Cain and Abel

This week I was studying in the Old Testament and I read again how Cain slew Abel. Cain was a "tiller of the ground" (Genesis 4:2) and so he attempted to offer the Lord a sacrifice consisting of "the fruit of the ground" (Genesis 4:3). This was in direct violation of the practice of animal sacrifice which had been instituted by God prior to this time. the Lord required a sacrifice that consisted of a lamb that was without blemish. a lamb without blemish being slain on an alter gave a powerful reminder of the sacrifice that Christ would one day make for them. by removing this symbol from the sacrifice, Cain had removed the powerful lessons of the atonement and reduced the ordinance to hollow and potentially sacrilegious ceremony. Cain, possibly, attempted to give what he grew as sacrifice as a way to adapt what the lord asked of him so that he would not have to go through the work of obtaining a proper sacrifice. after all, wasn't his fruit as good as his brother's flocks?  When Cain's sacrifice was rejected he became angry. the lord's response to Cain's anger is found in (Genesis 4:6-7)

"6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him."

The Lord was essentially saying to Cain, why are you angry? if you did what I asked, I would have accepted your sacrifice. The Lord then warned Cain that if were to not repent and he persisted in his wickedness that the adversary would gain power over him.

Instead of repenting, Cain became Jealous of his brother's Flocks and he united with the devil and slew Abel and obtained his property. Cain was then cursed and spent the rest of his life as a "a fugitive and a vagabond"

Abel died a righteous and justified man having had his sacrifice accepted of the lord. Cain died after a cursed life only to receive his just rewards. Cain's mistake, before he united with the devil and before killing his brother, was trying to remove Christ from his life to fit his circumstances and to gratify his pride. 

May we all learn from this lesson and make the sacrifices in our lives necessary to keep Christ at the center of our lives.