The account of Cain and Abel bringing their respective offerings to God is still applicable to our present-day relationship with the Father. I hope you’ll prayerfully consider all that is presented in this study, surrender yourself completely to the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and let this be an occasion to discern if that which you are offering to God is truly acceptable to Him — “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).

Our text is found in Genesis 4:1-8. “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, ‘I have gotten a man from the Lord.’ And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: but unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, ‘Why art thou wroth?’ and ‘Why is thy countenance fallen? 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.’ And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him”. It is crucial to begin with a close look at the livelihoods of these individuals. Cain was a “tiller of the ground” while Abel was a “keeper of sheep”. This terminology is very significant because, as I’ve shared in time past, there is a deeper spiritual truth hidden in everything that has been recorded in the Bible. It is full of types and symbols that are hard, and generally impossible, for unregenerated people to see. Nevertheless, when revealed by the Holy Spirit, even babes in Christ can see such things and the anointing causes a hidden truth to come alive in their souls. Speaking of Cain, the word translated as “tiller” means “to work”. In God’s word the “ground” most always represents the heart of man, and is often used to symbolize the carnal, earthly sin nature. Some scriptural examples of this are found in Mark 4:1-20, Hebrews 6:1-8, James 3:14-15, and Ezekiel 36:24-28. Those with illumination of the Holy Spirit can also see several types and symbols in the 3rd chapter of Genesis where God pronounced His judgment upon Satan, Adam, and Eve. A brief look at a few of these verses will help unveil several types that pertain to this study. In Genesis 3:14, while speaking to Satan, God said,“. . .upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life”. The spiritual revelation of this is that Satan would have a lowly existence, as opposed to the higher heavenly life, and that his food (strength) would come from works of the fleshly sin nature (dust/ground). The devil is strengthened and glorified by the works of the worldly sin nature. Recalling the words of Jesus in John 4:34 will help you see and receive witness to what I am sharing — “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work”. You should easily see a contrast and the symbolism I am pointing you to. Satan’s nourishment (power and glory) comes from doing the will of the sin nature whereas the Son of God thrives on, and is glorified by, doing the will of the divine nature which is that of the heavenly Father. So it is with the unregenerated and regenerated man. Going on to pronounce judgment upon Adam, God said, “Because thou hast harkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, ‘Thou shall not eat of it:’ cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return”(vs. 17-19). From these verses it’s apparent that the physical ground is cursed, that man will toil to make it produce, it will tend to yield thorns and thistles, and that man will eventually die. But this also speaks about the spiritual condition of man with his fallen nature. Remember, man was made from dust, or the ground, and now it is cursed. So is the fallen nature. Carnal man toils and sweats, independent of God, to produce bread (his own works) to live by, but finds that his life tends only to yield the thorns and thistles of unrighteousness. Read Matthew 7:16-18. Eventually, both he and his works perish with no everlasting virtue — back to the dust. This spiritual reality corresponds perfectly with the words of Jesus saying, “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you: for Him hath God the Father sealed” and “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:27 & 51). One more little nugget is needful before moving on. The “works of the flesh” are not merely defined as “immoral conduct”. Man’s fallen nature is corrupted by the knowledge of good and evil(Genesis 3:1-10). This nature produces words and deeds that are good as well as those that are evil. Nevertheless, man’s good conduct is as filthy rags and morally depraved in the eyes of God because both the good and evil are generated by self-interest. This is why Jesus said, “. . . There is none good but One, that is, God” (Matthew 19:17). I will take this opportunity to remind you that God does not desire our goodness. He wants our whole being to be dead to self so that He can live through our vessels to work His righteousness (John 15:1-14). So, when you see “works of the flesh”, realize this terminology speaks also of “good” deeds that are not generated by God. I trust this short excursion has enhanced your view of Bible symbolism and will prove to increase your understanding as we continue this study.

Cain, as a “tiller of the ground”, represents an unregenerated man doing the works of his own knowledge of good and evil, attempting to satisfy himself and establish his own righteousness. Abel was a “keeper of sheep”. The word “keeper” speaks of a shepherd — one who tends to or feeds. Most are already aware that sheep in the Bible represent the people of God. As a “keeper of sheep”, Abel symbolizes a regenerated man who is not enslaved to his own desires, but rather seeks God’s interests and the well-being of his neighbor — loving God with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength and loving his neighbor as he does himself (Mark 12:29-31).

The next thing we see in this study is that Cain and Abel brought offerings to the Lord. God did not accept Cain or his offering but did accept Abel and his offering. Let’s first look at Cain’s offering — “the fruit of the ground”. You should now see clearly that this represents the works of the flesh. It was the product of Cain’s own labor in the ground that God had already cursed. According to man’s thoughts, it would seem that any offering or sacrifice would be a “good” deed which would attract God’s favor and be gladly accepted by Him. But again, God is not interested in “good” works that are generated by selfish motives. Religious, but unregenerated, people are doing the same today as Cain did then. They offer God the “good” from their knowledge of good and evil but, being derived from the cursed self nature, all their doing is nothing more than a carnal attempt to justify themselves in the eyes of the Father and satisfy their conscience. God has no regard for such folks or their offerings — “The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more when he bringeth it with a wicked mind?” (Proverbs 21:27).

Abel offered the “firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof”. This, of course, is a prophetic picture of Jesus, the lamb of God, His firstborn being sacrificed for the world. However, there is much more to be grasped here. Abel sacrificed the firstborn of hisanimals. I now need to show you some more Bible types before proceeding. In the Bible, a “beast” is often a type or representation of carnal man whose nature is described as “beastly” by our righteous God and Creator. The scriptures testify to this in Psalm 49:12 & 20, 2 Peter 2:12, Jude 10, and several other verses, one of which I’ll quote for your convenience — “I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts” (Ecclesiastes 3:18). It may interest you to know, if you don’t already, this is why God commanded the Israelites to never eat the blood of animals — “And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set My face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:10-11). Here, the scripture is speaking in regard to the physical act of consuming animal blood, but you see in the verses that the life is in the blood. The spiritual message is that God does not want his people partaking of the carnal, beastly life: it leads to death — “For the wages of sin is death . . .”(Romans 6:23). Now, we all know that a man must be born again to be saved (John 3). Our first birth, the physical one, produces a man after the likeness of Adam with the fallen, beastly nature. Our second birth, the spiritual one, produces a man after the likeness of Jesus with the divine nature. The firstborn must die in order for the second or new birth to occur. Read John 12:23-27 and Romans 6. Abel offering the firstborn of his flock represents the sacrificial death of the firstborn man who has the beastly nature. The shedding of its blood signifies the pouring out or removal of the beastly life. The lamb was innocent, revealing that sinless blood would have to be shed for atonement and putting away the beastly nature. Jesus, the lamb of God, was without sin, but He became sin for us so that, through Him, atonement and putting away of the beastly nature could become a reality in our individual lives — “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). The scripture says that Abel also offered the fat of the lamb, meaning that he did not retain any of the firstborn for himself. Jesus, as well, gave Himself wholly to the death of the cross in selfless love. This is the sacrifice that is acceptable to God, and the one each of us are called to offer. Not shedding the blood of a lamb, or our own blood physically, but a surrender to the death of our carnal, beastly nature — a willingness to die to self coupled with faith in God to regenerate us with the new, divine nature. Is this not what the Holy Spirit is speaking through the apostle Paul in Romans 12:1-2? “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Our beings prove the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God when the beastly life is put away and Jesus takes residence in our vessels through repentance and believing the gospel. Let me now remind you that Adam was told he would eat bread by the sweat of his face. The “good” works of unregenerated people come with much hardship and strain because selfless love is contrary to their nature. To the regenerated man, “God’s commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith”(1 John 5:3-4). The bread of the new man is to do the will of the Father, and it is produced without any grief because there is no longer any conflict between his nature and the will of God. Could it be that we see but little true holiness in the American church because most professing Christians are not offering the fat too? Man’s tendency is to offer God a portion of his old, beastly life, but hold fast to those portions that are most precious to self — reputation, social status, wisdom, approval of men, time, etc.

Our text ends with Cain being angry and disappointed. God responded to his anger and disappointment saying, “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” (vs. 7). The Lord told Cain that he could repent, be accepted, and have power over sin. But in the last verse of our text from Genesis 4, we see that Cain did not repent and subsequently killed his brother. God the Father and His Son Jesus continue declaring the same truth to the Cain’s of this world today. Maybe you’ve never given God a thought, or like Cain, you’ve been religious and presenting your offerings to God, but neither you nor your offerings have been acceptable because it’s all being generated by the beastly nature. In either case, a voice from heaven is saying, “You can repent, believe the gospel, and have power over sin, proving that which is truly the good and acceptable and perfect will of God”. Jesus is Lord!