Cain & Abel's Offerings

Genesis please, chapter 4, and we'll begin reading at verse 1. Genesis 4, 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 the 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. And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not, am I my brother's keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.

I trust the Lord will bless the reading of these well-known ten verses. I'm going to tell you the story of Cain and Abel. I know you know the story of Cain and Abel.

It's probably the best-known story in the Bible. But this chapter starts off with a number of couplets, twos. We've got the two original people, Adam and Eve, and they had two offspring, two sons, Cain and Abel.

Cain and Abel had two different occupations, a farmer and a keeper. That's what we're told. You would call them a farmer and a shepherd, but the Bible calls them a tiller and a keeper.

They made two different offerings. One offered the fruit, the other offered the firstlings. And as you know there were two different outcomes.

I want to talk about these two boys, Cain and Abel. Now it's not Sunday school, but you know what we do for Sunday school. We fill in all the blanks that the Bible doesn't tell us, and we make up a story.

And sometimes we believe the story that we make up. I'm going to tell you what's missing out of our story. There's no altar, no mention of an altar here.

There's not even any mention of blood, until it's Abel's blood, verse 10. And there's no mention of sin or salvation. But I don't want to ruin your Sunday school lesson, so go ahead, keep telling your story.

But I want to give you a very abbreviated account of the life of these two boys, because that's all God gives us. They're born, and the next thing we know they're men. They grew up.

We don't know how old they were, how long it took, but they grew up. And when they grew up, one became a keeper, a keeper of sheep. The other became a tiller of the ground.

And I noticed that the man that was turning over the ground, he knew exactly what to do with his brother's body, didn't he? And he denies it and says, am I a keeper? No, he wasn't a keeper. His brother was a keeper. But he killed the keeper.

And he did the only thing he knew to do with him. He just killed the keeper. And the other became a tiller of the ground.

And I noticed that the man that was turning over the ground, he knew exactly what to do with his brother's body, didn't he? And he denies it and says, am I a keeper? No, he wasn't a keeper. His brother was a keeper. But he killed the keeper.

And he did the only thing he knew to do with him. He just killed the keeper. And the other became a tiller of the ground.

And I noticed that the man that was turning over the ground, he knew exactly what to do with him. He just tilled him into the ground. But as they grew up, I would imagine they learned it from their father.

There came a time when they had to bring an offering to the Lord. Well, you say, there, you've got an altar then. Still not so sure about that.

I would, I would imagine that Adam told Cain and Abel, see that garden over there? That's the garden over there. That's where we were. That's where your mother and I were.

And we got put out. See that gate? There's an angel there. The angel of the Lord is there.

You can't get through that gate. I'm thinking the boys were only that high when they started peeking around the corner to see the gate. Humor me a little bit.

Follow my story. Okay. Because when they got old enough, if you're going to offer something to the Lord, where you going to bring it? Most likely to the gate.

Most likely to where the Lord was. And the Lord spoke to Adam in that garden. You remember that.

He walked with Adam in the cool of the day. Now he's speaking to Cain. I wonder where he met Cain to talk with Cain.

Probably not too far from that gate. But that, be that as it may. The time came when they're going to make an offering to the Lord.

And here's where we import stuff that we know is true from later on. We reach back farther ahead in history. But this is at the beginning.

And you can't really do that. Not legally. We have the privilege of living after it all.

And so we can push everything back. But they couldn't do that. So they're going to bring an offering to the Lord.

And it says in the process of time. So some time has gone by. Not just that they grew up, but it was probably at the end of the season.

I'm speaking to farmers here. You know what that is. The end of the season.

They've had a good harvest. The Lord has been good to them. Even though they've sinned against God.

They're out of the garden. The Lord has been good to them. And so they're going to bring an offering to the Lord.

To present to the Lord. They're bringing something. The word that's actually used here is a gift.

If you come over to the New Testament and read in Hebrews 11 verse 4. It talks about Abel's gift. His gift. It wasn't a sacrifice to atone for sin so much as an offering of appreciation.

God has been good. Time has passed. The ground has brought forth and Cain has the fruit of the ground.

He's going to offer some of that to the Lord. You say but there's no blood in it. No.

Of course not. You can't get blood out of a turnip. It's not there.

But later on God had offerings that had no blood in them. And they were acceptable. In fact they had to bring them.

They were the offerings of the first fruit. And there was the meal offering. There was no blood in them.

Now I'm not saying they're of the same value here. Abel, he brought of the firstlings of his flock and presented them to the Lord. All I'm trying to say is that they're not really about salvation.

They're about appreciation. Ok. Let's look at their offerings then.

Just quickly. Let's look at Cain's. What did Cain bring to the Lord? He brought of the fruit of the ground.

That's what it says. Did he bring the first fruits? No. Doesn't say that.

Did he bring the best fruits? Doesn't say that. Did he bring the biggest and the best to the Lord? Doesn't say any of that. He just brought of the fruit of the ground.

So I would take it that Cain was pretty casual about this whole thing. Nothing really special. Not a lot of thought went into it.

Probably what Cain did, he did out of duty. After all the Lord has been good to him so he wants the Lord to be good to him next year so I owe this to the Lord. I'll bring this to the Lord.

I'll give something to the Lord. But what about Abel? Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock. Ok.

Time has gone by. The year has passed. Time has gone by.

How do you remember which were the first ones? A whole year has gone by. How do you know which ones are the first ones? To bring the firstlings. Obviously he had to mark them out.

Obviously he had to set them aside. So it's not quite as casual with him. He had to set them aside.

He had to mark them out. He had to pick out the first. But it doesn't just say the first.

It says the fattest. The best. So not only was there thought gone into it, but Abel seems to be doing this, and I can only say that because we're not told, he seems to be doing this out of appreciation for how good God has been to him.

And so he brings the first and he brings the best and he brings them to the Lord. My simple point is this. Nothing special about God to Cain.

Cain might have even had a chip on his shoulder. We're not in the garden anymore and I got to work so hard at the ground. Because he did.

He had to work really hard. But nothing special about his offering? Because there's nothing special about his God. But when it comes to Abel, there's an appreciation there.

There's something special about his offering. There's thought, there's preparation, there's time that's gone into it. And when he brings his offering, it's the firstlings and the fat he brings to the Lord.

Why? Because there's something special about his God. So I want to ask you today, what kind of God do you have? Let's even go further than that. I want to ask you about your attitude toward God.

Because we're living in a time when the evangelicals are telling us God is not special. Oh no, they're not going to come right out and say that. But they just say, he's your friend.

He's your buddy. He's really close and you can just treat him like you treat your kid sister or your kid brother. You just talk to him any way you want and you just kind of walk down the street chatting with him.

And everybody just gets along fine and we're all cool with God. Is that the kind of God you got? Or is God special? Or is there something of the fear of God? What is your attitude toward God? Does he deserve your best? The best that you have? The first that you have? Is it out of a sense of duty that you read your Bible and pray? I mean, if I don't read and pray, God won't bless me. Or is it because there's a real appreciation for what God has done for you? I could have been like so many others on the way to hell.

I could have been in hell already. Left to myself, I would have been. What's your God mean to you? Does he deserve your very best? Is there something from your heart, an attitude of your heart? That God is special.

God is different. God is not my buddy. God is awesome.

God is big. And I'm just a little man on earth. I bow before God.

I give him my very best. Because it wasn't just about their offerings. I'm going to show you that.

It wasn't all about their offerings. It wasn't about their gifts. It was about their attitude.

It was about their lives. It was how they lived. It came from a life.

The gift that they brought was a product of their life. It's clear just from what they brought. He was a tiller of the ground, Cain was.

So that was his life. He was a farmer. So he's going to give what his life is about.

Nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with that. Had he been right with God, God could have accepted it.

But he was not right with God. Cain was a shepherd. He was a keeper of sheep.

Cain brings from his livelihood, from what he did. It comes from his life. That's what he did.

Nothing wrong with that. That's why he brings that to the Lord. Remember, there was no instruction, you shall bring a lamb.

That doesn't come until Exodus chapter 12. There was no instruction, when I see the blood, I'll pass over you. Hadn't come yet.

That's Exodus. This is Genesis 4. What they're bringing comes from the way they live. So what's wrong with the way they live? Let's look at it.

Listen to what God says. Verse 5, But unto Cain, unto Cain and his offering, God had not respect. Wasn't that God rejected his offering.

God rejected Cain. Cain's not right. Same thing with Abel.

Unto Abel's offering? No, no. Unto Abel. Unto this man and his offering, he had respect.

Because God respected the man, he respected what came from the man. Because God did not respect the man. He did not respect what came from his hand, his offering.

So it's about the persons. First, first it's about the man. Then it's about what they brought.

Isn't that what the Lord Jesus taught in Matthew's Gospel? He said, when you bring your gift to the altar, and you have something against your brother, leave your gift. Leave your gift. And go make it right with your brother.

Why did he tell him that? Because God didn't want the gift. He wanted the brothers to be right. He wanted their hearts.

He wanted their attitude to be right. Then he says, come back and offer your gift. Here's Cain.

He's not right with his brother. He's not right with his mother and father. It's Cain, I know there's only three, it's Cain against the whole of humanity.

Cain is going his way. The other three are going a different way. Something wrong in the life of Cain.

Therefore, everything that comes from the life of Cain, God says, I have no respect. I can't accept it. It's not what I want.

So let me ask you, how's your life going? What is your life like before God? That's what he's interested in. How are you living? It's not about the right words. God's not looking for the right words.

It's not about doing the right thing. Actually, Cain did the right thing. He brought an offering to the Lord.

That's what his parents had taught him. That's what he's doing. So why is he not accepted? Because his life is not right.

You can do all the right things, have all the right words, but if that heart is not right, if that life is not right, it's not accepted. You know, we get pretty good as Christians. We get pretty good at just carrying on what we're supposed to do.

Before you say, okay, Procopio is saying we don't have to do this. I'm not. But we can get pretty good at carrying on.

And our hearts are far away. And our lives are a mess. For those of you that say, well, you know, the Lord just looks at the heart.

Scripture never says that. Never says that. God is not blinder than you and I are.

God has better eyesight than you and I have. And while you and I can only see the outside, the Lord looks at the heart. He sees the outside, but He sees the heart.

And what He wants, very simply, what God wants is no hypocrisy. He wants the inside and the outside to match. And when the inside doesn't match the outside, you're a hypocrite.

It's not true. It's not real. What's Cain doing? Cain is professing something on the outside that he is not on the inside.

He is doing the right thing, but he's not right. He's bringing an offering to God, but things are not right between him and God. He's doing what he should be doing, but what he should be doing should be done from the heart.

That's the point. So, if you're one of those that uses as an excuse for what you do and where you go and how you talk and how you dress and everything else, well, the Lord knows my heart. Yeah, He does.

He does. And it's not right. He does know your heart.

But we don't. We don't know your heart. All we see is the outside.

And if what you're showing us, what you're showing us on the outside is a reflection of your heart, some of you are pretty lazy. You're showing a lazy heart. Some of you are pretty sloppy.

Really. You've got a sloppy heart. Because it doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter if your face is dirty. It doesn't matter if your hair is combed. It doesn't matter if you're dressed or not dressed.

Just kind of slop it through life? Is that really a reflection of your heart? That's what the outside is supposed to be. A reflection of the inside. So what Cain is saying as he brings this offering to the Lord, everything's all right in my heart with the Lord.

And the Lord says, no, Cain, I can't accept it. Everything is not right with your heart. And he gives them a chance.

He says, Cain, get the heart right and I'll accept your offering. Get your heart right and I'll accept the offering. The Lord Jesus to his disciples.

Put your offering aside. Make things right in your heart. Make things right with your brethren.

Then bring your offering and I'll accept it. The heart has to be right. The life has to be right.

So, it's the offerer first. Really? God wasn't looking for a sacrifice. It was a gift.

It was a free will offering. God didn't ask them for it. God's not looking for your sacrifice.

He's not. He's looking for your life. Not looking for you to give up things.

He's looking for you to live Christ. Take on things. Not give up.

He's looking for you to take on a life. And live it. And live it to the fullest.

That's what God wants. He didn't ask for the sacrifice. We can get pretty good at saying the right words.

God never asked us for the right words. Easy to learn the right words. You can say just what you're supposed to say.

But God wants words from the heart. He does look at our hearts. He wants hearts that are right.

Even the Old Testament says, my son, give me the heart. The Proverbs says, keep your heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life. The Lord Jesus taught the same thing.

He says, man speaketh from the heart. All that comes out of a man comes from his heart. God knows the heart.

That's what He wants. And He wants our hearts and our words to match. Some guys can preach.

They can really preach. They're good preachers. I'm being careful here with my brethren.

Because I'm a preacher too. But God's not looking for better preaching. He really isn't.

He doesn't need better preaching. It's God's Word. You know what God wants? God wants men that know Him.

That can rightly represent Him. Men that are in touch with God. That's what God wants.

And I speak that way to my own shame. I'm condemning myself. But God is not looking for better preachers or a young man that's got a great gift.

Listen, you might have a great gift. God gives the gift. But God doesn't make you a man of God.

You do that. You go in for that. You spend time with God.

You get along with God. You develop godliness. You make the right choices.

Gift, that's God's. He gives it. He can give it better and better.

God can develop that. But what He needs from us, He needs men in touch with God. That's what He needs.

You know what was wrong with Cain? Great gift, Cain. But Cain was out of touch with God. Thought he could just fake it.

Push it through somehow. But Cain's not in touch with God. Ah, brothers and sisters, you know we're going to leave this conference.

May we leave with a desire to be in touch with God. Make it your business to stay in touch with God. Make it your priority to spend time with God.

Make it your business to keep things right with God. To develop a relationship with the Lord Jesus. A good relationship.

Salvation is a relationship. You do know that, right? It's not a thing that happens to us. We've been trying to convince the unsaved here every night that salvation doesn't fall out of the sky.

It's not ripe fruit that falls in your lap. It is a relationship with the Lord Jesus that begins when you're born again. But that is only the beginning of a relationship.

That relationship needs to develop and grow stronger and brighter and better the older we get. May we all leave with this determination. No matter what it costs me.

Look what it cost Abel. It cost him his life. That's what it cost him.

It cost him his life to be in the right relationship with God. Did you catch? Before Cain killed him, it says this. I've overlooked it so many times.

He talked with him. Before Cain killed Abel, he talked with his brother. Ever wonder what that conversation was about? I've got a sneaking suspicion it was about the Lord.

Why is your sacrifice accepted and mine not? What's so different about you? I can see Abel, the younger man, saying to his older brother, Cain, Cain, listen, you're not right with the Lord. Cain, you need to get right with the Lord. You brought a great offering, Cain, but it's you, Cain.

Come on, you know it. Only brothers can do that with each other, right? Only brothers can be honest with each other and say, come on, Cain, you need to get down before the Lord. Cain, you know you're not going the right way.

You need to be right with the Lord. And rather than get right with the Lord, he took his brother's life. Are you willing to be right with the Lord no matter what the cost? To keep a good relationship with the Lord? May the Lord help us that our attitudes might be adjusted, that our lives might be adjusted, and that the rest of this year we might live in the constant enjoyment of the presence of the Lord.