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The Offerings of Cain and Abel
v. 1. And Adam knew Eve, his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. In the order of natural procreation, according to the blessing which the Lord had pronounced upon the man and his wife, Eve gave birth to a son, whom she named Cain (possession). The reason for giving her first-born son this name is shown in her joyful exclamation: I have gotten a man, Jehovah (which is the exact translation). The first Messianic prophecy had been given, and faith in this prophecy lived in the heart of Eve. Although she therefore made a mistake in the person when she believed this son of hers to be the promised Messiah, she showed that her desire was directed toward the man, toward the Seed of the woman, who was to crush the head of the serpent. July, Adam and Eve were the first sinners, but also the first believers, the beginning of the Church of God on earth. We walk in the footsteps of Eve's faith.
v. 2. And she again bare his brother Abel. This was her second child, her second son, whose name Abel (vanity) indicates that she was feeling the vanity of this earthly life and hoped all the more eagerly for salvation. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. Thus the two brothers continued in the calling of their father, the younger son devoting himself to the keeping of the smaller domestic animals and the older to the tilling of the soil.
v. 3. And in process of time, at the end of many days, at the expiration of a long period, it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. This shows the manner in which the earliest worship of the Lord took place. Both Cain and Abel, having been instructed by Adam in the knowledge of the Lord, brought offerings, or sacrifices, Cain choosing some of the fruits of the field as his gift.
v. 4. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. In the very mention of the gift there is an indication of the difference in the attitude of the hearts; for whereas it is said of Cain only in general that he brought of the fruit of the soil, it is stated concerning Abel that he brought of the first-born of his flock, such as were in the best of condition, rich in fat. The gifts thus expressed the difference between Abel's free and joyful faith and Cain's legal, reluctant state of heart, Heb_11:4; 1Jn_3:12. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering;
v. 5. a. but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. The Lord searches the reins and the heart. He noted the humble faith of Abel, whose one thought was to give the Lord a proof of the sincere gratitude for all the goodness and mercy which had been vouchsafed him. But God saw also the hypocrisy of Cain's heart, the fact that he was not interested in the worship which his hands were performing. He therefore indicated His pleasure in the one case and His displeasure in the other, either by some outward sign visible in the smoke of the offering, or by a subsequent rich blessing in the case of Abel, or through the mouth of Adam, as the priest of the family congregation. It is not the outward size of our gifts and offerings which makes them acceptable in the sight of the Lord, but the attitude of our hearts and minds toward God. He wants pure love flowing out of sound faith.