The First Offering

Now Abel was a keeper of 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 and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The LORD said to Cain, “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. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”
(Genesis 4:2-7 ESV)

Having looked at positive law in the Garden of Eden and Adam and Eve's disobedience to the Word of God by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we come now to the first generation of fallen men. Abel and Cain were two of the first men (if not the first men) born under the curse of death, conceived in sin due to Adam's disobedience and the Fall of man. In Genesis 4, we see all too tragically how far mankind had fallen in the fratricide of Abel by Cain. God's Word reveals that the fratricide was provoked by Cain's sinful jealousy of his brother's acceptance by God for his offering. Now, it is certainly possible that there were hundreds of offerings brought before the Lord before Cain and Abel brought theirs before the Lord. Some argue that this is a sacrifice (which I will address below), but the Hebrew language denotes an offering (the Septuagint uses sacrificial language). Although Abel and Cain may have been taught by their parents how to present an offering to God before this, this is undoubtedly the first offering recorded in the Scriptures, and there is much we can learn from what God reveals about this first offering.

First of all, the Pulpit Commentary makes an interesting observation that I will only share and allow you to research further if you so desire. It is observed that Abel and Cain brought their offering to the LORD. The commentator explains that the location of their giving was, "Probably to the gate of the garden, where the cherubim and flaming sword were established as the visible monuments of the Divine presence." Certainly, given the place of the Ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle and the Temple it would stand to reason that where the cherubim and flaming sword were was the established place of worship for the first family. Like I said, this is an interesting observation and I would have to research further how widely this position is shared and what significance scholars place upon the location of Abel and Cain's offering. However, as this is another discussion altogether, I digress.

There is a lot of controversy surrounding why the LORD regarded Abel and his offering and did not regard Cain and his. The two most popular positions are that 1) this was a sacrifice and Abel brought an offering that required blood to be spent while Cain only brought produce, or that 2) Abel brought the best of his flock while Cain only brought some fruit that he had grown (not the firstfruits and not wholeheartedly). I have been presented with arguments for both positions, but I have always been of the position that the LORD had no regard for Cain and his offering because he did not bring the first and best of the fruits he had grown with a thankful and generous heart.

In the IVP Bible Background Commentary on the Old Testament, John Walton, Victor Matthews, and Mark Chavalas (2000) explain that:

"The sacrifices of Cain and Abel are not depicted as addressing sin or seeking atonement. The word used (minhâ) designates them very generally as 'gifts'--a word that is most closely associated with the grain offerings of Leviticus 2. They appear to be intended to express gratitude to God for his bounty. Therefore, it is appropriate that Cain should bring an offering from the produce that he grew, for blood would not be mandatory in such an offering. It should be noted that Genesis does not preserve any record of God requesting such offerings, though he approved of it as a means of expressing thanks. Gratitude is not expressed, however, when the gift is grudgingly given, as is likely the case with Cain."

In Banner of Truth's Sermons on Genesis: Chapters 1-11, John Calvin argues that, "God looks at the quality of the heart. That is why he accepted Abel's sacrifices, but not Cain's." Calvin's position is that Cain and his offering were not regarded because they were offered halfheartedly and not because he offered produce while his brother spilled blood for his offering. In his commentary on the passage, Calvin further explains that:

"The Jews foolishly imagine that the oblations of Cain were unacceptable, because he defrauded God of the full ears of corn, and meanly offered him only barren or half-filled ears. Deeper and more hidden was the evil; namely that impurity of heart of which I have been speaking; just as, on the other hand, the strong scent of burning fat could not conciliate the divine favor to the sacrifices of Abel; but, being pervaded by the good odour of faith, they had a sweet-smelling savor."

In his An Old Testament Theology, Bruce Waltke (2007) also agrees with this position when he explains that:

"The key to the Cain and Abel story (Gen. 4:3-4) is found in the narrator's choice of minhâ to designate the kind of sacrifice they offered. Minhâ means tribute, and to a king, and even more so to God, one offers the best--of domesticated animals the firstborn and of cultivated grain the firstfruits. Abel brought the best, 'fat portions from some of the firstborn,' but Cain brought 'some of the fruits,' not the firstfruits. By his choice of words, the narrator indicts Cain of tokenism."

In InterVarsity Press' Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch, T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker (2003) argue that:

"If animal slaying were integral to this act of worship, the writer could have selected any of several other terms that often (or in some cases always) required slaying an animal. These include [the Hebrew words for burnt offering, fellowship offering, sin offering, and guilt offering] to list the primary sacrificial categories. In contrast, minhâ in Leviticus is restricted to grain offering, absent of blood. Thus by its definition a minhâ was designed to obtain favor--not expiation--thus explaining why it need not include animal sacrifice. Is it possible that the Septuagint's translation thysia ("sacrifice") for Cain's minhâ ("offering," Gen 4:3) has misled interpreters to presume a divine requirement of blood in the elder brother's gift?"

Therefore, regarding the question of whether or not Abel and Cain's offering was one seeking atonement and the forgiveness of sins or was one presented as a thanksgiving offering and as an acknowledgement of the provisions that God had graciously granted, I lean more towards the latter than the former.

Before I leave the debate, I do want to note that those who argue that this offering was a sin offering typically point to the cursed ground from which Cain's gift came from, while Abel's gift was not of the ground and required the spilling of blood (which is required for atonement). I too think that the cursed ground is significant and plays a major role in this offering. Both Abel and Cain present an offering to the Lord that is a gracious product of God's love and provision for man after the Fall, because despite the cursed state of the ground due to man's disobedience, God still provided pastures for livestock to graze upon and nourishment for produce that required good soil in order to grow. Despite their sinfulness and hardened hearts, God still provides for His image bearers. I am reminded of Christ's words on the sermon on the mount that are significantly pertinent to Abel and Cain:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:43-48 ESV)

Jesus draws a connection between the love God pours out upon mankind by His common grace and the love His followers should have for their neighbors and their enemies. Our Father brings success to those whose lips cry out for His destruction, and He cares for His beloved children who are persecuted for their unabashed faith in Him. God's common grace can appear to bless those who seek to spit in His face and curse those who recognize that their every last breath is a gift from Him. However, God hears the cries of His beloved, and their persecutors will receive God's righteous judgment and He will bless those who suffer for His name's sake. This we see as God responds to the cry of Abel's blood from the ground and His judgment upon Cain. Like His common grace, God's saving grace is poured out upon His enemies: every man that draws breath. Consider Paul's words to the Romans:

"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:6-8 ESV)

God takes good care of His enemies, and Abel and Cain recognize God's common grace poured out towards mankind. There is no doubt that we are enemies of God and that our sin has cursed the ground we walk upon. God's grace is far more powerful than man's sin, however, and God brings life where man can only bring death. God nourishes Abel's flock and Cain's fruits and vegetables from the cursed ground.

The author of Genesis does not tell us if God required such an offering from Abel and Cain, but I do not think it is necessary that He did. Thanksgiving for the provisions that God graciously pours out upon His enemies rightfully stems from a recognition that apart from the grace of God there is no good thing in this world of which man can enjoy. Therefore, how much greater should the thanksgiving be when there is a recognition of God's gracious provision of a Savior, having been adopted as children of our Almighty Father by the blood that speaks a better word than Abel's? But more upon that later.

All of this to say, Abel and Cain presented an offering of thanksgiving to God for the many gracious provisions He supplied upon the first generation of fallen men from the cursed ground. They were not seeking atonement by this offering, but rather, they were returning a portion of all that the Lord had bestowed upon them. They recognized that they were enemies of God as they witnessed the cherubim guarding the Garden of Eden, and yet God sustained their flock and crops. However, one brother was truly thankful, giving back to the Lord the best that the Lord provided while the other brother merely went through the motions of giving a portion back to God. One brother's heart was resting by faith in the Lord's provision of all that man needed not only for physical life but spiritual life, and the other brother couldn't see past the fruits and vegetables he hardheartedly brought before the Lord.

God provides man with all that He requires of him. God does not ask anything from us that He does not first give us freely. As the Puritan Richard Sibbes articulated, "God knoweth we have nothing of ourselves, therefore in the covenant of grace he requireth no more than he giveth, and giveth what he requireth, and accepteth what he giveth."

A passage that clearly demonstrates this Biblical principle is Genesis 22, where God tests Abraham's faith by requiring the sacrifice of his only son, the son of promise. Just before Abraham faithfully fulfills God's requirement, an angel cries out for Abraham to stop his swift, lethal, downward stroke of the knifeblade. Behind Abraham, with horns caught in a thicket, is a ram that the Lord provides as a substitute burnt offering for the sacrifice of his only son. Abraham calls the place "The Lord will provide" and to the day of the writing of Genesis is was said, "On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided." Obviously this is an allusion to God's future provision of salvation by the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, in our place on that very mountain.

The Lord requires perfection from those who will see His face, and He provides that perfection in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as our substitute. Christ's substitutionary atonement is the pinnacle example of the concept that God provides us with all that He requires from us, but our tithes and offerings are another example of where we see God giving us all that is required to obey His commandments.

Back to Abel and Cain as we wrap up here. Both brothers give an offering back to the Lord in thanksgiving for God's provision. Abel brought the firstborn of his flock and the fat portions and Cain only brings a portion of the fruit of the ground. Abel brings the firstborn. Abel brings the best of what the Lord provided. Abel holds nothing back. Abel brings it all and places it before his Lord and Savior, faithfully proclaiming that all he has is a bountiful gift provided to him by God. Abel's heart for the Lord is clearly evidenced by his offering. Cain, on the other hand, brings some of the fruit of the ground that he had grown. Cain is not said to have brought the firstfruits of his crop, but rather, he brings fruit of the ground. Cain brings a portion, but whether or not it is the firstfruits, his heart is obviously not in the giving.

In the account of Abel and Cain, we have two lessons to learn as Christians concerning tithing.

1) We shouldn't require a clear articulation of a law or commandment in order to bring a tithe and offering to the Lord (although I believe such a requirement could easily by fulfilled by careful and thoughtful consideration of Scripture). The writer of the account in Genesis does not tell us whether or not God required the offering that Abel and Cain brought before Him, and it does not really matter. If God did require it from Abel and Cain, then why would we think that God doesn't require a similar offering of thanksgiving for all that He has provided us. If God did not require it from Abel and Cain, then we see that God had regard for Abel and his offering. If the offering wasn't required, then we see that God regarded the gift and it was not an abomination before Him. Either way, God enjoys a cheerful giver.

2) Tithes and offerings must, first and foremost, be given from the heart. Cain parted with his precious produce, but his heart still clung to his crop. His hands let go of the offering before the Lord, but his heart still clung to his precious food. Tithing is not about money, just like Cain's offering before the Lord was not about produce. God did not regard Cain and his offering because Cain had not really made an offering. He merely went through the motions of bringing his offering before the Lord as if that was all that was required of him by God. God did not need the firstborn of Abel's flock, He didn't need the produce that Cain brought, and He doesn't need your money. Rather, God wants us to love Him with our whole heart, soul, and might (Deut. 6:5). Therein lies our offering. God does not require the physical offering but, rather, He requires the sacrifice of what is precious to us in thankful, loving, faithful worship of Him, resting by faith that He truly is our Alpha and Omega.

I wanted to use this passage as the foundation of the argument for tithes and offerings that I will make. I'm not going to go about trying to prove to you that the Old Testament tithe of produce is still binding upon New Covenant believers in the form of a tenth of your income. My main points in the blogs to follow will be that regardless of whether or not God requires a tenth from the Church today, the New Testament teachings on bringing a thanksgiving offering before the Lord do not differ from those of the Old Testament. Christ and His apostles placed a special emphasis on giving to the poor and giving a portion back to the Lord (a message that is no different from that of the Old Testament). Also, I want to emphasize in the following series of blogs that tithing is not the mere process of taking a portion of your income and throwing it at the poor or the church. To do so would be no different from what Cain did. Tithing and giving to the poor is primarily a condition of the heart. God will only have regard for you and your tithe, thanksgiving offering, and gift to the poor inasmuch as your heart truly let's go of it, that you pray that the Lord would truly bless it to the service of His Kingdom, and faithfully desire that God would be glorified by your gift and by those who receive your portion.

For our next stop...Genesis 14!