Genesis 4:1-5 - Worship from the Heart

Genesis 4:1-5

4 Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a manchild with the help of the Lord.” ² Again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. ³ So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. ⁴ Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; ⁵ but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.

Message: Worship from the heart

Time: Genesis is the first book and Moses is credited as authoring. The book spans 2400 years of time. It was originally written in Hebrew.

What the Lord is Saying:

Adam and Eve have a child: Cain. Cain brings an offering to the Lord from the fruit of the ground, perhaps grain or produce. Abel brought an offering from an animal. The Lord accepted Abel's offering. But, he did not accept Cain's. Cain became angry. The offering itself, whether an animal or fruit from the ground, doesn't appear to be the issue. Cain didn't accept God's correction. He welled up with pride and maybe was steeped in competition, but either way, the problem could have been what was brought, but it also seems to be the fact that Abel brought the firstlings of his flock. He brought the top layer or the best of what he had. Perhaps, God wanted an animal. Did Abel get it right? Not sure. It's not known if Abel was coerced or told. It's not known if Cain was told. Maybe their was pride and maybe Cain was strong-willed and said, "I know what the Lord God wants." Either way, God was not rejecting Cain, but what he offered. 

According to Tabletalk for this day, there are four subjects in the Bible that receive the most sustained attention. They are: 1) The Character of God; 2) The Work of the Messiah; 3) The Plight of Humanity in Sin; 4) The Kind of Worship our Lord Desires (God, Messiah, Sin, Worship). We need to know who God is, who the Messiah is, our condition and our response. In this study of the Wisdom Literature, worship has been taken a primary focus.

In worship, as I am reading from Ligonier's Tabletalk, form is important but even more so it is that worship comes from a life that is wholeheartedly devoted to God. For example, the words of Matthew 15:8-9 state, "‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ” In Abel's offering, he brought the firstlings.

Promise: I must work as hard as we can to make sure that our hearts and minds are in our praise.