A Holy and Pleasing Sacrifice

"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 4:3-7

Because of the sin of their parents, Cain and Abel had been born into sin. Thus, a sacrifice was needed to atone for their sin. Cain was a farmer. Therefore, his offering included a portion of his crops. Abel was a shepherd, so his offering was a portion of his flock. But unlike Cain, Abel offered the best of his flock to God, which pleased the Lord.

The problem with Cain’s offering was not that he brought produce to the alter, while Abel brought meat. God was not concerned with the mode of sacrifice. The problem with Cain’s offering was that his heart was not in it. He did not offer God the best of his crops. Abel had brought the firstborn of his flock, foreshadowing the sacrifice of God’s firstborn, and also its fat portions. Cain brought what was leftover of his crop.

After he saw that the Lord was pleased with Abel’s sacrifice, and not his own, Cain became jealous with rage. The Lord approached Cain and warned him about his attitude, noting that if he had given a pleasing offering, the Lord would have accepted it. The Lord also warned Cain that his anger would breed sin, noting “Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” Of course we know that Cain did not listen to the Lord. He did not corral his anger, but let it fester inside of him until he acted upon it, thus killing his brother, committing the first murder in history.

The lesson we can learn from these sacrifices is that we must not give God what is leftover. We must give God our “first fruits”, especially in our worship. Worship does not just consist of what we do on Sunday morning, although that is a very big part of it, but includes everything we give to God, whether it is money, time, emotions, or relationships. Whatever we give to the Lord, let’s make sure we give in a spirit of true worship, according to the definition of worship in John 4:24, which says that true worshippers will worship “in spirit and truth”. God has given His people the Holy Spirit, which illuminates the truth, to guide His people through proper worship. To worship God in truth is to worship Him according to how He is revealed through Scripture.

Unlike Cain, we must always make sure we have the proper attitude toward worship. And when we are chastened by God, let us not act in a manner of hatred and envy toward those whom God has blessed, but let us strive to change our heart in order to offer to God a holy and pleasing sacrifice.

 

 

A Foreshadow of the Messiah

"I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head,

and you shall bruise his heel."

Genesis 3:15

Adam and Eve, having sinned due to the enticement and temptation of the serpent, are about to receive their punishments. But first, the Lord details the punishment of the serpent, through which Satan used to work out his evil treachery against the Lord and against humanity. After telling the serpent that his seed will crawl on their bellies and eat dirt for the rest of their time on earth, the Lord then offers up a glimmer of hope for mankind, as well as a symbol of doom for Satan. 

 

God said that there would always be a struggle between man and Satan. Satan will continually tempt mankind, causing humans to fall into sin and utter destruction, making them enemies of God. Humans needed a savior.   

 

But then, God told the serpent, a human offspring of the woman would be born to destroy the death grip that Satan has on humanity. While Satan would bruise the heel of this savior, inflicting a devastating and mortal wound, humanity’s savior would rise up to crush the head of Satan, bringing reconciliation between God and man. The Creator God pledged to crush the head of the serpent under the feet of the seed of the woman. This Messiah would be the solution to man’s fallen, sinful condition. 

 

While this prophecy may have been confusing initially, in hindsight, we understand this prophecy to refer to the coming of Christ. Christ, a human being born of a virgin, lived a sinless life in humble submission to His Father’s will in order to save the human race from the devastating effects of sin. While Christ suffered and died, he fulfilled this first Messianic prophecy by rising from death, proving His authority as Savior and Son of God.

God's Plan For Marriage: One Man, One Woman, One Flesh

 "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." (Genesis 2:24)

The concept, definition, and status of marriage has been hotly debated and questioned for the last quarter century. But probably never has it gotten as much media airtime as it did last week during the oral arguments for California's Proposition 8, which eliminates the rights of same-sex couples to marry. Proposition 8 is being touted as a political issue by both sides. Proponents for the bill say that the individual states have the right to define marriage, while arguements against the bill say that it discriminates against same-sex couples, denying them the same legal rights that heterosexual couples have.

Photo by Brad Stone, New York Times

While the issue is deeply political, it is also strongly spiritual. From the beginning of time, God has defined marriage as the bond that exists between one man and one woman. God laid the framework for His definition of future marriages. The man is to leave his family, stemming a new family with his wife, becoming one flesh. This "one-flesh" bond does not mean that man and woman are equal, for there are obvious physical, emotional, and psychological differences. This one-flesh bond means that they are to become one in the eyes of God, a foreshadow to how His people would become one through the body of Christ.

The irony of this verse however, is that families did not exist yet. Adam and Eve had not yet had children. But God had given Adam the imperative command to "be fruitful and multiply" in 1:28. Not only was God laying the framework for future marriages, but also for future families as well. God desires that families consist of one father and one mother.

The political and social arguments for or against same-sex marriage are constantly changing. But God's definition of marriage is clear. For God, as well as for His people, marriage is the spiritual union between one man and one woman.