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Contributed by Phil Spadaro
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Monday, 15 September 2008 |
 Genesis 4 retells the account of Cain and Able. Able offers the best of
his livestock to God. Cain offers produce from the land. God is pleased
with Able's offering by not Cain's. Although the text seemsto indicate
a more sacrificial gift from Able (“fat portions”, “firstborn of
flock”) than Cain (“some of”), there is no explanation as to why God
favors one gift over another.
Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
How challenged are we that God rates our offerings? Notice the comparison of two sacrifices by the Lord. Yahweh is not obligated to accept whatever we present, He can judge our intent and faith and therefore the offering itself. As an offering, it can be refused.
The question comes to mind; why was Able's sacrifice better? Was it more expensive? Was it more of a sacrifice? No. These judgments are based on man's values. It is “By faith Able offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did.” The next question is; what is a faithful sacrifice?
To answer the above question, we must look at the context of the passage. Hebrews 11:1 reads, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” We invest in many things believing they will produce a return or come to fruition. Stocks, real estate, education, retirement, etc... are often found in people's budgets and portfolios. People put money into these items because they believe there will be a payoff. We invest in what what we believe in. Able's sacrifice was better because he invested in his relationship with God with “fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock” (Genesis 4:4). It was not faithful because it was more sacrificial per se, it was faithful because Able was willing to invest and Cain was not.
What of our faithful offerings? God tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:7 that He has taken on the responsibility of making the kingdom grow. He also tells us that we must plant and water. Planting and watering require resources. Do we believe in the mission of seeking and saving the lost enough to invest in it? Do we believe it will produce a return (of saved souls)? Do we believe in something as yet unseen? Where our money goes is what we believe in and where we have placed our faith.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 15 September 2008 )
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