Why was Cain's offering rejected?

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anhphan

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I think there were 3 mains reasons:
  • Cain’s attitude
  • The feud between nomads and farmers
  • God’s choice
    What do you think about the rejection of God?
 
It was my understanding his offering was rejected because it wasn’t very good. He didn’t give God his best stuff as an offering. He gave God some substandard product. So God rejected it.
 
God looks at the intention of the heart, and where Abel gave in love, Cain gave begrudgingly.

The NT equivalent of this story from the OT is the parable of the woman who gave a pittance of money to the temple when she had nothing, and it was valued by God, whereas the offerings of the Pharisees who gave in abundance was not.
 
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I think there’s also the idea that in the future, animal sacrifices would be used in the various offerings. We read later in in Leviticus 17:11 that it is the blood that makes atonement. Abel offered from the flock and Cain brought from the field.

Also the scripture says that God looked upon Cain and his offering. So it seems there was something not quite right with Cain’s heart and intentions before the Lord.
 
Autumn-Smoke said:
I think there’s also the idea that in the future, animal sacrifices would be used in the various offerings. We read later in in Leviticus 17:11 that it is the blood that makes atonement. Abel offered from the flock and Cain brought from the field.
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Not quite. There were a lot of agricultural offerings (cereal offerings, wine offerings, etc) also prescribed in the law. Moreover, as shown in Leviticus there were offerings for other reasons than atonement for sin.
It’s my understanding that the offering of items produced by man like cereal and wine were supposed to represent offering man’s work to God, because these products didn’t just occur on their own but had to be produced.
 
It is clearly said that Abel was a shepherd and Cain a farmer.So it is natural that Cain offered fruits and Abel a sheep.So Cain can’t be faulted. But God was angry.
Who knows God’s ways and intentions?Who are we to ask?We are nothing before God.It is futile to seek reasons for his actions nor he need our justifications.
So the question is practically irrelevant.
 
Yes, there were many different offerings. There was a First Fruit Offering in which the first produce of the field was given as an offering. I think this happened 4 times a year.

There was also something called a “Grain Offering” which was non-obligatory. This offering was mixed with oil and Frankincense.

An extremely poor person was allowed to bring mere flour as a sin offering. The priest took a hand full of the flour and burnt it on the altar where it mingled with the blood which was already upon the altar, and so atonement was made in that fashion.

Abel’s offering would prefigure Christ’s future offering by the shedding of blood, whereas Cain’s would not.

(The law of the offering had not been given as of yet in Genesis)
 
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1 Jn 3
In this way, the children of God and the children of the devil are made plain; no one who fails to act in righteousness belongs to God, nor anyone who does not love his brother.

11For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another, 12unlike Cain who belonged to the evil one and slaughtered his brother. Why did he slaughter him? Because his own works were evil, and those of his brother righteous.
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Heb 11
By faith Abel offered to God a sacrifice greater than Cain’s. Through this he was attested to be righteous, God bearing witness to his gifts, and through this, though dead, he still speaks.
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Cain’s offering, if done correctly, would have prefigured the Eucharist when Christ returns to us in the form of bread (cereal offering basically) and wine, both man-made agricultural products.
 
That’s a good thought. And not one I’d read before. I’ve read various different commentaries which would echo what I’ve said. But I like yours also.
 
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anhphan said:
What do you think about the rejection of God?
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Why was Cain’s sacrifice rejected but his brother Abel’s sacrifice accepted? I think it was more than just Cain’s attitude. I think, his sacrifice was rejected because, as mentioned in 1Lord1Faith’s post, quoting 1 Jn 3:12, “his works were evil, and those of his brother [Abel] righteous.” Murdering his brother Abel was just one more of Cain’s evil works.
 
The grain offering and libation were a mandatory part of the holocaust offering once the Israelites entered the Promised Land. Holocausts were to be offered twice a day, with extra holocausts on Sabbaths, New Moons, and Festivals, each with its appropriate grain offering and libation.
 
Jewish tradition holds that Cain was greedy, and Genesis suggests he imagined himself to be the Messiah. It could very well be that he didn’t think it necessary to bring a sin offering because he thought himself the Promised One.
 
Yes, that is true. There was also a separate non-mandatory grain offering that could be made. That would be the one I was referring to because Cain brought the offering as a separate offering. We don’t know if it was a grain offering or other produce from the field that he brought, but as the Law of the Offering hadn’t been given at this time, I don’t think we can necessarily look at every single detail of the Levitical offerings to make a comparison with Cain and Abel.
 
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