“Cain and Abel both offered sacrifices to God. But Abel offered a better sacrifice to God because he had faith. God said he was pleased with what Abel offered. And so God called him a good man because he had faith. Abel died, but through his faith he is still speaking” (Hebrews 11:4 ESV).
In addition to the fat portion that comprised Abel’s offering, we’re also told that Abel’s gift came from among the firstborn of his flock in Genesis 4:3-5. As a result, we can say that Abel offered his best to God. In other words, Abel offered God something that was worthy of Him.
However, Cain’s offering was different. Unlike Abel, Cain did not necessarily give his first and best to God; we’re simply told that he brought some fruits of the soil as an offering. The difference was that Cain brought “some” to God while Abel offered his first and best. Therefore, these gifts tell us something important about each of these men and their respective attitudes towards God.
The author of Hebrews highlighted those differences in the passage quoted above: “It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith” (Hebrews 11:4 NIV).
We should not rush past this statement, for there may be no higher compliment than to say that God looks upon someone with respect or approval. Abel’s external offering provided evidence to support the existence of his internal righteousness. Unfortunately, Cain’s offering (and his subsequent response) said something very different.
When God rejected Cain’s offering, Cain could have said, “God did not respect my offering. I need to reconsider this so I can bring God something that is acceptable to Him.” Unfortunately, Cain did not take that approach. Instead, Cain’s response is chronicled in the second part of Genesis 4:5: “So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.”
In the original language of Genesis chapter four, the word translated “angry” means, “to be hot, furious, [to] burn.” (1) This tells us that Cain was more than simply troubled about this situation; his internal fury was visibly reflected in his face. This tells us a lot about Cain’s internal attitude towards God- and that internal attitude would soon lead to a tragic result.
(1) H2734 charah, Thayer’s Greek Definitions, https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h2734/kjv/wlc/0-1/