What Was Wrong with Cain’s Offering?

This question comes from Genesis 4:3-7, where Cain, the firstborn of Eve and Adam, takes an offering of his crops to the Lord, and Abel takes a firstborn lamb. God accepted Abel’s offering, but not Cain’s. In the course of the story, Cain becomes angry and is apparently saddened, but God offers no explanation of why the offering wasn’t accepted. Instead, God says to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted?” (Genesis 4:6-7). In the end, Cain’s anger and jealousy get the best of him, and he murders his brother Abel.

So, why was Cain’s offering not acceptable?

We turn to both the Old and the New Testaments to find our answer. Cain and his deed are mentioned three other times in the Bible, outside of the Genesis story. The writer of Hebrews attributes Cain’s lack of faith as the reason for God’s rejection of the offering (11.4).

John attributes Cain’s acts as a result of his evil disposition (1 John 3.12).

Finally, Jude implies the offering was rejected because Cain’s motivation was greed (1.11).

The complete answer is alluded to in the Genesis passage. In Genesis 4:3-4, we read, “In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel, for his part, brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions.” Here, Abel brings an offering of what would later be called “first fruits,” while Cain brings a simple “offering of the fruit of the ground.” It is implied here that Abel obeyed the yet non-existent law, while Cain did not.

The laws of giving a first fruit offering are outlined in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The essence of the law is that the first fruits of any harvest, whether it be grain, fruit, or animal, are to be offered to God and brought to the priests (Deuteronomy 18.4).

The law is clear that the first fruits are just that, the very first born, first harvested, etc. They are considered the best of the best (Numbers 18:8-14).

Apparently, Abel brought this sort of offering, since he brought the “firstlings of his flock”; however, Cain did not. This is likely what made Cain’s offering unacceptable he brought God the “left-overs” instead of the first and the best.

But wait, how was Cain to know what God required, since Moses hadn’t been born and there was no law yet?

Two answers. One: God deserves the best period. Cain should have known that, as should we all.

But there’s a second answer that takes into account the history of our scriptures. First, we need to recall that the majority of the books of the Old Testament weren’t put into writing until the Babylonian exile, some 400 years before Christ. During that time, the institution and the study of the Torah, the law, had become important, and many of our biblical stories were written to illustrate the importance and/or the origins of individual laws. These stories are called etiologies. It is likely the Cain and Abel story is an etiology illustrating the consequences of not giving God the required first-fruits offering. And though the laws of the Torah were not available to Cain, for the sake of the illustration, this point was irrelevant.

Perhaps Cain’s offering wasn’t accepted because he had a lack of faith (Hebrews 11.4), for certainly his “faith” wasn’t in full practice with his disregard for giving God the best. Perhaps his offering wasn’t accepted because he was filled with greed (Jude 1.11) or because he had evil intentions (1 John 3.12).

Whatever his motivations, the story of God’s rejection of Cain’s offering is probably written because the writer wanted to show the consequences for disregarding the laws of God, especially the law of offering to God what belongs to God (Matthew 22.21).

The Ultimate Answer

We don’t absolutely know that God required a blood sacrifice of Cain.

Can we even be clear that either Cain or Abel knew exactly what would be pleasing to God as a sacrifice ahead of time? Even with all this circumstantial evidence, we don’t absolutely know that God required a blood sacrifice of Cain. We can’t say for certain that the quality of Cain’s offering was inferior. And we can’t prove Cain’s heart was in the wrong during the sacrifice itself. Although the scriptural account does seem to point to each of these reasons, we can’t be emphatic about any of them. So, what’s the ultimate answer to God preferring Abel’s offering?

We must come to grips with one thing: God, as Creator, is sovereign over His creation. While there are proximate reasons for God’s decrees, what ultimately makes “right” right and “wrong” wrong? God’s sovereign choice. This does not mean God is unpredictable, or arbitrary; God is always reasonable because He is the creator of reason. If God’s actions seem to conflict with or transcend man’s sense of “reason,” that doesn’t mean God is wrong; it means His thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8).

He respects one offering and rejects another, ultimately, for His own reasons and pleasure—and isn’t that the Creator’s prerogative? Again, this isn’t to say He is arbitrary; His Word gives us all the knowledge of Him and the reasoning we need to understand and obey.

And since the Bible doesn’t tell us exactly what was required of Cain and Abel (like we see clearly expressed in the Levitical laws), we can’t know for sure which of the reasons explain why God respected Abel’s offering and not Cain’s, or if this was just God’s way of informing them of what was acceptable. But, ultimately, does it matter? As Abraham rhetorically asks in Genesis 18:25, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

And as God rhetorically asks Job, “Would you indeed annul My judgment? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified?” (Job 40:8).

Our duty is to make sure that our actions are right and that our hearts are in the right place. In the case of offerings, that includes humbly giving from the first fruits (does God deserve any less?) of our labor with a cheerful heart, understanding that such works themselves do not save us, and gladly accepting instruction, correction, and even rebuke from the hand of the Almighty. The lesson of Cain is that sin and rebellion run through our attitudes and our actions, and that the two ultimately cannot be divorced.

Finally, remember to start with Scripture when interpreting Scripture. That’s always the right answer!

In Christ,

Leviticus 2:14 “If you offer a grain offering of firstfruits to the Lord, you shall offer for the grain offering of your firstfruits fresh fears, roasted with fire, crushed new grain.

Deut 18:1-5 1 The priests the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and his inheritance.

2 Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brethren: the LORD is their inheritance, as he hath said unto them.

3 And this shall be the priest’s due from the people, from them that offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep; and they shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw.

4 The firstfruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him.

5 For the LORD thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons for ever. KJV

OT:4503 minchah (min-khaw’); from an unused root meaning to apportion, i.e. bestow; a donation; euphemistically, tribute; specifically a sacrificial offering (usually bloodless and voluntary):

KJV – gift, oblation, (meat) offering, present, sacrifice.

First time used

Gen 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. KJV

OT:2077 zebach (zeh’-bakh); from OT:2076; properly, a slaughter, i.e. the flesh of an animal; by implication, a sacrifice (the victim or the act):

KJV – offer (-ing), sacrifice.

First time used

Gen 31:54 Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount. KJV

OT:5930 `olah (o-law’); or `owlah (o-law’); feminine active participle of OT:5927; a step or (collectively, stairs, as ascending); usually a holocaust (as going up in smoke):

KJV – ascent, burnt offering (sacrifice), go up to. See also OT:5766.

First time

Gen 8:20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. KJV

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