Cain’s Unacceptable Sacrifice

“By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he was declared righteous, God testifying to his gifts, and through it, having died, he still speaks” (Hebrews 11:4).¹

Abel offered to God a “better” or “superior” [πλείων] sacrifice than his brother Cain, not necessarily better in quality but better in kind. Cain’s offering was of the fruit of the ground, “and Abel also [גַּם] brought of the firstborn [בְּכוֹרָה] of his flock …” (Gen. 4:3, 4). The LXX reads: “And Abel also [καί] brought of the firstborn [πρωτοτόκων] of his flock …”

If “firstborn” is understood here in the sense of “preeminent,” the conjunction “also” seems to imply that Cain had brought the first (presumably the best) of his harvest. If this inference is correct, then Cain gave the same quality of offering as Abel, but it was of a different kind. 

Abel offered a blood sacrifice; Cain did not. Since Abel’s offering was “by faith” (Heb. 11:4), and faith comes by hearing God’s word (Rom. 10:17), it follows that God must have given instructions about the type of offering he wanted, namely a blood sacrifice (cf. Lev. 17:11; Heb. 9:22). Apparently Cain’s offering was unacceptable because it was not a blood sacrifice, not authorized by God, and therefore could not be offered “by faith.”

Acceptable worship to God has always required one’s very best, internally with the right attitude and mental focus, and externally according to the pattern of God’s revealed word.²

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are the author’s own translation.

     ² 1 Kings 8:61; Matt. 15:1-9; John 4:23-24.

Related Posts: Restoring True Worship, What Are You Getting Out of Worship?  

 

Image credit: https://www.pinterest.com/LubaGee/a-cain-and-abel/