........Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the first-born of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rules over it. Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, Where is Abel your brother? He said, I do not know. Am I my brothers keeper? And He said, What have you done? The voice of your brothers blood cries out to Me from the ground. So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brothers blood from your hand. When you till the ground it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth. Genesis 4:2-12 Cain gave his very best to the Lord! Some assume that Cains sacrifice was lacking or deficient because it did not involve the shedding of blood, which God required for forgiveness of sin(Heb 9:22). Nothing indicates that Cain and Abel came to God for forgiveness....their sacrifices were acts of worship. God looks with favor upon the person, then on the sacrifice (Psalm 40:6-8). Abels offering was more excellent than Cains because of Abels faith in the Lord (Heb 114). Instead of repenting of his wrongdoing, Cain became angry and filled with jealousy(v8). The murder was sudden....and Jesus spoke of this ghastly event as a historical fact: that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of the righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar (Matt 23:35). O JERUSALEM, JERUSALEM, THE ONE WHO KILLS THE PROPHETS AND STONES THOSE WHO ARE SENT TO HER! HOW OFTEN I WANTED TO GATHER YOUR CHILDREN TOGETHER, AS A HEN GETHERS HER CHICKS UNDER HER WINGS, BUT YOU WERE NOT WILLING!! SEE!! YOUR HOUSE IS LEFT TO YOU DESOLATE; FOR I SAY TO YOU, YOU SHALL SEE ME NO MORE TILL YOU SAY, BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD! MATTHEW 23:37-39 Now is the time to look at ourselves....our lives, and our families(children). Are we totally surrendered to Him? Does the devil have any hold on our lives that we need to bind and cast to hell? Is the sin that we may be committing - worth spending eternity in hell???
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 22:03:46 +0000