Have you ever been in a situation where you are serving your husband, child, parent, or friend and even though you really desire to be loving them this way, you find your mind wandering to thoughts about wanting to be doing something else right then, or wishing someone else would be doing the task? Do you find yourself grumbling and complaining in your heart as you are serving? Have you grudgingly put in the tithe check at church or felt the Holy Spirit prod you to give in a way you weren’t expecting or didn’t feel you could afford? You obey but your heart is feeling resentful. I have been there and I believe this is where Cain was too.

 Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. 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. And Abel also brought an offering—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. Genesis 4:1-5 (NIV).

Here we see Adam and Eve gave birth to two children. Their names were Cain and Abel. Cain was a tiller of the ground and Abel a keeper of the flocks. We are not told what is was about the offering that displeased God. However, I am intrigued by the wording here. It said, “in the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord.” This says to me bringing the offering to God was not a priority. It would say to me that he didn’t really want to do this or was doing it grudgingly. Whenever I do something I don’t want to do but I have to do, I take my time.

When it talks about Abel, it says, “Abel also brought an offering-fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock.” If he is bringing the fat portions from the firstborn it sounds like he was bringing his best. It sounds like he was bringing God an offering from the first of his flock. I see that Abel was eager to bring God his offering. It does not sound as though he waited or took his time.

As I studied deeper and searched the cross-reference scriptures, they revealed more truth.

By faith, Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith, he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. Hebrews 11:4 (NIV)

By faith, what does that mean?

I looked up the word faith in the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary on Bible Gateway. It said it meant, “to believe, trust.” It continued to expand on the definition and I really liked what it said as I read on. “It would be true to say that the OT demands faith more than it develops an explicit doctrine of faith. It looks for, and finds in its great individuals, a true commitment of self to God, an unwavering trust in His promises, and a persistent fidelity and obedience.”

We don’t know what made Abel’s offering better. Knowing God the way I do, I would highly believe He had given them clear expectations on what their offerings should look like but I will stick to what I know. I know the heart that Abel gave his offering to God with was different than the heart that Cain came with.