13 Jan - Genesis 4

We’re reading Genesis chapter 4 together today. Below you’ll find a couple things to think about:

1. In this chapter the first murder was recorded. Adam and Eve had two sons; Cain and Abel. Cain and Abel took offerings to God from their work and gave it to him as a way of worshipping God. However, Abel took his best and Cain gave God his left overs. So, God accepted Abel’s gift because it showed his heart was turned towards God. God rejected Cain’s gift because it showed he was more concerned about himself. God even told Cain if he had done what was right then he would gladly accept the gift. 
2. Then Cain kills his brother Abel because he was jealous that God favored Abel’s gift. Sounds insane right? Well, it kind of is. If Cain would simply have given God his best next time then God would have accepted his gift too. Instead, Cain’s solution was to kill his brother then lie to God about it. This is why God banished him from his people.
3. Now you might be thinking the same thing I am: Where did all these other people come from in this chapter? Honestly, we don’t know. We can only assume this event took place a long time after the first three chapters in Genesis. And what about the “mark” placed on Cain? We have no idea what this was either. Any suggestion given would be pure speculation.

In reading about Cain and Abel’s gifts to God we learn he doesn’t want our leftovers. God wants us to think of him first; this is the first description of bringing an offering to God mentioned in the Bible and is one of the reasons we still do that in church today. Us giving at church is one more way we worship God. But notice God didn’t want to be “tipped out” by Cain. Rather God accepted Abel’s gift because it was a sacrifice. Abel could have given God the old sheep who were about to die but instead he choose to give God his best newborn sheep. God accepts our gifts to him when they’re not an afterthought because then he knows we really want to worship him.

Have you ever heard someone use the phrase; “I’m not my brother’s keeper”? This is the phrase Cain used when God asked Cain about his brother that he had killed. So, next time you hear the phrase think about this story and the principle we learned. God deserves our best and won’t settle for anything less.