Genesis 4:4 But Abel brought some of the firstborn of his flock – even the fattest of them. And the Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering, 5 but with Cain and his offering he was not pleased. So Cain became very angry, and his expression was downcast. 6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why is your expression downcast? 7 Is it not true that if you do what is right, you will be fine? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.” NET
There are two things that give us an idea of Cain from the text: his unacceptable sacrifice and that he is quick to anger. In these verses, Cain is angry and his countenance has fallen as a result of his sacrifice but God is telling him that it doesn’t have to be this way. In other words, he has the option to go down a different path.
The problem for Cain (and for us) is that there is something always out there laying in wait and its desire is for us. (It is, as S.D. Gordon calls it, the Great Outside Hindrance. See https://bibleportal.com/sermon/SD-Gordon/quiet-talks-on-prayer-7-the-great-outside-hindrance). Peter touches on this in 1Peter 5:8 by comparing the devil to a lion on the prowl looking for someone to devour. In Ephesians 6, Paul talks about the need for the whole armor of God in order to stand up to the methods of devil and withstand his fiery darts. What makes this harder is that the devil knows where you live and how to trip you up. Because our adversary knows these specific weaknesses, we can often find ourselves fighting the same battle over and over again. The problem is that life is going to be a spiritual struggle with both external and internal forces working against us (and we are going to have to persevere against those forces). So Cain can do something else, but it isn’t easy.
The three traditional enemies of Christians are the world, the flesh and the devil. The flesh is human nature apart from God while the world is the system based upon this fleshly nature. The good news is that we have the potential for a different outcome (as did Cain) rather than be vanquished by these foes. The text suggests that there is something on the outside (God) that will assist us to the right path but there is also another side to the story and that is sin. God gives Cain instructions (as He did Adam and Eve) and then two verses later, Cain chooses to do what he wants to do and ignore those instructions.
Cain shows up three places in the New Testament: 1John 3:12, Hebrews 11:4 and in Jude.
1John 3:10 By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother. 11 This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous. BSB
In the verses prior to this one, John has been distinquishing between those of the devil who habitually sin versus the children of God who do not. In verse 10, he adds that anyone who does not love his brother is also of the devil. And who does he use as an example of a child of the devil? Cain! At this point in John’s ministry, the unity of the church is at risk so this story about Cain takes on additional importance to show what happens when brothers split.
Hebrews 11:4 By faith, Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he was attested as righteous, God testifying with respect to his gifts; and though he died he still speaks through it. NHEB
Hebrews 11 is about faith with the author using Abel as an example of faith. (Also see Matthew 23:34-35 where Jesus calls Abel “righteous”). Notice that there is nothing in the Genesis or Hebrews text that tells us that Abel’s sacrifice was accepted because it involved blood nor that Cain’s was rejected because it did not involve blood. We talked previously about Psalm 51:16-17 and God’s desire of the sacrifice of a humble spirit. Here are two places where sacrifice shows up in the New Testament:
Hebrews 13:15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name. 16 And do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. BSB
Romans 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. BSB
Our whole life is to be a sacrifice in praise of God and serving Him through our relationships with others. Our conclusion then is that Abel’s was the sacrifice of a faithful and righteous man while Cain’s was from someone not of God. That explains why Abel’s sacrifice was accepted and Cain’s was not.
In Matthew 9 there is a concern about worshiping incorrectly by the scribes and Pharisees based upon the actions of Jesus and His disciples. At Matthew 9:9 (and later in Matthew 12:7), Jesus quotes the same verse from Hosea:
Hosea 6:6 For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. NHEB
Time out Jesus! Have you not read the Torah and the detailed instructions for religious observance? Leviticus, Deuternomy, Exodus, and even Numbers have references to proper religious observance.
This is a radical declaration by Jesus in light of Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy yet Jeremiah, Micah and Ezekiel all had an understanding that just doing the act isn’t enough. Ultimately two systems arose. On the one hand, Temple worship is about sacrifice and proper procedures while on the other side are the prophets whose focus is on the heart rather than rules and regulations. The danger of religion as it becomes more organized is that it allows us to do all the “proper” things but still remain unchanged on the inside. This is what had happened to the Temple worship. An oft-used example of what can happen is a fireplace. While a well built fireplace can maximize the heat from a fire, it isn’t much good unless there is a fire burning in it. In our discussion here, the Temple is the fireplace and the prophets are the fire. This same problem can also happen to churches of our world today.