Background Story: After being taken from the garden, Adam and Eve settle in their new land and begin to have children. From this passage we see that God did not turn away from them but continued to speak to them individually.

Genesis 4:1-16

Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” ² Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. ³ In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. ⁴ And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, ⁵ but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

⁶ Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? ⁷ If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

⁸ Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

⁹ Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

¹⁰ The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. ¹¹ Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. ¹² When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”

¹³ Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. ¹⁴ Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”

¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. ¹⁶ So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Big Idea: God deserves our best and first.

Cain and Able both brought an offering to God, but Abel’s was accepted. At first read, this might feel unfair. Wasn’t Cain bringing God an offering? Shouldn’t any offering be acceptable?

Let’s examine the text to understand. The Bible says that Cain offered God “some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord” whereas Abel “brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock.” The fat portion of the animal was the choicest, best and most precious part. In fact, we read later in Leviticus 3 that a fellowship offering, or an offering of thanks to the Lord, was this same portion and “an aroma pleasing to the Lord” (Leviticus 17:6). In short, Abel brought God his best.

In addition to being the best portion, Abel brought God his firstborn. He didn’t wait until he had 20, 30 or 40 animals to choose from to make sure he had enough. He showed faith in God’s provision by bringing the firstborn of his flock to the Lord.

Throughout the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation, we see that God desires our first, our best, and our whole self. From being our first love, to giving the first of our finances, to being our greatest treasure- God deserves the throne of our life. Today, reflect and pray, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal any area of your life that needs to be placed on the altar and offered in worship.

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Dig Deeper: Deuteronomy 6, Joshua 23:6-11, 1 Kings 8:56-61, 2 Kings 4:1-7, Jeremiah 2:1-13, Joel 2:13, Malachi 1:6-14, Matthew 22:35-40, Mark 10:17-31, Mark 14:3-9, Luke 11:42, Matthew 6:19-24, Acts 5:1-11, Revelation 2:1-7

Similar Devotions: My Body, Remaining Faithful, Swimming Upstream, Undivided Heart, Choose What Is Best, Your First, The Sin of Self, Living Sacrifices, Master Over Me

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