What does the account of Cain and Abel teach us about the only acceptable sin offering?

What does the account of Cain and Abel teach us about the only acceptable sin offering?

Gen 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

Shortly after Adam fell into sin, we read the above verse that tells us that the Lord God slew some sort of animal and clothed them with its hide. The covering of Adam and Eve alludes to God covering their sins, and the sacrifice of an animal alludes to the fact that the life (or lifeblood) of another was the price required for that covering.

Adam, no doubt would have passed this knowledge on to his sons. So, when the time came for both Cain and Abel to offer up a sacrifice, it was Abel’s sacrifice that pleased the Lord.

Lesson #1: Without blood there is no forgiveness.

There is purpose and meaning to God’s instructions. Every word that is uttered by God will in some way bring context and glory to His Son, Jesus Christ. Ultimately, the Word of God is the Son of God. Thus, the instructions that the Lord God provided Adam were for the purpose of proclaiming to all humanity of the future sacrifice of Christ for ultimate salvation. The sap from the fruits of Cain’s harvest had no proclamation of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice and was disdainfully rejected. On the other hand, Abel’s offering of a sacrificed lamb was a perfect revelation of the sacrifice of Christ, and it pleased God to receive this offering in respect of His Son, Heb 9:22.

Lesson #2: Our works can never trump God’s word.

It made no difference if Cain worked harder than Abel on his offering. To till the ground and harvest the fruits of his labour would have been more painstaking than for Abel to simply take one of the lambs of his flock and kill it, yet Cain’s sacrifice was rejected, and Abels accepted, because Abel respected the word of God, while Cain operated in his own wisdom and according to his own glory and efforts, which was meaningless in the foresight and purpose of God.

The moral of this event is a lesson for the whole human race and for the individual.

All of humanity should understand that their own sacrifices, their own works and efforts, no matter how virtuous or well-intended, mean absolutely nothing in comparison to the perfect blood of the perfect lamb of God. The sap of the fruits of our labour cannot hold a candle over the blood of Jesus Christ. If we want to be forgiven of our sins, we must forgo our own works and offerings as we cannot offer anything less than our faith in the blood of His Son.

As for us as individuals, we cannot think that we can please God by our own efforts and offerings. There is no glory in who we are. There is no glory in what we can offer God. It was God’s purpose and design to glorify His Son. His Son is the heir of creation, and all that God does and says in His word is to magnify Christ and honour His name. The moment we place ourselves between God’s word and Christ is the moment we fail in our attempts to please Him and align to His will and ways. Get yourself aligned to His word, get yourself in Christ, and you will experience God’s acceptance of your offering.