The first thing we notice is that both brothers were religious; they both believed in God, and they both brought sacrificial offerings unto the LORD, seeking His acceptance and approval. Cain was the first to do so, which would indicate that he was the most zealous.

Cain's chosen occupation was that of a farmer, being a "tiller of the ground," and so we can imagine that he brought a very beautiful offering of fruits and vegetables, the result of his own diligent farming efforts. He must have been quite proud of it, anxiously expecting God's acceptance and commendation as a reward for his hard work. And it might also be that in bringing such an offering, he thought he was doing well by acknowledging God as the Giver and Sustainer of life.

Abel, on the other hand, was "a keeper of the sheep," and his offering to God consisted of a slain lamb, involving the shedding of blood, with "the fat thereof." No further details are given, but it seems to be strongly implied that though Cain brought his offering to the LORD first, Abel brought his soon thereafter, and to the same place. At this point, one thing we should keep in mind is that although Cain was a farmer, a sacrificial lamb was also easily available to him, if he had wished to offer it.

God's response to these two brothers and their offerings is found in verses 4-5, "And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: but unto Cain and his offering He had not respect." We are not told in the record exactly how God expressed His approval or acceptance of Abel's bloody sacrifice, but if we may judge by other Bible references, we may confidently assume that He expressed His approval visibly by powerfully consuming the slain lamb with fire directly from Heaven (Leviticus 9:24; 1 Kings 18:38; 1 Chronicles 21:26; 2 Chronicles 7:1).

Why did God reject Cain's offering? The answer is not hard to find. Picture the scene of what has just happened. God has just consumed Abel's slain lamb with fire from Heaven, while leaving Cain's offering untouched. Cain became very angry because God acknowledged Abel's sacrifice, and ignored his own. And we may be sure that his anger was directed primarily toward God. In verse 7, God plainly tells Cain, "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?" God is obviously telling Cain, "If you will bring the right sacrifice [in faith, and in the right spirit], you and your sacrifice will be accepted." God is merciful, longsuffering, and compassionate; therefore, the door is still open for Cain to be accepted.

The first lesson to be learned in this story is that Cain's offering was rejected because he brought "of the fruit of the ground," the result of his own labors, instead of the sacrificial lamb, a gift from God. Cain's offering did not involve the death of an innocent substitutionary victim, and neither was there any shedding of blood. Rather, it indicated a flat denial of the fact of the Fall in the Garden of Eden, the reality of sin, and the need for substitutionary blood atonement. Therefore, God rejected Cain's sincere, earnest religion of works (Titus 3:4-7; Hebrews 9:22). Rather than humbly confessing his error, admitting that he was a sinner before God, and in repentance bringing the right sacrifice, Cain was infuriated, his proud, self-righteous spirit manifesting itself. He was angry at the thought that he could not approach and worship God -- and be accepted by Him -- on the basis of his own accomplishments. He was furious that all his diligent labor in the field and the beautiful offering which he had brought should count for nothing in God's sight. He could not strike out at God, therefore he struck out at God's image in Abel, committing the first murder. 1 John 3:12 tells us the real reason he killed Abel: "because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous." Obviously, this reference to the evil works of Cain is a reference to the offering which he brought, his unwillingness to repent, and his unwillingness to bring an offering to God that He would accept.

Why was Abel's offering accepted? Simply because in bringing the sacrificial lamb, shedding its blood by putting it to death on the altar, he was humbly confessing himself to be a guilty sinner, and acknowledging the fact that a guilty sinner can only approach God and be accepted by Him by means of a substitutionary atonement, the shedding of the blood of an innocent substitutionary victim. Hebrews 9:4 tells us that he offered it "in faith," and that he "offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain." Since "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17), we can be assured that both brothers had heard from their parents the promise of the "Seed of the woman," and the story of the coats of skins, and the truths that God taught them in this gracious provision. It is evident also that he offered it with a repentant heart. God accepted this bleeding sacrificial lamb by virtue of the fact that it represented and was a type of Christ crucified, the substitutionary blood atonement of "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29; Isaiah 53:7).

My friend, isn't this a most beautiful picture of blood redemption in the Lord Jesus Christ, set forth so clearly on the very threshold of God's revelation in the Old Testament!

4. "Your Father Abraham Rejoiced to See My Day"

As the Son of God lived and walked among the sons and daughters of men, he often confronted them with the truth of their awful ruin, and their spiritually bankrupt condition before God. Such an occasion is recorded in John 8:31-59, when He was teaching in the temple.