The contrast between Cain and Abel, as reflected in their names, did not just concern their personalities; it was also manifested in their respective occupations. While Cain was “a tiller of the ground” (Genesis 4:2, NKJV), a profession requiring physical hard work, Abel was “a keeper of sheep” (Genesis 4:2, NKJV), a profession implying sensitivity and compassion.

Cain was the producer of the fruit of the ground. Abel the keeper of the sheep. These two occupations not only explain the nature of the two offerings (fruit of the ground from Cain and a sheep from Abel) — they also account for the two different psychological attitudes and mentalities associated with the two offerings: Cain was working to “acquire” the fruit he would produce, while Abel was careful to “keep” the sheep he had received.

Read Genesis 4:1-5 and Hebrews 11:4. Why did God accept Abel’s offering and reject Cain’s offering? How are we to understand what happened here?

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“Without the shedding of blood there could be no remission of sin; and they [Cain and Abel] were to show their faith in the blood of Christ as the promised atonement by offering the firstlings of the flock in sacrifice. Besides this, the first fruits of the earth were to be presented before the Lord as a thank offering.” — Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 71.

While Abel complied with God’s instructions and offered the vegetable offering in addition to the animal burnt offering, Cain neglected to do so. He didn’t bring an animal to be sacrificed, but only an offering of “the fruit of the ground.” It was an act of open disobedience, in contrast to the attitude of his brother. This story has often been viewed as a classic case of salvation by faith (Abel and his blood offering) in contrast to an attempt to earn salvation by works (Cain and his fruit of the ground).

Although these offerings must have had spiritual significance, they did not have any magic value in themselves. They were always merely symbols, images, pointing to the God who provided the sinner not only sustenance but also redemption.

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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Read Genesis 4:1-2. What do we learn from these passages about the births of the two males?

The first event recorded by the biblical author immediately after Adam’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden is a birth. In the Hebrew phrase in Genesis 4:1, the words “the LORD” (YHWH) are directly linked to the words “a man,” as the following literal translation indicates: “I have acquired a man, indeed the LORD Himself.” It is rendered by the International Standard Version as: “I have given birth to a male child — the LORD.”

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This literal translation suggests that Eve remembers the Messianic prophecy of Genesis 3:15 and believes that she has given birth to her Savior, the LORD. “The Saviour’s coming was foretold in Eden. When Adam and Eve first heard the promise, they looked for its speedy fulfillment. They joyfully welcomed their first-born son, hoping that he might be the Deliverer.” — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 31.

In fact, Cain occupies most of the story. He is not only the firstborn, a son that the parents almost “worshiped”; in the chapter, he is the only brother who, in the Genesis text, speaks. While Eve excitedly comments on Cain’s birth, she says nothing at Abel’s, at least nothing that is recorded in the text, in contrast to the birth of Cain. The narrator simply reports that she “bore again” (Genesis 4:2, NKJV).

The name Cain itself is derived from the Hebrew verb qanah, which means “to acquire” and denotes the acquisition, the possession of something precious and powerful. On the other hand, the Hebrew name Hebel, in English Abel, means “vapor” (Psalm 62:9, NKJV), or “breath” (Psalm 144:4, NKJV) and denotes elusiveness, emptiness, lack of substance; the same word, hebel (Abel), is used over and over in Ecclesiastes for “vanity.” Though we don’t want to read more into these short texts than is there, perhaps the idea is that Adam’s and Eve’s hope rested, they believed, only in Cain, because they believed he, not his brother, was the promised Messiah.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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