More Than Medicine
More Than Medicine
DWDP Genesis 4:3-5 - Why God Rejected Cain's Offering
What happens when pride leads us to reject God's standards? In this illuminating episode of Devotions with Dr. Papa, we dive deep into the biblical account of history's first siblings and humanity's first murder. Drawing from Genesis 4:2-5, Dr. Jackson expertly unravels the profound spiritual lessons hidden within this ancient story that remain startlingly relevant today.
Why did God accept Abel's offering but reject Cain's? The answer transcends their occupations as shepherd and farmer. Abel, described as both "righteous" and a "prophet" by Jesus himself, offered his sacrifice in faith and obedience. Meanwhile, Cain—whom Scripture identifies as "of the wicked one"—rebelliously presented what he wanted to give rather than what God required. This fundamental difference reveals the true condition of their hearts and foreshadows the tragic consequences that would follow.
Dr. Papa masterfully connects this ancient narrative to our modern spiritual struggles, highlighting how pride—thinking our way is better than God's way—lies at the root of all sin. Through a compelling personal story about confronting a friend caught in infidelity, he demonstrates the stark contrast between responding to truth with humble repentance versus Cain's path of anger and resentment. The lesson becomes crystal clear: "A wise man receives the rebuke of a friend, but a foolish man, a proud man like Cain, does not."
This episode reminds us that our hope must be built on "nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness" and that God rejects our man-made substitutes for salvation just as He rejected Cain's offering. Whether you're struggling with pride, facing difficult truth in your life, or simply seeking deeper biblical understanding, this powerful teaching offers timeless wisdom for your spiritual journey. Listen now and discover what it truly means to approach God on His terms, not our own.
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Welcome to More Than Medicine, where Jesus is more than enough for the ills that plague our culture and our country. Hosted by author and physician, Dr Robert Jackson.
Speaker 2:Papa, can you tell me a story?
Speaker 1:Do you really want me to tell you a story? Well, you go, get your brother and your sisters and I will tell you a story. Well, you go, get your brother and your sisters and I will tell you a story. Welcome to Devotions with Dr Papa. Gather around, grab your Bibles and let's look into the written Word, which reveals to us the living Word, which is our Lord Jesus Christ. Well, today we're in Genesis, chapter 4, and we're going to read verses 2 through 5.
Speaker 1:Again, she gave birth to his brother, abel, and Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part, also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering, but for Cain and for his offering he had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. Well, abel's name means vapor. Already, eve was observing the consequences of sin in the world around her, resulting in the death of plants and animals. Naming him Vapor was prophetic, although she did not know it at that time. The Bible tells us that Abel kept flocks. Cain was a farmer. Both of these are honorable professions. One of my uncles was a farmer and he used to say to me he who tills the sod, he worships God. Although both had honorable professions, one of them was not an honorable man.
Speaker 1:From the Apostle John in 1 John, chapter 3 and verse 12, we learn that Cain was of the wicked one and was thus the first in a long line of the serpent's seed. Abel, the younger brother, on the other hand, was of the household of faith. He is the first one mentioned in the long line of men of faith in Hebrews 11, verse 4. Let's see what the Bible says about Abel in Hebrews 11. By faith, abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, god testifying about his gifts, and through faith. Though he is dead, he still speaks. So you see that the fact that he offered a sacrifice from his flocks that was in compliance with God's command, in obedience to God's command, it was credited to him as righteousness, credited to him by his faith as righteousness. More than that, and of great interest to you and me, is that Jesus, in Matthew, called Abel righteous and he calls him a prophet.
Speaker 1:By definition, a prophet is a truth teller. Now, be honest, it's hard to live with a compulsive truth teller. Can some of you out there say amen? I heard that it's hard to live with a compulsive truth teller. Truth-teller especially if the Word of God burns like a fire in their belly. Like the prophets of old, a compulsive truth-teller cannot let sin slide. They will call it out or die. They will tell you the truth of the gospel or die. They have a bad case of the can't help it. They can't help themselves. When they see sin, they're going to call it out. When they have an opportunity to share the gospel, they're going to do it.
Speaker 1:Now, abel was both a righteous man and a prophet. When you are a sinner, you can respond to a righteous, compulsive truth-teller in one of two ways you can embrace the truth and love the truth-teller, or you can reject the truth and hate that prophet, which is what Cain did because he was of the wicked one. The Jews rejected multiple Old Testament prophets who spoke truth to them, such as Jeremiah, who they tried to kill, and Zechariah, whom they did in fact kill. Jezebel and Ahab hunted Elijah like a dog in order to kill him. Why? Because he was both righteous and a truth-teller. He spoke for God. If there's a truth teller in your life, may I encourage you to be humble. Humble your heart and say you know you're right. Then turn to God and confess your sin and ask Holy Spirit to set you free, because the scripture says it was for freedom that Christ hath set you free.
Speaker 1:Now let's go back to verses 3, 4, and 5 in Genesis, all the way back to chapter 4. It came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part, also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering. But for Cain and for his offering he had no regard. And what happened? So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. Cain provided food for the family, abel provided clothing, clothing and lambs for sacrifice.
Speaker 1:Adam and Eve no doubt passed down the hard lesson that they had learned Atonement, or covering of sin required a blood sacrifice. Why? The life is in the blood and penalty for sin is death. The soul that sins shall surely die. Exodus 34, 7 explains that more fully. You've heard me say before that some folks just have the devil in them and, as the Apostle John says, the truth is not in them. As it turns out, this was true of Cain. How can two sons raised in the same house turn out so differently?
Speaker 1:Differently, abel was called righteous and a prophet, cain was of the wicked one. We ask that same question often, don't we? Well, you understand, children make their own choices, and Cain made his own choice. He knew that God required a blood sacrifice. He knew that God required a blood sacrifice to cover sin and in order to commune with him. Nevertheless, he rebelled against that notion, possibly against the admonition of his righteous, truth-telling brother, and he brought produce from his garden rather than a lamb, knowing full well it would not be accepted by God. He was a rebel at heart, intent on doing things his own way, intent on spiting righteous Abel and defying God. With a prideful heart, he offered his fruit and vegetables rather than the lamb prescribed by God. Perhaps he resented having to trade his produce for a lamb from the prophet's flock, who knows? But at any rate, his heart was not right with God. Nor was his gift offered in faith, as was his brother's lamb. Therefore, god rejected his gift.
Speaker 1:Now read Hebrews 11, 4 again and you'll understand it. By faith, abel offered to God a better sacrifice than than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous. God testifying about his gifts and through faith. Though he is dead, he still speaks, isn't that true? Abel still testifies that by faith, he chose to obey God and was therefore declared righteous. Cain still speaks, too, and testifies that he rebelled against God, choosing to offer a gift that God rejected.
Speaker 1:God rejected Cain's man-made substitute, just like God rejects our man-made self-righteousness. That's why it's so important for us to comprehend that nothing can erase a single sin except the blood of the Lamb. Your and my hope, our hope, is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name, on Christ, the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand.
Speaker 1:Well, cain's proud countenance fell that day and became angry. This rejection revealed what was really in his heart all along. He became angry at God, but his truth-telling brother, who had no doubt discerned this pride issue in his brother's heart and had warned him about it all along, even before this time received the brunt of his anger. Now let me ask you, what's the root of all sin? You know the answer to that it's pride, thinking that my way is better than God's way. And Cain's pride could not allow him to accept his righteous, truth-telling brother's rebuke. So he finally had all he could stand and he refused to purchase a lamb with his produce. And he, with a prideful heart, presented his produce instead of a lamb. His pride got the better of him. Now let me share a story from the country doctor's rusty, dusty scrapbook.
Speaker 1:Probably 25 years ago I had a meeting with a business associate and he called me on his cell phone to tell me that he would be a little bit late. And he obviously had me on a three-way call and he thought he had hung up from me. And the phone actually did not hang up. And I was looking at my phone, my cell phone, and I realized the call had not hung up. And he switched to the other person on the three-way call and it was a woman, not his wife. And I heard him say to this woman that he was arranging a rendezvous with her and I was horrified to hear him make very careful arrangements with her for this rendezvous. And then he hung up and less than 10 minutes later he arrived at our meeting place.
Speaker 1:Now, during that 10 minutes, I had to make a decision. This man was a friend of mine. He was a Christian brother. I knew his wife. Was I going to just let it slide or was I going to say something about it? Well, I did some fast praying. He shows up for the business meeting and before we even started I looked at him and I said, brother, I have to confess I was on your three-way phone call and I heard everything you had to say to that other woman.
Speaker 1:Now, my friend could have done one of two things he could have bowed up in anger and stormed out of the meeting like Cain, or he could have humbled himself and asked me what to do, which is exactly what he did. He put his face in his hands with embarrassment, he actually put his face on the table. He was so mortified and without even looking at me, he was so embarrassed. He said, brother, I'm so sorry, you heard that and I'm so embarrassed. And without even looking up, he said what should I do? And I said, brother, you already know what you need to do. I said you need to break it off with this other woman and I said you need to confess to God and you need to go home and make it right with your wife and you need to do it all today before the sun goes down. And then you need to call me back and let me know that you've done all of those three things. And we never even finished our business meeting. He just got up from the table, he got in his car and he left and before supper time was over that night he had called me back and he had done all those three things.
Speaker 1:And that was over 25 years ago and he's still happily married, he's still active in his church and he's still my very good friend. And I want you to understand that a wise man receives the rebuke of a friend, but a foolish man, a proud man like Cain, does not. And next week's lesson we're going to see the consequences of a foolish and angry man, a proud man like Cain. We're going to see the consequences in his life of being angry and being proud and not being willing to receive the rebuke of a righteous man. You're listening to Devotions with Dr Papa. If you like what you hear, I pray that you would like it. Follow it, share it, download it, tell your friends about it. We'll be back again next week, and until then, may the Lord bless you real good.
Speaker 2:Thank you for listening to this edition of More Than Medicine. For more information about the Jackson Family Ministry or to schedule a speaking engagement, go to their Facebook page, instagram or webpage at jacksonfamilyministrycom. Also, don't forget to check out Dr Jackson's books that are available on Amazon His third book Turkey Tales and Bible Truths, and his father's biography on Laughter Silvered Wings the story of a country doctor, a family man, a patriot and a political activist. This podcast is produced by Bob Sloan Audio Productions.
