Offerings By Cain And Abel. And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. Gen 4:1-2
INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT
I.GOD AND THE RACE, Genesis 1-11
2. The Beginning and Spread of Evil, Genesis 3:1-6:7
7. What was the real difference between Cain and Abel?
ADAM AND EVE DRIVEN OUT OF EDEN
And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
CAIN AND ABEL
And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
And Abel, he also 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. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
Comments by
F.B.Meyer
On
Genesis 3:22-24
OFFERINGS BY CAIN AND ABEL
It was good that man should be driven from Eden. Soft comfort enervates. The natives of the South Sea Islands are moral pulp. Man goes forth from the Eden of innocence, of home, of the land of his birth, to create gardens out of deserts, and to become a pilgrim to the abiding City of God. Angels of Love forbid our return. Heaven lies before us, the City gleams with light on the far horizon. For the Tree of Life see Rev_2:7. The inner motive of Cain’s ruthless deed is supplied in 1Jn_3:12. Abel, deeply conscious of sin, felt that a sacrifice was needed; therefore his faith saved him and links him with all who believe. See Heb_11:4. Cain had no sense of sin, and thought a gift of produce enough. But all the while sin was crouching at the door, like a hungry tiger, waiting for the chance to enter. Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation! “Thou shouldst rule.”
Comments by
WILLIAM MACDONALD
Believers Bible Commentary
On
Genesis 3:22-24
I. EARTH’S EARLIEST AGES (Chaps. 1-11)
A. The Creation (Chaps. 1, 2)
B. The Temptation and Fall (Chap. 3)
The Temptation and Fall (Chap. 3)
3:22-24 There was a shade of truth in Satan’s lie that Eve would become like God (v. 5). But she and Adam learned by the hard way of experience to discern between good and evil. If they had then eaten of the tree of life, they would have lived forever in bodies subject to sickness, degeneration, and infirmity. Thus it was God’s mercy that prevented them from returning to Eden. Cherubim are celestial creatures whose function is to “vindicate the holiness of God against the presumptuous pride of fallen man.”
Adam and Eve had to decide whether God or Satan was lying. They decided that God was. “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” Thus their names are missing from the Honor Roll of Faith in Hebrews 11.
The ideal environment of Eden did not prevent the entrance of sin. A favorable environment is not the answer to man’s problems.
C. CAIN AND ABEL (Chap. 4)
4:1 Adam knew Eve his wife in the sense that he had sexual relations with her. When Cain was born, she acknowledged that this birth was only by the Lord’s enablement. In naming him Cain (“acquisition”), Eve may have thought that she had given birth to the Promised Seed.
4:2-6 The process of time mentioned in verse 3a allows for a considerable increase in the world’s population. There must have been a time when Cain and Abel were instructed that sinful man can approach the holy God only on the ground of the blood of a substitutionary sacrifice. Cain rejected this revelation and came with a bloodless offering of fruits and vegetables. Abel believed the divine decree and offered slain animals, thus demonstrating his faith and his justification by God (Heb_11:4). He brought the firstborn of his flock, saying in effect that the LORD deserves the best. Abel’s offering points forward to the substitutionary death of the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
4:7 Because Cain’s jealous anger was incipient murder, God spoke to him in loving warning. Verse 7 may be understood in several ways:
1. “If you do well [by repenting], you will be able to look up again in freedom from anger and guilt. If you do not do well [by continuing to hate Abel], sin is crouching at your door, ready to destroy you. His [Abel’s] desire is for you [i.e., he will acknowledge your leadership] and you will rule over him” [i.e., if you do well].
2. “If you do well (or, as the Septuagint reads it, “If you offer correctly”) will you not be accepted?” The well-doing had reference to the offering. Abel did well by hiding himself behind an acceptable sacrifice. Cain did badly by bringing an offering without blood, and all his after-conduct was but the legitimate result of this false worship.
3. The RSV says, “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
4. F. W. Grant says in his Numerical Bible, “If you do not well, a sin-offering croucheth or lieth at the door.” In other words, provision was made if he wanted it.
4:8-12 Cain’s evil attitude of jealous rage was soon translated into evil action, the murder of his brother. Though Abel is dead, he still witnesses to us that the life of faith is the life that counts (Heb_11:4). When the Lord’s loving question was met by an unrepentant, insolent reply, He pronounced Cain’s judgment—he would no longer be able to make a living from the soil, but would wander as a fugitive in the desert.
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