A Lesson from Cain

How does God handle our attempts to honor Him when we’re not quite sure of what He’s expecting from us?  Will we be acceptable as long as we’re sincere?  Let’s take a lesson from a very early example:

In Genesis 4, we are introduced to a man who sought to bring to God something he personally valued.  Cain was a tiller of the ground, in contrast to his brother Abel, who was a keeper of flocks (Genesis 4:3).  The crops brought forth by the sweat of Cain’s brow were the first thing he thought to offer to God.  It makes sense, doesn’t it?  There is debate about whether God had already communicated to them about what He desired in the form of sacrifice.  But one way or the other, this first attempt to please God with what each brother desired to bring Him sheds a lot of light on how God deals with worship attempts that are “right on target” and those that aren’t.

Notice that Cain was the first to bring an offering to the Lord.  He wasn’t trying to “one-up” or compete with his brother – he was sincerely seeking to please the Lord.  It says that the Lord “had regard for Abel and his offering.”  The Hebrew word for “regard” literally means “look toward.”  The offering that Abel gave got God’s attention, as it were.  But it says that “for Cain and for his offering He had no regard.”  Try to picture it in your mind.  God is a parent who is aware that His two children have each come to Him, saying eagerly, “Father, I brought you something!”  Cain arrives first… and God doesn’t look in his direction.  Abel arrives next and God smiles, showing appreciation for the gift.

Wait a minute, though… how is that fair?  If Cain is a tiller of the ground, what does God expect?  Here is the key.  God gives Cain a chance to understand in verses 6 and 7:

‘The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”‘

The reason God did not show appreciation for Cain’s offering is that He desired something else: an offering from the flock.  The neat part about this is that God did not condemn Cain’s offering… He just didn’t accept it.  This becomes very applicable to every generation that would follow Cain: we do not show love for God when we only offer to Him what WE would desire or expect.  We demonstrate true love for God when we take the time to find out what it is HE desires and expects!  What would have happened if Cain had said, “Ooooh, I get it.  Okay, Father!” and came back with an offering of sheep?  This is profound, ladies!  This is why I get frustrated when people say that worshiping with a band up front is simply a matter of our preference, or that we can assemble to worship on Saturday if it’s more convenient for us than on the first day of the week as we find in Scripture. If we do not “do well” (a.k.a. learn from our error instead of continuing in error), sin is sneaking up on us because we are seeking to meet our own expectations and not God’s.  Not a big deal?  What about Cain?  Let’s take a look at Cain’s response and see if we can learn why this is such a big deal:

“Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.” (4:8). 

Why did this happen?  It was the proof: Cain’s first error provided a moment of decision for him.  He could either humble himself and correct his error, choosing to make the necessary changes to honor God, or he could become defensive and not change.  “But why isn’t my offering as good as Abel’s?  That isn’t fair!”  It’s very clear how quickly we become the “victims” when we are not accepted “just as we are.”  When we are expected to make a change, the positive aspect of improvement is forgotten when we choose to look at it with Cain’s attitude.  Notice that God did not reject Cain – His words in verse 6 make this evident: “If you do well, will you not be accepted?”  This is future tense!  God rejected his worship, but was not denying him the opportunity to do the right thing.  Rather, He was showing how willing He was to accept him if he learned from his mistake.

We know the rest of the historical event.  Cain killed his brother Abel.  It was the proof of God’s statement – if we are unwilling to learn from an honest mistake, sin is the next step in the natural progression.  Consider it a practical psychology lesson from God.

This is the lesson: be teachable.  Do not view correction, rebuke, or even gentle reproof as a rejection of who you are.  If we play the victim and choose to remain as we are, we display Cain’s attitude – the attitude that says “This is just the way I am!  I shouldn’t  have to change anything about myself!”  Blatantly refusing to change who we are to conform to our Creator’s expectations is the launch pad for all kinds of sinful behavior.  Attitudes like this are the reason we have so much pain to deal with in the world.  Cain bore a punishment that was painful to him; God pulled everything he cherished out of his life and made him a fugitive.  Eve lost a son, and her words in verse 25 show that Cain’s actions hurt more than just himself: “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.”

We should not be surprised when we learn we are not perfect.  God doesn’t condemn us for not being perfect – the purpose of the Scriptures is to help us identify imperfections so we can correct them.  God helps us in our walk with Him, testifying about when we do the right thing and pointing it out to us when we do not.  Here’s the application: when you read God’s Word and you discover an attitude, action or behavior in your life that is contrary to what you read about God’s expectations, don’t play the victim and get defensive or argumentative!  Choose to make a change.  Be proactive.  Listen to His favorable statements about those who did well.  Choose to imitate them and enjoy the blessing of acceptance.

“By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.” – Hebrews 11:4

Approaching Almighty God

Have you ever wondered what is going through God’s mind when you approach Him?  How does He perceive your worship?  In Ecclesiastes 5, the Preacher gives us some wonderfully helpful insight regarding the kind of attitude God expects when we come before Him. 

We know that it is our hope in Christ that allows us to come into God’s presence, or to come to Him in our need for mercy and grace (Hebrews 4:16).  Christ Jesus is our high priest, and we need not hesitate to approach Almighty God with our prayers and our praise.  But consider the manner in which you approach Him…

“Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil.  Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God.  For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let you words be few.”  (Ecclesiastes 5:1-2, NASB)

This is huge!  In many denominational circles we find the attitude that says, “Offer God whatever comes to you, whatever you want to give Him – He’ll accept it!”  Their worship is whim-driven.  They trust the words of men because they themselves have not done their homework, haven’t listened to God to find out what He actually wants!  This passage tells us that we need to come to God with the intent of listening – rather than giving Him something we’ve come up with – and letting our obedience to what He has communicated in His Word be our worship.  That’s why He’s been revealing His will since the beginning, so we can know what His will is and obey!  If a person does not consult His Word for understanding, the worship they offer is evil and they don’t even know it – the Preacher isn’t making this up!  God has not left us without any way to know what He wants.  He has provided everything that we need to know.  Peter tells us that “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” (2 Peter 1:3)  That means our feelings can’t direct us when it comes to God’s expectations.  Ideas from other people are unacceptable, too.  The Bible is the only authority on the subject, and we must listen to it and gain true knowledge from it.

So the instructions of the Preacher in Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 are as follows:

1. Guard your steps as you go to the house of God: pay attention and do not flippantly approach God.
2. Draw near to listen.
3. Do not be hasty in word and
4. Do not be impulsive in thought: consider attentively any matter you intend to bring up in the presence of God.
5. Let your words be few: Remember your place!

 Some say that for the Christian every moment of every day is worshiping God.  While I see the idea and commend them for seeking to honor God in every part of their life, it is important to understand God’s idea of worship and His expectations of His people when they approach Him.  There is a difference between living each day with a godly attitude and specifically seeking to offer acceptable worship to God.  The only way to do any of it is by finding out what He wants and obeying in humility.  Ladies, Consider what you offer God when you come to worship Him.  Do you come to listen?  What do you offer Him, and does His Word confirm that it is acceptable?  Remember, without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6) and faith comes from hearing the word of Christ (Romans 10:17).  Do your research!  You can almost imagine God say, “Thanks for listening.”