Why We Need to Take This Reconciliation Stuff so Seriously
Here's what came to me as I was driving today.
Genesis 4 tells us about the story of Cain and Abel. Now I've heard many theories as to why God favoured Abel's offering over Cain's, the most common being that Abel gave God "the firstborn", meaning first fruits, while Cain gave God simple "fruit from the ground". I've also heard it said that Abel's offering involved a blood sacrifice, while Cain's did not. However, nothing in the telling of the story supports those reasons. For one thing, one would have to assume that there was already a written code or law concerning blood and other sacrifices, and in fact, there was nothing encoded in the law about sacrifices until Moses. But I digress.
What is interesting in the story of Cain and Abel is that we often read it as an event that transpired very quickly ie: two brothers come and sacrifice, one is rejected, gets mad, gets jealous and murders his brother, end of story. However, something jumped out at me recently and that is "Now Abel was a keeper of the sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time, Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock.....
Whatever had been going on between Cain and Abel was happening over the course of time. Sibling rivalry? Competition? Dislike? Unforgiveness? Whatever it was, the result was anger in Cain's heart, and it was that anger that tainted Cain's sacrifice.
It's important to realize that sacrificing in those days did not make you right with God. Being right with God was the reason for sacrifice. It was an act of worship, not an act of cleansing or getting right. So, I believe that when Cain brought his sacrifice, it was not true worship, because he had something in his heart that offended God, and that was anger in his heart towards his brother.
God Himself gives the best reason as to why He has regard for Abel's sacrifice and not Cain's, and it has little or nothing to do with the type of sacrifice itself, but rather, the heart condition of the person offering it. God asked Cain, after He rejected his sacrifice, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. It's desire is for you, but you must rule over it" .
Now, lets check out what Jesus had to say about the subject. "You have heard that it is said to those of old, "You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable to judgement. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgement, whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says "you fool" will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift" (Matt 5:21-25)
Cain's worship would have been accepted had he dealt with the anger in his heart towards his brother. His story informs us that we had better have our hearts right when we "go to the altar" in worship of our Father today. Just as God could not accept Cain's worship given the condition of Cain's heart, nor can God enjoy and accept our worship so long as our hearts are full of anger towards one of His other children.
God is in the business of reconciliation, and He takes it very seriously. So ought we. And the good news is, God is rooting for us to get this right, just He rooted for Cain. And just as He was prepared to help Cain, so He is prepared to help us. We only have to be willing.
Genesis 4 tells us about the story of Cain and Abel. Now I've heard many theories as to why God favoured Abel's offering over Cain's, the most common being that Abel gave God "the firstborn", meaning first fruits, while Cain gave God simple "fruit from the ground". I've also heard it said that Abel's offering involved a blood sacrifice, while Cain's did not. However, nothing in the telling of the story supports those reasons. For one thing, one would have to assume that there was already a written code or law concerning blood and other sacrifices, and in fact, there was nothing encoded in the law about sacrifices until Moses. But I digress.
What is interesting in the story of Cain and Abel is that we often read it as an event that transpired very quickly ie: two brothers come and sacrifice, one is rejected, gets mad, gets jealous and murders his brother, end of story. However, something jumped out at me recently and that is "Now Abel was a keeper of the sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time, Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock.....
Whatever had been going on between Cain and Abel was happening over the course of time. Sibling rivalry? Competition? Dislike? Unforgiveness? Whatever it was, the result was anger in Cain's heart, and it was that anger that tainted Cain's sacrifice.
It's important to realize that sacrificing in those days did not make you right with God. Being right with God was the reason for sacrifice. It was an act of worship, not an act of cleansing or getting right. So, I believe that when Cain brought his sacrifice, it was not true worship, because he had something in his heart that offended God, and that was anger in his heart towards his brother.
God Himself gives the best reason as to why He has regard for Abel's sacrifice and not Cain's, and it has little or nothing to do with the type of sacrifice itself, but rather, the heart condition of the person offering it. God asked Cain, after He rejected his sacrifice, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. It's desire is for you, but you must rule over it" .
Note that God does not tell Cain "if you do well, you'll be accepted and if you do not do well, you'll be rejected"...on the contrary, God never rejected Cain, only his worship. When He spoke to Cain, God was giving Cain every opportunity to turn from the anger and sin that threatened, and had Cain done so, we can safely say with confidence, that he would have been fully restored to both God and his brother.
But alas, we know what happened next. Even though God is encouraging Cain to "rule over it", being the sin that is crouching at the door, being the condition of his heart, Cain is not willing, and eventually, he murders his brother. The anger in his heart, which took root over the course of time, morphed into murderous vengence, and as a result God and Cain's fellowship was severed. While God marked Cain with protection, Cain was cursed in that he was no longer in relationship with God. Cain went away from the presence of God and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.Now, lets check out what Jesus had to say about the subject. "You have heard that it is said to those of old, "You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable to judgement. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgement, whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says "you fool" will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift" (Matt 5:21-25)
Cain's worship would have been accepted had he dealt with the anger in his heart towards his brother. His story informs us that we had better have our hearts right when we "go to the altar" in worship of our Father today. Just as God could not accept Cain's worship given the condition of Cain's heart, nor can God enjoy and accept our worship so long as our hearts are full of anger towards one of His other children.
God is in the business of reconciliation, and He takes it very seriously. So ought we. And the good news is, God is rooting for us to get this right, just He rooted for Cain. And just as He was prepared to help Cain, so He is prepared to help us. We only have to be willing.
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