Cain and Abel.

“And in 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.”

These two children grew up to be adults and to choose their careers. Cain grew crops and Abel cared for stock. When Cain was first born, his mother said that she had acquired a man from the Lord, she assumed that this son would be the descendant who would bruise the serpent’s head and treated him as though he was extra special. On the other hand, Abel means vapour, his life was seen as fragile or temporary. As time went by the two young men came to the Lord and offered gifts from what they had produced. Cain brought some of his crops while Abel brought the best of his animals with their fat. Fat is the best part of the meat, it has the best taste and cost the most. We know that God is able to look inside a person’s heart (1 Sam 6:17) so God understood their motives. We can read from 1 John 3: 12 that Cain was of the wicked one and his works were evil while his brother’s works were righteous. God did not respect Cain, even though he had the better reputation on earth. There is an important lesson here for every Christian. Our attitude to God is far more important than our reputation or our ability to have the important positions. God has more respect for a humble and contrite heart than a person of great reputation (see Isaiah 57: 15). Cain expected to get all the praise for his offering but God didn’t respect Cain offering and he became murderously angry.

If you would like to find out more about God's grace at the beginning you might like to visit http://www.lulu.com/content/799024 and buy a copy of my book “The Scarlet Thread”.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)