Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel ... brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect... (Genesis 4:3-5).
Have you ever wondered why God rejected Cain’s offering and accepted Abel’s? It wasn’t that He preferred beef to vegetables. The reason is much deeper than the actual gifts the two brothers brought before the Lord. The key to understanding the Lord’s action is to know the kind of offering the Lord required of them. As you study the Old Testament, you’ll observe that more offerings developed as the Spirit of God showed His people the way. So they could take anything out of a joyful spirit and present to the Lord and He would accept it. But on this occasion, the sacrifice the Lord asked of them was a “sin offering.” The sin offering always required the shedding of blood—animal blood. The Apostle Paul also tells us in the New Testament that without the shedding of blood there’s no remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22). So you couldn’t bring crops from your farm as a sin offering, even if they were the best crops around. But that was what Cain did! He brought his crops for a sin sacrifice and God rejected it. But God being merciful still showed him the right thing to do. He said, “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth (that is sin offering) at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him” (Genesis 4:7).
God was saying in other words, “Hey Cain, go get that lamb lying close by and use it for your sin offering” But Cain wouldn’t. He was offended because his sacrifice was rejected and his brother’s accepted, and he went out from God’s presence with an evil heart.
It’s important that you serve God with knowledge; get to know what He wants so your service in the Kingdom will be an offering of sweet savour before the Lord. What is it you’re bringing before the Lord today? Is it your body, your money, your prayers or your service in His house? Don’t offer Him what He wouldn’t accept. Find out what He wants you to do and do it, so your services and offerings will be acceptable to Him.
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