship with God and the exhortation of His word. He should walk with God in obedience and serve Him with a clear conscience. 

David proclaims in Psalm 119:10: "Your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you." (NKJV). The Hebrew word for "hidden" is צָפַ֣נְתִּי [tsaphan]. It is best translated as "treasured". The treasured word preserves the covenant believer in his journey of faith. 

Do you hold a clear conscience before God?


Shalom


© Ezekiel Kimosop 2020