Sibling rivalries go back a long way; all the way back, in fact, to the first siblings. Cain and Abel are the first people that the Bible mentions being born (although they may well have had older siblings). In a fit of rage, Cain murdered his brother because of the different reactions the Lord had concerning their offerings.
Genesis 4:4-5 tell us, “And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.” The preceding verse says Cain brought an offering of the produce from his garden, while Abel brought one from his flock. The former was rejected while the latter was received. Rather than being upset with himself, Cain turned his anger towards his brother and committed the world’s first act of murder.
But what is missing from this passage is God’s instruction. When did God ever tell them what kind of offering to bring? Genesis never tells us. It isn’t until Exodus that God gave Moses the law and its requirements for blood sacrifices. So how was Abel able to bring what God wanted? And how can God reject Cain if He never told him what to do?
This is one of the cases where we have to let Scripture interpret Scripture. Let’s consider two New Testament verses. First, Hebrews 11:4 says, “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain.” By faith. Abel did what he did by faith. Now add to that Romans 10:17, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
If Abel obeyed by faith, and faith comes through hearing God’s word, then somewhere along the way God told Cain and Abel what to do. Abel obeyed by faith, and the opposite is also true. Hebrews 11:6 goes on to say, “And without faith it is impossible to please [God].” Cain heard the word of God too, but he did not have the faith to obey, so his offering could not please God because it was absent of faith.
In hindsight we know that the blood offering was about substitution; it showed the wages of sin is death, but an innocent lamb could die in the place of a guilty sinner. This was all a foreshadow of Jesus, the Lamb of God, being the ultimate sacrifice for sin.
Genesis 4 does not say Cain brought scraps; he didn’t bring the runts from his garden or spoiled, shriveled up fruit. He didn’t bring his worst, but neither did he bring his best. His best was whatever God required. God’s word might not always make sense to us, but the best thing we can do is obey in faith, and this is what pleases God.
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