Summary of Genesis 4:1-7:
Eve gave birth to Cain and then Abel. Cain was a farmer; Abel was a shepherd. Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to God. Abel brought his choicest fat portions from the firstborn of his flock to God. God looked more favorably upon Abel because of this. This angered Cain. God saw Cain’s heart and spoke to him about his anger, offering advice to turn away from sin.
BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 4, Day 2: Genesis 4:1-7
3) Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to God. Abel brought his choicest fat portions from the firstborn of his flock to God. Abel brought God his best, while Cain just brought God some of his crops. God wants our best always.
4) Abel brought his best to God because he loved God and had a heart for God. Cain did not. Abel had faith according to Hebrews; Cain apparently did not.
5a) Cain was angry that Abel’s gift was accepted by God and God showed Abel more favor. He was mad because Abel made him look bad. He blamed Abel and not himself. He was full of pride.
b) Personal Question. My answer: I usually get defensive at first. It takes me a minute to admit I was wrong. This is human nature. As a broken human, we want to be right and think we are right because we are proud. It is from our broken nature.
6) Personal Question. My answer: God knows our hearts. He knew Cain was thinking about wrong-doing against Abel, and in His infinite mercy, He tries to prevent Cain from following through and giving in to sin. God never gives up on us. He has hope for us up until the choice to sin has been made.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 4, Day 2: Genesis 4:1-7
No one likes leftovers, especially God. Cain it seems brought God his leftovers. We learn that God wants our best always, whether it’s tithing to the church or giving our best to others as Jesus did.
End Notes BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 4, Day 2: Genesis 4:1-7
Biblical First: This is the first mention of sex in the Bible. In other versions of the Bible besides NIV (BSF’s chosen version), the term know is used for this moment. “To know” is used often in the Bible in this sense (Genesis 4:17, 4:25, 38:26, Judges 11:39, 1 Samuel 1:19). It shows how sex is used to enhance the bonding between man and woman. Most likely, Adam and Eve did have sex before the Fall.
The name Cain meant, I’ve got him or Here he is. Eve probably thought that Cain was the seed that God promised, the deliverer who would come from Eve (Genesis 3:15). There is a sense in which Eve said, “I have the man from the LORD.”
The fact that Cain grew crops and Abel was a shepherd shows that man did not spend hundreds of thousands of years as hunter-gatherers. They always farmed and tended animals.
Some Bible scholars believe that Cain brought his offering to the tree of life because cherubim guarded the way to the tree of life (Genesis 3:24), and cherubim are always associated with the dwelling place or meeting place with God (Exodus 25:10-22). It’s possible that Cain, Abel, and later others met with God at the tree of life, where the cherubim guarded access to the tree and prevented any from eating its fruit. However, this is not proven.
While some may say that Abel’s sacrifice of animals was why he was favored due to the blood aspect, grain offerings are accepted in the Old Testament ( Leviticus 2) as well. God’s favor is a heart matter, not a physical matter.
Cain’s Sinful Heart
(Hebrews 11:4) clears up the matter. Abel had faith; Cain did not.
The fat of the animal was prized and was to be given to God when the animal was sacrificed (Leviticus 3:16-17 and 7:23-25). The burning of fat in sacrifice before God is called a sweet aroma to the LORD (Leviticus 17:6).
In the beginning, one animals was needed as atonement for each perons. Later, at the Passover, it will be one lamb for a family. Then, at the Day of Atonement, it was one lamb for the nation. Finally, with Jesus, there was one Lamb who took away the sin of the whole world (John 1:29).
Presumably God said or showed His favor of the sacrifices in some way. Perhaps they were consumed by fire from God (Judges 6:21; 1 Kings 18:38; 1 Chronicles 21:26; 2 Chronicles 7:1) from heaven or from the flaming swords of the cherubim (Genesis 3:24).
God graciously warns Cain to resist sin and not give in. He knows that Cain is contemplating. God has to be our master, or we will be slaves to sin.
Credit to enduring word for commentary