A Better Sacrifice

As I've studied the next verse in Hebrews 11, I really had to go deeper and do some "whole Bible" investigating.    Here's the verse:

"By faith, Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did.  By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings.  And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead."  Hebrews 11:4

Let's find the original text of this story back in Genesis 4:

"Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.” Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.  In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”  “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”


Most of us know the story of Cain and Abel, but I think few of us think about why Cain murdered his brother.  Again, we are all too easily tempted to look at the action and not examine the heart.  But, as we see clearly in this passage, God was looking straight into the hearts of Cain and Abel.   We see in their actions what they truly believed about God.  Jesus said, "By their fruit you will recognize them": Matthew 7:20.  The Bible clearly teaches that faith in God produces one kind of fruit (actions, behaviors, choices), and unbelief produces quite a different kind of fruit .  It is clear that Abel was a righteous man who trusted God.  He brought to God the best portions of the best of his flock.  Because Abel brought forth this kind of sacrifice and offering, we can deduct that he trusted God's character, provision, and authority.  1)  God's character:  Abel wouldn't have brought such a costly sacrifice if he didn't believe that God deserved the best of what he had.  This offering was a sacrifice, much like if we gave God the choice part of our possessions.  2)  God's provision:  Abel clearly trusted that God would provide for his needs, even though he was giving up the best parts of his livestock.  He must have believed that God would either replenish his flock or provide for him in other ways.  Try and translate it to modern times--what financial or material gift could you bring to God that would really be costly.  Do we trust that he will provide? 3)  Abel recognized God's authority.  His sacrifice was brought out of a humble and submissive heart.

Now, lets look at Cain.  There are some other scriptures that give us even more insight into Cain's heart.  Look at 1 John 3:10-14.  This scripture floored me when I read it.

"This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.  Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

Whoa.

It is clear from this passage and the others that Cain did not love God and did not love his brother.  In the Genesis passage, we see that  he was jealous of Abel and also prideful.  When God asked Cain, "Why are you angry?  Why is your face downcast?"  He was clearly probing Cain's heart.  Think about your own life for a moment.  Ever been so angry that you didn't want to look anyone in the eye?  Think about what prompted this kind of response.  For me, it was always the sin of pride.  When I get angry, pride is always at the root of it.

Notice how God describes sin in Genesis 4.  He tells Cain, "If you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

I think we ought to take God's words seriously.  Whenever we perceive that we are being mistreated, or when we react in anger in any way there should be some red flags that come up in our mind.  Satan would like nothing better than to make a difficult situation a sinful one.  I think anger is a natural response, but we must immediately take it to God.  We can't let the sun go down on our anger.  We should TRUST God to bind our wounds when we have been treated unjustly or in some cases show us where we have gone wrong.  This is tough.  I confess that there have been times in my life where I have refused to forgive.  I've wanted to hold that grudge long enough for the other person to pay!  According to 1 John, that isn't loving my brother or sister in Christ.   Ouch, this one hurts. 

And if that doesn't convict enough, here is another layer to Cain's sinful behavior:
Cain's problems didn't start when God rejected his offering.   They started when he chose to bring God only a part of his crop--a part that must not have cost him much.  1 John says that Cain belonged to the evil one, so clearly, no actions on Cain's part would reflect abiding faith in God.  He wanted to give God as little as possible--just enough to get him by.  This verse convicts me too.  Eventhough I know I am a child of God, I know that there are times when I choose to give God very little of my time, my material possessions---my love.  If I'm not "faithing" Him and loving Him, then there is little chance I am truly loving others--especially those who are difficult to love.   I am reminded that we are to live a LIFE of FAITH.  Our entire lives should be defined by our faith in God and our trust of Him.   When this is the case, we will love and we will leave the outcome to God.

Like Abel, I want my faith to still speak when I am gone.  I want to leave a legacy and heritage that will tell of God's glory in my life.  I want to live a life of faith.  O, Lord, help me overcome my unbelief!  Help me to trust you with all my possessions.  Help me to trust you with difficult situations and unloving people.  Remind me Lord to bring my anger before you and lay it at your feet. Help me to love others as you have loved me.

Hos. 6:6 " For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings."