The Trap of Treachery: Cain.

"This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous" (First John 3:11-12).

In reviewing the treachery of Cain, let's return to the account in Genesis 4. What does the passage say?

-Cain was the firstborn son.
-Cain was a farmer.
-Cain was angry because God did not accept his offering.

This is interesting. It seems that, although it is not explicit in the passage, God had indicated to both Cain and his brother Abel the order in which sacrifices must be made. The passage says, "Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock" (Genesis 4:4). In other words, it seems that God expected His people, long before the call of Abraham and the establishment of Israel, to bring the firstborn animals as a sacrifice- that is, the sin offering. We get a cue of this requirement in God's question: "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?" (Genesis 4:7). I don't think God would have asked the question unless Cain had already been made aware of the requirement.

Another interesting thing is that the passage says, "Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD" (Genesis 4:3). Not the first fruits, but some of the fruits. If I can say it this way, it seems that Cain made some mistakes:

-First, Cain did not bring the required animal sacrifice, which had to involve the shedding of blood- and not just any blood, but that of the firstborn in the flocks.

-Second, Cain did not even bring the firstfruits of his agricultural efforts. Cain kept those, and brought the LORD leftovers ("leftovers" may be too strong a term, but that is how I'm reading the passage. I am open to discussion on this thought).

-Third, Cain got very angry when God did not grant favor to him (Genesis 4:5). This seems a little strange, that Cain would expect to garner the favor of God even though he had not followed God's instructions... do you know any people like that?

Yes, you and I know plenty of people like that. And, sometimes, we are "the people like that".

LORD, forgive us for those times when we have not followed Your instructions, we have not done what You asked us to do, then have gotten upset when we recognized that Your favor was not resting upon us. Please help us to have hearts of obedience, to pay the price to offer the spiritual sacrifices You expect and demand, and help us to bring our offerings to You with great joy and gladness. Give us grace to obey you fully and completely, so that we do not go in the way of Cain.