Day 2 - Genesis 4-6

One-Year JOURNEY OF THE BIBLE

Day 2 - Genesis 4-6 (The First Offering)

“And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord.  Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering,  but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.  So the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?  If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."  (Genesis 4:3-7)

At first glance it would seem that God was not being fair in His treatment towards the offering of Cain, after all, there was nothing wrong with offering the fruit of one’s labor, isn’t it?  Yes and no.  When it comes to salvation, the Bible is very clear that the “just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17)

God was looking for an offering of obedience from Cain and Abel and the two brothers knew about it.  The Lord, no doubt, had instructed the boys that a substitutionary sacrifice was needed in order to temporarily atone for their sins for as Scripture says, “it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.”  (Hebrews 10:4)

Cain, however, insisted on an offering from his own labor and God did not accept it.  The fact that Cain became angry at God and consequently lashed out his rage at his brother by killing Abel is proof that Cain’s heart was not right with God.

We need to learn a very important lesson from our text for today, that is, we can only be saved by faith apart from any good works we can offer to God.  This is the truth taught all throughout the Bible including the verse below:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”  (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Have you brought your offering of faith to God by trusting in the finished work of Christ on the cross Who was the Lamb of God sacrificed once as the atonement for the sins of the world?  If not, I pray that you will begin this new year with a right relationship with God.