Why was cain's offering rejected?
Discover the biblical reason behind God’s rejection of Cain’s offering.
In Genesis Chapter 4, there is a story of two brothers who were sons of Adam and Eve. It was recorded that they both brought an offering to God. While Abel’s offering was accepted, his brother Cain’s offering was rejected.
Why was Cain’s offering rejected? Was it because he was disliked by God?
In Genesis 4:7, God’s tone in the verse made it obvious that Cain had a choice regarding the result of the offering—whether it would be accepted or rejected. God told him, “You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” (NLT)
I have learned in the past that Abel’s offering was accepted because it was a blood offering, while Cain’s was not, leading to its rejection. It was thought that blood offerings were significant in addressing sin. I also learned as a child in Sunday school that Abel had the right attitude, but Cain did not.
While studying this, I came across a post from Bible.org that explained why Cain’s offering was rejected. It was explained that Abel’s offering aligned with God’s desire (plan) before the fall—which was to have dominion over the animals (Genesis 1:28)—while Cain’s work was associated with the fall and curse: to till the ground (Genesis 3:23). All these are great points, even though this chapter does not explicitly state why Cain was rejected. Still, the chapter made it clear that Cain had a choice to make his offering acceptable (Genesis 4:7).
Jesus made a statement, saying, “There is nothing that enters into a man (food) that defiles a man, but what comes out of him” (Mark 7:15). Cain’s actions after the rejection of his offering reflect the state of his heart and why his offering must have been rejected. He was not in faith.
How?
Remember, Scripture says in Hebrews 11:6 (NIV): “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” From Hebrews, we can infer that Cain lacked faith, which affected his giving. From what Jesus stated in Mark 7:15, what defiled Cain was what came out of him.
I believe that the offering of a man reflects the state of his heart. Cain killing his brother after this scenario shows he had no faith in his heart. If not, he could have corrected himself by giving another offering. Galatians 5:6 explains that faith works with love. Killing another human being is not love. What came out of Cain—hatred—reflects the state of his heart. This action shows he was not in love; hence, he was someone who had no faith.
From the understanding of the New Testament, we can infer that Cain did not demonstrate or possess faith, and thus his offering was not accepted. Romans 14:23 says, “…for whatever is not from faith is sin.” In 1 Samuel 15:22, Samuel said to Saul, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” (NIV)
From Romans 14:23, Hebrews 11:6, and 1 Samuel 15:22, we see that faith in God is greater than sacrifice. Offerings should come from a place of faith in the heart rather than being mere rituals. Cain gave an offering, but he did not have faith in God. I believe our giving or offerings reflect the state of our hearts because we think through it before carrying out the action. The Bible says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).
Cain’s treasure was not with God. Genesis 6:5 states what went wrong with Cain: “The wickedness of man was great, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil.” Cain’s offering was rejected because he had no faith in God and was evil.
Written by Oluwabunmi Akomolafe