Why did God accept Abel's offering and reject Cain's?
Genesis 4:2-5
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the
soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock.
The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
Some people have suggested that Cain's offering was unacceptable because he offered plants while Abel offered
animals. I don't think this is the case, since God accepted grain offerings at other times
(Lev. 2) and since the laws
regarding sacrifices had not yet been given (though it is interesting to note that Abel offered fat portions as prescribed in
the Levitical law - see Lev. 3).
It's possible that Cain and Abel had received some instruction on what constituted an acceptable sacrifice from God, or
that Cain had committed other wrongs that would make his offering unacceptable to God. However, the passage does
give us some clues. It says that Abel "brought fat portions from some of the firstborn." He offered some of what came
first, as opposed to waiting until an animal had plenty of offspring (and the oldest were reproducing themselves)
and then sacrificing one of the youngest, and he offered the choicest parts. Abel was
clearly giving the best of what he had to God. Cain, on the other hand, brought "some of the fruits of the soil," which
were not necessarily the best crops - they may have been damaged and/or been what Cain considered
"extra" or "leftover." Abel's and Cain's actions were a reflection of their attitudes towards God - should God receive the
best of what they had or not? - and it was their attitudes that God was concerned with.
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