Why did God reject Cain's offering?

[Flame4]

Why didn’t God accept Cain’s offering? I have often concluded that Cain’s heart was not focused on God but Abel’s was, and thats why God rejected Cain’s offereing. That or God doesn’t like fruits and vegtables, lol (Cain’s offereing.)

Is there any other interpretations?

 

[RosalynR]

I’ve heard what you have as well as Cain’s offering wasn’t from the first fruits as was Abel’s. Abel choose the best in his flock for offering to God while Cain’s offering probably was not the choicest fruit.

 

[jrose90]

I had always heard that it was unacceptable because it didn’t involve the sacrifice of an innocent. Abel’s lamb’s blood covered his sins, and fruits and veggies (healthy though they may be) cannot be considered a “sacrifice.” At least, that’s what I’d always been taught.

 

[Texas_Roofer]

The man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have produced a man with the help of the LORD.” 2 Next she bore his brother Abel. Abel became a keeper of flocks, and Cain a tiller of the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought an offering to the LORD from the fruit of the soil, 4 while Abel, for his part, brought one of the best firstlings of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not. Cain greatly resented this and was crestfallen. 6 So the LORD said to Cain: “Why are you so resentful and crestfallen? 7 2 If you do well, you can hold up your head; but if not, sin is a demon lurking at the door: his urge is toward you, yet you can be his master.” 8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out in the field.” When they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

we do not know however 2 common theories are 1) Cain sacrafice was with reluctance (see comment on mastering demons, and hold up your head) and 2) Cain did not give the best

 

[jakasaki]

Chapter 4

2
Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.

3
In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord.

4
But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering,

5
but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

6
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?

7
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”

Cain & Abel both brought sacrifices to God.

This is what God had told them to do. God wanted them to show by their actions that they were putting confidence in His Word as being true.

But there was a problem.

Though they were both bringing sacrifices, there was a disparity.

Abel brought an animal which could be sacrificed & it’s blood shed. That was good & it was what God had said to do.

But Cain brought garden produce… veggies do not shed blood.

Cain was offering a sacrifice, but is was the wrong one. He did not fulfill God’s instruction.

Cain erred in 2 ways:

First, his actions revealed that he really didn’t trust God & 2nd, Cain failed by doing things his own way and not by God’s command/instruction.

 

[Saintlucy]

I have often thought about this and it seemed that God was hard on Cain. Rosalyn’s answer opened my eyes. Cain obviously didn’t save the best of his produce to sacrifice to God whereas Abel did. It was so simple once I’d read it properly.

 

[NotWorthy]

I’m curious though, if humans at this time were vegetarians, why would Abel have a flock?

Genesis 1:29 - ***God also said: "See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food;

***Although, in retrospect, maybe Abel had a flock specifically so that he could offer up sacrifice to God.

 

[bibleguy180]

Cain & Abel both brought sacrifices to God.

This is what God had told them to do. God wanted them to show by their actions that they were putting confidence in His Word as being true.

But there was a problem.

Though they were both bringing sacrifices, there was a disparity.

Abel brought an animal which could be sacrificed & it’s blood shed. That was good & it was what God had said to do.

But Cain brought garden produce… veggies do not shed blood.

Cain was offering a sacrifice, but is was the wrong one. He did not fulfill God’s instruction.

Cain erred in 2 ways:

First, his actions revealed that he really didn’t trust God & 2nd, Cain failed by doing things his own way and not by God’s command/instruction.

Cain was a farmer, he had no livestock. I doubt this is why, it seems much more likely that it was not his best fruit.

 

[NotWorthy]

Cain was a farmer, he had no livestock. I doubt this is why, it seems much more likely that it was not his best fruit.

Why not?
**3
In the course of time Cain brought an offering to the LORD from the fruit of the soil, 4 ****** while Abel, for his part, brought one of the best firstlings of his flock.**The text seems to indicate that Abel brought one of the best, but is silent on the ranking of the sacrifice.

 

[Texas_Roofer]

Why not?
3
In the course of time Cain brought an offering to the LORD from the fruit of the soil, 4 ****** while Abel, for his part, brought one of the best firstlings of his flock.The text seems to indicate that Abel brought one of the best, but is silent on the ranking of the sacrifice.

there are several reasons but no definitive facts,

reason 1 : In the course of time - not a flattering description
reason 2 : If you do well, you can hold up your head; but if not, sin is a demon lurking at the door: - God seems to imply Cain should look at whether the offering was fitting
reason 3: if not, sin is a demon lurking at the door: his urge is toward you - this seems to be prophecy, as Cain moves further in to sin (passing jealousy and on to murder, and lying). Maybe God is offering redemption for Cain by allowing him a warning to repent and better future offerings?

 

[NotWorthy]

there are several reasons but no definitive facts,

reason 1 : In the course of time - not a flattering description
reason 2 : If you do well, you can hold up your head; but if not, sin is a demon lurking at the door: - God seems to imply Cain should look at whether the offering was fitting
reason 3: if not, sin is a demon lurking at the door: his urge is toward you - this seems to be prophecy, as Cain moves further in to sin (passing jealousy and on to murder, and lying). Maybe God is offering redemption for Cain by allowing him a warning to repent and better future offerings?

I’m not sure of Reason 1. For "in the course of time" describes Cain **and **Abel’s timing.

But reason 2 and 3 seems to be right on the money. God knew what was in Cain’s heart - which is why the offering was found wanting. And God offered Cain a chance to make amends. Cain, however, chose his own path.

 

[rcjones]

Ordinary fruits and vegetables.

In the sensus plenior, Cain and Abel together are a picture of Christ. Cain offered an ordinary sacrifice just as Jesus did with his perfect life. Ordinary? Yep. It is the same sacrifice that we are all supposed to be offering, which is why his life puts us to shame.
“If you do right, won’t you be lifted up” is a peek into what the Father said to Jesus at Gethsemane. His ordinary sacrifice, his perfect life, was insufficient to save us. He had to shed his own blood.

When Cain killed Abel, it is a shadow of Christ laying down his own life, Seth was born to replace Abel, and so represents the resurrected Christ who is fruitful and multiplying.

So God’s rejection of Cain’s offering is a shadow of Christ’s perfect life being insufficient to save us. As such the fruits and vegetables are the work of the flesh. Certainly good works coming from Jesus. But represent the fruits and vegetables we would have harvested from the garden had there been no fall.

There was no command for blood sacrifices, so the nature of Abel’s sacrifice was two fold. It was the best, reflecting his heart. And it was a picture of the promised savior.

 

[Salvatore123]

I humbly suggest that God’s displeasure had nothing to do with comparing Abel’s actual gift of a lamb versus Cain’s actual gift of things grown. If one turns to 1 John 3:10-15, the writer alludes to the fact that Cain is already a sinner before killing Abel. I think that God used the occasion to chastise Cain for his sinful living and when he saw God praise Abel, Cain’s sinful ways turned even worse by the fact that he murdered his brother.

10In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil. Whosoever is not just, is not of God, nor he that loveth not his brother. 11For this is the declaration, which you have heard from the beginning, that you should love one another. 12Not as Cain, who was of the wicked one, and killed his brother. And wherefore did he kill him? Because his own works were wicked: and his brother’s just. 13Wonder not, brethren, if the world hate you. 14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not, abideth in death. 15Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in himself.

Again, just my humble opinion . . .

 

[LilyM]

Cain was a farmer, he had no livestock. I doubt this is why, it seems much more likely that it was not his best fruit.

And there’s no indication in Genesis that God requested any sacrifice at all, let alone an animal sacrifice specifically, so I don’t think we can conclude that God rejected Cain’s offering because he didn’t offer an animal.

Cain was jealous of God’s seeming favour to Abel - which indicates that there were some underlying issue of rivalry. Perhaps Cain’s sacrifice was simply given out of a self-centred desire to supplant Abel as God’s favourite?

 

[GerardMajella]

Why didn’t God accept Cain’s offering?

“The Jewish Sages derive that Cain’s offering was from the inferior portions of the crop, while Abel chose only the finest of his flock. Therefore, Abel’s sacrifice was accepted, but not Cain’s (Ibn Ezra; Radak).” (Stone Edition of the Chumash, p. 21).

I have often concluded that Cain’s heart was not focused on God but Abel’s was, and thats why God rejected Cain’s offereing.

*"Because Abel feared God’s curse against the ground, he turned to caring for sheep and herds (Rashi). Although Man was still forbidden to eat meat (Genesis 9:3), he was allowed to use milk, butter, wool, and the skins of animals. Abel’s work consisted of shearing the sheep and milking cows (Mizrachi).

Like the Patriarchs, Moses, and David, Abel chose a profession that permitted him to spend his time in solitude and contemplation of spiritual matters (HaK’sav V’HaKabbalah). Cain, however, chose an occupation that, though essential, can lead its practitioners to worship nature and enslave others to do the hard work of the fields (R’Hirsch)."* (Stone Edition of the Chumash, p. 20).

 

[CWBetts]

Cain & Abel both brought sacrifices to God.

This is what God had told them to do. God wanted them to show by their actions that they were putting confidence in His Word as being true.

But there was a problem.

Though they were both bringing sacrifices, there was a disparity.

Abel brought an animal which could be sacrificed & it’s blood shed. That was good & it was what God had said to do.

But Cain brought garden produce… veggies do not shed blood.

Cain was offering a sacrifice, but is was the wrong one. He did not fulfill God’s instruction.

Cain erred in 2 ways:

First, his actions revealed that he really didn’t trust God & 2nd, Cain failed by doing things his own way and not by God’s command/instruction.

Not all of the Old Testament sacrifices required the shedding of blood. For example, Melchizedek offered bread and wine, cereal offerings were not animal sacrifices, and neither were peace offerings. SO this logic is flawed. Why did God reject Cain’s offering? I don’t know. But all will be revealed. If it were vitally important, it would have been revealed to us.

 

[NotWorthy]

Not all of the Old Testament sacrifices required the shedding of blood. For example, Melchizedek offered bread and wine, cereal offerings were not animal sacrifices, and neither were peace offerings. SO this logic is flawed. Why did God reject Cain’s offering? I don’t know. But all will be revealed. If it were vitally important, it would have been revealed to us.

The Todah Offering was an offering of bread in Thanksgiving. One of the prophets (Micah or Malachi?) prophesied that when the Fay of the Lord comes, there wouldn’t be any more sacrifices except for the Todah Offering.

Um… bread offering in Thanksgiving… Does that sound familiar to any good Catholics?

 

[Crumpy]

I checked with two Jewish commentaries and they both lightly deal with this problem.

One speaks of Cain’s attitude as has been described in earlier posts as being the problem.

One addresses Cain’s name, itself, as referring to the fact that Eve says this is the man that she has produced with the help of the Lord. That may figure into his lifelong mental orientation as some sort of priviliged person – pride, in other words.

We tend to rush to the comparison of Cain and Abel’s offerings, perhaps passing too quickly over the independence of God’s response to each of their offerings. As has been suggested, there may have been nothing wrong with Cain’s gift, essentially, but with Cain himself.

One commentary also mentions how there seems to be an omission from an earlier story or writing, when it says that Cain was talking to Abel, but then drifts off without telling us that part of the episode. And, other details that would have made sense to the ancient audience are now omitted, “redacted” perhaps to highlight simply the progression of evil in the world, on the one hand, and God’s mercy on the other hand – in dealing so lightly with Cain.

One author mentions the possibility that the wife that Cain eventually takes may be from a stock of people that God had created elsewhere – as it is, the Bible recording the creation of only two of perhaps many people who were independently created.

(I like the earlier allegorical interpretation of this story with respect to the life of Christ.)