Faith Gym

Treasure is a good thing, right?  Not in this story from Genesis 4.

Genesis 4:3-5. So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.

While you might be able to guess where death comes into this story, you’re probably wondering what Cain and Abel has to do with treasure.  Well, just before Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden, God had promised a special Son would be born who would crush the head of the serpent who had gotten Eve to question God and His goodness (leading to that forbidden fruit).  Not long after they were kicked out of Eden, Eve gave birth to a son, whom she named Cain.  Cain means “Treasure”.  So the first born of that first couple probably grew up thinking he was the most special of all that next generation, being the first born, and named “Treasure”.  Some time after Cain was born, his brother was born.  They named him Abel, which means Empty.  That probably helped Cain feeling even more special and important.  “I’m Treasure, and this is my brother, Empty.”

As the boys grew, and took on the work of “subduing the earth,” they were evidently taught to honor God.  Now comes that offering that Cain and Abel made.

Why was Cain’s offering not accepted but Abel’s was?  This is one of those questions that serious students of the Bible have asked and pondered.  Was it because Abel’s was a blood sacrifice and Cain’s wasn’t?  The Bible doesn’t give that indication.  After all, when God set up the official sacrificial system through Moses, grain and wine, as well as animal sacrifices, were equally part of the prescribed offerings.  With that in mind, it looks like the difference in their offerings was less a matter of the contents and more a matter of the heart.

In the book of Hebrews, the writer says in chapter 11, verse 4, “By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.”  God regarded Abel as a man of faith and righteousness.

We see this in the original story in Genesis as well, but it is easy to miss. “And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering…”  The Lord had regard not just for the offering, but also for Abel himself.  As for his brother, “but for Cain and his offering he [the LORD] had no regard.”  It wasn’t just the offering, but the man who was making the offering that God regarded or didn’t.

How was it the two brothers had such different attitudes as they came to give their offerings?  Had their names and the expectations of their parents impacted their own attitudes about their personal worthiness? Did Cain feel entitled to special treatment, even from God?

In James 4:6-7, it says ‘“God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.’  It is interesting that James follows up the proverb about pride and humility with the warning to resist evil desires and to submit to God, since that is very much what God said to Cain in verses 6 & 7.  “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

Whether it was that he grew used to his parents treating him as the “treasured” one, or it was some other way that Cain came to pride, God made it clear it was his own responsibility and choice that kept him there.   Even after God spoke to him, warned him to choose better, Cain chose to retain his hard heart and continued to harbor anger that he aimed toward his brother.  Because he allowed those thoughts to fester, the man called Treasure became Death to his brother.

We are only told about three children of Adam and Eve, although they very likely had a large number of children.  And these two stories, about the offering of the two brothers and how Cain killed his brother, are the only stories we’ve been given about this second generation.  God wanted us to have these particular lessons; so the lives of these men, as the book of Hebrews says, still speak to us.  One of those lessons we can learn from them is about the disposition of our hearts.  Are we more like the treasured, entitled Cain, or like his faith-filled, righteous brother, Abel?  The choice is ours.  Let us choose to “do well” and to “submit therefore to God.”