SEEKING GOD'S FAVOR

"Now Abel kept flocks and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering but on Cain and his offering He did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry and his face was downcast. Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you but you must master it." Genesis 4:2b-7

After leaving Eden, Adam and Eve gave birth to creation’s first children, Cain and Abel. We don’t learn too much about their childhood but are told in the scripture that they grow up with separate vocations: "Abel kept flocks while Cain worked the soil." All seems great within this first family until the sons bring an offering before God. Scripture states, "Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock." The bottom line is Abel brought his best before the Lord while Cain did not. Thus Abel gained God’s favor while Cain didn’t.

Question: Do you bring God your best every day? Does He look down on you with favor?

Going back to the scripture and what was the first case of sibling rivalry, Cain is downcast and angry because his brother gained God’s favor over him. This draws God’s attention and He tries to counsel Cain on where he went wrong saying, "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you but you must master it." It’s through these words that we know Cain knew that he should have brought God his best but decided not to. His choice to do wrong did not gain God’s acceptance and sin was definitely crouching at Cain’s door as he soon will murder his brother. The sinfulness o Adam and Eve was being passed onto the next generation. The worst was yet to come.

Question: When facing decisions to do right and wrong, do you consider whether God will favor or disfavor you depending on what decision you make? Are you able to sense when "sin is crouching at your door?"

In Abel and Cain, we see the best and worse in human nature. In Abel, we see obedience and respect toward God and how it gains God’s favor. In Cain, we see how sin can enter in and take us to place away from God’s will for us…a place where we will find God’s disfavor. The good news is that we don’t have to repeat the failures of the past. In seeking to live properly in the present, we may want to go back to the very beginning…back to basics…where we’ll find our choices are fundamental...either right or wrong. We only need to turn to God for His guidance to always choose right over wrong. It’s the one true way that we can master sin.

In Christ,

Mark

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