European Bible Study Meeting, 2002The Lord Did Not Accept Cain and His OfferingApril 2nd, 2002, Evening Lecture Part 1The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; how much more when he brings it with evil intent.  Proverbs 21:27Abel Was a Keeper of Sheep, and Cain a Worker of the GroundLet’s turn to Genesis chapter 4.Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.  verses 1-2Genesis chapter 5 tells us that Adam lived for hundreds of years and had other sons and daughters (see verse 4). Genesis chapter 4 tells us about two of Adam’s many children, Cain and Abel.As we have been studying Genesis from chapter 1, we have considered the principles God adheres to as He carries out His work. God separated the light from the darkness (see Genesis 1:4), and in the midst of the garden, there were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (see Genesis 2:9). Now, in accordance with the principle expressed in Ecclesiastes where it says, “there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness” (2:13), we will take a look at the account of Adam’s two sons in Genesis chapter 4.First Adam had Cain, and then he had his younger brother Abel. Cain was the elder brother, and Abel the younger. Cain farmed the land, and Abel was a shepherd. This is very similar to what we have been talking about so far. When the earth was without form and void and darkness was over the face of the deep, God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light (see Genesis 1:2-3). Also, the Bible says, “there was evening and there was morning, the first day” (Genesis 1:5), and after Adam ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God called out to Adam, “Where are you?” (see Genesis 3:1-9) Yet, the elder brother, Cain, was a worker of the ground. When it comes to working the ground, this is what God had to say.And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” . . . And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.  Genesis 3:17-19, 21After God told Adam that the ground was cursed because of him, that he would have to plow the land, and that by the sweat of his face he would eat bread, He slaughtered an animal, and with its skins he made garments for Adam and Eve and clothed them. He covered their shame with the skins of an animal. This is really very curious.But then the son that was born to Adam after that was a worker of the ground, a farmer.In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground.  Genesis 4:3First, God had told Adam, Cain’s father, that the vegetation that grew up from the ground was to be his food. Take careful note of these words. In other words, God was saying that the vegetation from the ground was not something that was to be offered to God. But Adam’s son offered the fruits of the ground to God.Would God be pleased when man, who had now become a sinner, offered Him produce he had acquired through his own hard work from the land that was cursed? Even though God had slaughtered an animal and with its skins He had made garments and clothed Cain’s parents, their son had brought the fruit of the ground and offered that as a sacrifice to the Lord. This is an interesting expression. It does not say that he gave an offering of plants, vegetables, or fruits; it says “the fruit of the ground.” He offered to God the fruits of the ground that was cursed, the ground of which God had said, “Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life.” Who would have taught him to do this? I wonder if his parents would have told him to offer to God the fruit of the ground.Through the Bible, we can see that Cain’s action was very similar to that of his father after he ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In order to cover his shame, Adam made garments for himself out of fig leaves and put them on. His son, Cain worked hard at farming. He fought hard with all the thorns and thistles and offered the produce from the land as a sacrifice to God. He offered his efforts to God. In this image of Cain, we can see our own religious nature. Here we have a glimpse of our innate inclination to cover ourselves up.And Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.  Genesis 4:4-5A person may think he believes in God and serves Him, and may say, “I’m a Christian, and I attend such-and-such a church.” And he may say that he serves God in a certain way. He may say that he has worked hard at something for God, that he pays his tithes regularly, gives donations to his church, carries out charitable work. He may even say that he has felt sorry for someone less fortunate and taken that person home with him to give him a proper meal. But I would like to ask you to consider in your conscience what kind of answer you in the light of these words. Ask yourself if these are the kind of things you can offer up to God. Can God come in contact with your spirit through these things? Think about whether the things you have done are able to be the vehicle through which you can be connected with God.But Abel took a lamb, which had grown, wandering peacefully in the green pastures, eating at will without Abel having to do anything, and this Abel slaughtered and offered as a sacrifice to God. God accepted Abel and his offering. It says, “Abel and his offering.” This signifies that some connection was made between God and man. In other words, that which is above was connected with that which is below. But God did not accept Cain and his offering. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.  Genesis 4:5Why did man’s face change? The fact that Cain’s face fell indicates that the blood in his body reacted in some way. We may say that the sinful nature in his blood began to seethe inside him.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 contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”  Genesis 4:6-7God was saying here, “If you have done well, why can’t you hold up your face? If you did what was right, why has your face fallen?” From our human perspective, Abel does not appear to have been very clever. He took one of the lambs he had set out to pasture, slaughtered it and offered it up before God, while Cain worked hard to produce the fruit of the ground and offered that to God, and yet it was Abel and his offering that God accepted. In the case of light and darkness, God chose just one of them. Man also leaves with just one or the other: light or darkness. As man’s descendants were born on this earth, the complex history of mankind continued to unfold and many countries and nations were formed. Then there was something that happened at the time when the Roman Empire had control of the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. The Son of God was born in the little country of Israel, quietly and without anyone knowing about it. It was as the Bible says, “God sent forth his Son, born of woman,” (Galatians 4:4).The Israelites did not like the words spoken by this man who appeared in the midst of their nation. His words were words of truth as it says in the book of Ecclesiastes, “uprightly he wrote words of truth” (12:10). These words are like the rod of a teacher plucking at a person’s heartstrings (see Ecclesiastes 12:11). When you are eating some fruit and come across one of the seeds in your mouth, you do your best to spit it out. Similarly, when Jesus pointed out to the Israelites at that time what kind of people they were, His words pierced their hearts and they despised Him, because He revealed what was hidden away inside them. In the end, because He

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