Genesis Chapter 4

Of Cain.
Much discussion is often made of the offerings of Cain and Abel and of God’s rejection and acceptance, respectively, of those offerings. I have heard numerous sermons and Bible studies on the matter, and have even delivered a sermon concerning it. Now, I really have no business delivering sermons, nonetheless, it happened. The point of me mentioning that is that this means I have mulled over this text for a great length in the past. I still feel that what I had learned is important – not important intellectually, but important for the heart. Thus, I will give a bit of summary. For those interested only in the new things I noticed, skip ahead to the next header.
If we give freely to God something of our own, will God always accept it? I think the initial inclination of the heart is a “yes,” but further reflection reveals that the answer is negative. This might seem subversive to our notions of the fairness of God, however, we are only in chapter 4 of the Bible, so our notions should not be so developed. So far we have seen that God has done two things towards man – blessed them, before man could do anything at all, and cursed them, as a consequence of their actions. (Keep in mind, even before cursing them, He promised a solution to the coming curse.)
So here we see that Cain and Abel bring offerings to God. Why they felt such compulsion is up for debate. The best answer I have heard is that God’s sacrifice in order to clothe Adam and Eve served as a prototype. But Cain and Abel felt like, for some reason or other, worshipping God. God accepted one act, and rejected the other.
Why was Cain’s offering rejected? First, it was not a trust-worthy, heart-filled offering. Notice the care the writer of Genesis took to note that Abel brought portions from the firstborn, or best, of his flock. Notice that in reference to Cain’s offering, it only says “some of the fruits” and not first-fruits of the field. This suggests that Cain did not trust God to provide satisfactory nourishment if he gave away the best, and that Cain did not love God enough to give away the best.
Second, it was worshipping God according to Cain, and not according to God. If indeed God’s sacrifice was the prototype for offering to God, then Cain decided to ignore God’s procedure for worshipping Him, and instead follow his own self-made concoction of worship.
Thus, Cain’s offering failed in both heart and form; spirit and truth. In not worshipping fully, Cain opened the way for sin to come in.
Is it not amazing that God is so concerned with proper worship, that He places it as the first human story after the fall. (Here’s a thought – a similar thing happens with Ananias and Sapphira shortly after Pentecost.)

More Curses
The God of blessing reveals more curses that consume man as consequence to sin. “Now you are under a curse” God declares to Cain. And yet, God remains merciful. God places a mark on Cain so that Cain will not be murdered.
We have seen God bless man, before man did anything at all. We have seen God curse man as a result of disobedience, all the while providing a way out from under the curse. Now we see God revealing a curse to Cain, while providing a way for Cain to live and survive while under the curse.
From all first appearances, God is not afraid to curse where it is warranted, but it is God’s desire to bless.

The Introduction of Sin
If Chapter 2 revealed the first thing that was not good (man being alone), Chapter 4 reveals sin for the first time. Interestingly enough, God gives sin hunter characteristics : it crouches, and it desires. God also says that man must master it (as man was supposed to master the animals and plants and the whole earth).