Why did the Lord God have no respect for Cain’s offering?
Many have wondered why our Heavenly Father rejected the offering Cain/Kayin brought; and what is meant by a fallen countenance and sin crouching at the door.
If we look at the original text in Hebrew there are some insights that may help with these questions.
She gave birth again, this time to his brother Abel. Abel became a shepherd, while Cain was a worker of the soil.
Vatosef laledet et-achiv et-Havel vayehi-Hevel ro’eh tson veKayin hayah oved adamah.וַתֹּ֣סֶף לָלֶ֔דֶת אֶת־אָחִ֖יו אֶת־הָ֑בֶל וַֽיְהִי־הֶ֙בֶל֙ רֹ֣עֵה צֹ֔אן וְקַ֕יִן הָיָ֖ה עֹבֵ֥ד אֲדָמָֽה׃
Cain brought some of his crops as an offering to God.
Vayehi mikets yamim vayave Kayin miperi ha’adamah minchah l’Adonay.וַֽיְהִ֖י מִקֵּ֣ץ יָמִ֑ים וַיָּבֵ֨א קַ֜יִן מִפְּרִ֧י הָֽאֲדָמָ֛ה מִנְחָ֖ה לַֽיהוָֽה׃
Abel also offered some of the firstborn of his flock, from the fattest ones. God paid heed to Abel and his offering,
VeHevel hevi gam-hu mibechorot tsono umechelvehen vayisha Adonay el-Hevel ve’el-minchato.וְהֶ֨בֶל הֵבִ֥יא גַם־ה֛וּא מִבְּכֹר֥וֹת צֹאנ֖וֹ וּמֵֽחֶלְבֵהֶ֑ן וַיִּ֣שַׁע יְהוָ֔ה אֶל־הֶ֖בֶל וְאֶל־מִנְחָתֽוֹ׃
but to Cain and his offering, He paid no heed. Cain became very furious and depressed.
Ve’el-Kayin ve’el-minchato lo sha’ah vayichar le-Kayin me’od vayiplu panav.וְאֶל־קַ֥יִן וְאֶל־מִנְחָת֖וֹ לֹ֣א שָׁעָ֑ה וַיִּ֤חַר לְקַ֙יִן֙ מְאֹ֔ד וַֽיִּפְּל֖וּ פָּנָֽיו׃
God said to Cain, ‘Why are you so furious? Why are you depressed?
Vayomer Adonay el-Kayin lamah charah lach velamah nafelu fanecha.וַיֹּ֥אמֶר יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־קָ֑יִן לָ֚מָּה חָ֣רָה לָ֔ךְ וְלָ֖מָּה נָפְל֥וּ פָנֶֽיךָ
If you do good, will there not be special privilege? And if you do not do good, sin is crouching at the door. It lusts after you, but you can dominate it.’
Halo im-teytiv se’et ve’im lo teytiv lapetach chatat rovets ve’elecha teshukato ve’atah timshol-bo.הֲל֤וֹא אִם־תֵּיטִיב֙ שְׂאֵ֔ת וְאִם֙ לֹ֣א תֵיטִ֔יב לַפֶּ֖תַח חַטָּ֣את רֹבֵ֑ץ וְאֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ תְּשׁ֣וּקָת֔וֹ וְאַתָּ֖ה תִּמְשָׁל־בּֽוֹ׃
Genesis 4
First in reading Genesis/B’resheet 4 we know that because of the disobedience of Adams sin the earth became cursed, so
Cain was offering something that was cursed by the Lord God
and the verse says he had no respect as the produce, (fruit and vegetables), that he himself had helped to grow in the cursed earth.
Whereas Abel tended the animals created by the Lord which were not cursed and not made or produced by anything Abel did himself. He was a shepherd looking after what was created by, and belonged to, the Lord.
Abel took no pride in his offering as he had not had anything to do with its creation, Cain was proud of what he had grown and thought it worthy of an offering to the Lord. Cain and his offering were rejected and he was being disrespectful to the Lord.
But why?
Was it because it was the work of his own hands?
Was it because it was not a living sacrifice?
Once produce is picked it is severed, effectively cut off from its nutrition, its source of life, so it is in fact dead; and produce does not have blood and so, no life in the blood?
Then the Lord God told Cain that if he did well or good he would be accepted.
He also warned him that if he did not do good.…
sin is crouching/ lies at the door.
Lapathach chata’th robets/rabats (strongs #7257)
ל פתח חתאת רבצ
Lamed pei tav cheth / cheth teth aleph tav / resh bet sade
If you do good, will there not be special privilege? And if you do not do good, sin is crouching at the door. It lusts after you, but you can dominate it.’
Halo im-teytiv se’et ve’im lo teytiv lapetach chatat rovets ve’elecha teshukato ve’atah timshol-bo.הֲל֤וֹא אִם־תֵּיטִיב֙ שְׂאֵ֔ת וְאִם֙ לֹ֣א תֵיטִ֔יב לַפֶּ֖תַח חַטָּ֣את רֹבֵ֑ץ וְאֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ תְּשׁ֣וּקָת֔וֹ וְאַתָּ֖ה תִּמְשָׁל־בּֽוֹ׃
How did they know if they were doing well or not without any law, Torah or a Bible?
The Hebrew word for well is tov (strongs#2895)
which means: to be in harmony with God.
Cain offered something that was cursed by the Lord God and therefore was not tov – in harmony with Him. Was the tov or in harmony with Him, simple obedience to what and how they were to approach a Holy God? We are not told if they had been shown how to bring a sacrifice or not, but the question remains how did Abel know to bring a lamb? This suggests there was some knowledge about respect, offerings and holiness towards the Lord.
In the same passage, our Heavenly Father warns that if we don’t do what is tov – in harmony with Him – then sin lies at the door.
The Hebrew word sin here, is chatak or chatat, which means: unintentional mistakes or sins. (Strongs# 2403)
Unintentional Sin – Chatah – Chet, Teth Aleph Hei Chata חָטָא khaw-taw’
It’s possible the act of offering fruit and vegetables that he had grown, may not necessarily have been a sin, but at most it was an unintentional mistake. Still it was not tov/good/in harmony with God.
They were born in sin and the Hebrew understanding of the tendency to good or evil is known as the good or evil inclination within every human.
When Cain killed Abel it may have been unintentional, what we would call manslaughter rather than murder/homicide. He may not have understood physical death and its consequences, as nothing in his experience at that time may have prepared him for death of the physical human body. The idea of not doing what is in harmony with God means then, that chatat/chatak – unintentional sin is lying at the door, and it may have more meaning than just a metaphor. The bottom line is obedience, this is the foundation of faith and trust; Adam and Eve failed in this area and it would seem so did Cain, and disobedience is at the root of the rejection. However we are not just looking at the physical picture but more importantly the spiritual picture.
Looking a little further into the passage in Hebrew, the word for door has the preposition lamed before it, which is often rendered as: to, for or unto with the definite article the. So this indicates it is a specific or definite door, and this word used here for door comes from the root word patach which refers to not only just a door – but a portal.
Lapetach וְאִם֙ לֹ֣א Strongs#6607
Portal – Pathach – פֶּ֖תַח Pei Taw Cheth
A portal is more than just a doorway to another room, it’s more of an entrance to something entirely different. How did Cain and Abel know their sacrifices were accepted by God as there is no clear reference to it or that they should offer sacrifices at all? Here the Hebrew language may help us to see that they were opening a portal to the presence of our Heavenly Father, because of the fall through Adam and Eve the constant presence of God was not there any more. Sin had entered the garden/world and as was later shown, man had to learn that sin and sinful flesh can’t be in the same space with the presence of a Holy God; and only through blood sacrifice from an innocent victim, paying blood for blood – life for life, the life in the blood – can man approach Him. Was this taught to Adam and Eve who taught it to Abel and Cain? Recall the Lord God made garments of skin for them, so an animal had to have been killed to provide the skin? This may have been the way they knew, however we are not told precisely. It may have been whenever they desired the presence of our Heavenly Father they knew it was time to offer a sacrifice. If the sacrifice, (type of Messiah), was accepted, then the patach-portal, opening into the spirit realm and presence of God would open?
