Why Didn’t God Accept Cain’s Offering in Genesis 4?
The Story of God Rejecting Cain’s Sacrifice
In Genesis 3 Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden after disobeying God. In Genesis 4, the story shifts to focus on 2 of their sons, Cain and Abel. Cain and Abel, who were adults at this point, were offering sacrifices of worship to God.
Cain, who was a farmer, brought some of his crops to sacrifice. Abel, who was a shepherd, brought the firstborn of his flock for the offering. When the sacrifices were offered, God expressed His approval of Abel’s sacrifice, but rejected Cain’s offering.
Genesis 4:3-7 (ESV) - In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 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 contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
Why Wasn’t God Happy with Cain’s Sacrifice?
You’ll notice the text doesn’t tell us exactly why God didn’t accept Cain’s offering, but it’s important to see that in verse 7 God implied Cain should have known better. God said to Cain, “If you do well, will you not be accepted?”
From this we can conclude that God previously gave Cain and Abel instructions on how to sacrifice, but these specific instructions are not recorded for our reading. Cain must have ignored the instructions when he made his offering.
What Command did Cain Violate?
Without additional details it’s impossible to know with certainty the exact command that Cain violated.
Perhaps God specifically instructed Cain and Abel to offer animal sacrifices, and Cain wrongly assumed his field produce was good enough.
One hint may lie in the wording of verses 3-4. You’ll notice Abel offered the “firstborn” of his animals. The firstborn was often considered the best of a shepherd’s flock. Cain’s sacrifice isn’t described with any such special designations, the text simply says he brought “an offering of the fruit of the ground” (4:3). It may be that Abel offered his best to the Lord while Cain offered his leftovers.
What can we Learn from Cain’s Mistake?
1. We need to do things God’s way, even when we think our “alternative” way is equally as good.
2. God deserves our best, not our leftovers.
3. God has His reasons for His commands. We may not always understand them completely, but we need to trust that He knows better than us.
Conclusion
So, why didn’t God accept Cain’s offering? Because Cain ignored God’s instruction on how to sacrifice. We don’t know God’s specific instructions, but Cain knew them, which is evident in the way God responded to him.
