“Why did God reject Cain’s offering and accept Abel’s?”

March 2023 – Grace & Truth Magazine

QUESTION: Why did God reject Cain’s offering and accept that of Abel in Genesis 4? Does it have anything to do with blood?

ANSWER: Hebrews 9 explains the importance of blood in the sacrifices in the Old Testament. Verse 22 distinctly tells us, “And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission ” ( NKJV , italics added). When Noah and his family came out of the ark and offered sacrifices to the L ORD , the L ORD blessed them and gave them fresh directions for their lives upon the cleansed earth. He permitted people to kill and eat animals just as He had originally permitted them to eat plants. However, He placed one restriction on this permission: “But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood” (Gen. 9:4). God later gave Israel directions as to how He wanted them to sacrifice to Him. Among other instructions, He told them, “And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul ” (Lev. 17:10-11).

When Adam and Eve felt their guilt after falling into sin in the garden of Eden, they attempted to cover their nakedness by making coverings of fig leaves. Nonetheless, they still felt guilty and were afraid when God called them. After dealing with Adam and Eve about the sin, “the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them” (Gen. 3:21). Obviously, to make clothing of skin, the animal that is skinned dies; its blood is shed. Abel, we are told in Hebrews 11:4, “offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts.” This more excellent sacrifice was one or more innocent lambs that were killed, for “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23) was as true then as it is today. Such an offering was a foreshadowing of Christ, the Lamb of God, dying for our sins. “The blood of Jesus Christ His [God’s] Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 Jn. 1:7).

Cain on the other hand “brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD” (Gen. 4:3). God had cursed the ground for Adam’s sake and had told him, “In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life … In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground” (3:17,19). Thus, regardless of how luscious the fruits and vegetables of Cain’s offering may have been, they came from the ground that had been cursed and were the product of Cain’s hard work. People today also try to come to God with their good works – doing good deeds, being kind to others, attending church or being a member of one, being baptized, participating in sacraments, liberally donating to a church or to the needy, abstaining from alcohol and drugs, reciting prayers, leading a moral life, or whatever other good thing they may do.

When God did not accept Cain’s offering, Cain got very angry. God reasoned with him, but rather than heeding what God said, Cain killed his brother Abel, shedding his blood. Cain had not come to God as a sinner, humbly recognizing his need. He evidently did not feel his sinfulness, but he certainly clearly demonstrated it. God’s principle is plainly stated in Ephesians 2:9, where we find that salvation is “not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Many other passages in God’s Word say essentially the same thing.

“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Rom. 5:8-9).

Answered by Eugene P. Vedder, Jr.

Since the dawn of humanity, two races have been taking shape. Cain, the first man born on earth, is an example of people who are righteous in their own eyes. He is satisfied with himself and his deeds and is unconscious of sin and its consequences. He appears before God with fruit of his own work, fruit of a cursed soil. What notice could God take of this? Abel, the second man, is the head of the line of faith. He opens the roll of honor in Hebrews 11:4. The sacrifice which he offered was “more excellent” than Cain’s because it was offered with an understanding of God’s mind.
—Jean Koechlin, Day By Day, Volume 1 (adapted)