God's aproval

November 12, 2007

As noted yesterday I wanted to spend a few days looking a the three people mentioned in Jude 1:11.

Jude 1:11 TCNT
(11) Alas for them! They walk in the steps of Cain; led astray by Balaam's love of gain, they plunge into sin, and meet their ruin through rebellion like that of Korah.

Today we will look at Cain.

We all know what happened with Cain. He tried to give a sacrifice to God that was not accepted. When he could not get acceptance from God, he went and killed his brother. What he wanted was to be accepted. It is a common feeling that all of us have when dealing with people. In this case though, he wanted to be accepted by God. The question now becomes, why did God not accept him?

One reason could be his choice of sacrifice. He chose products of the earth. We learn later in the Bible that the blood must cover the sins of the people. Could Cain have known this? I would say yes. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden, they covered them selves with leaves. God killed an animal to make clothes for them. The first animal sacrifice was done so that people could be covered. Blood had to be shed. God may not have given His acceptance to Cain simple because it was not an animal sacrifice.

The other think to think about is that Cain did not give his best to God. He gave what he wanted to, not what was the best of his garden. God always wants his best from us. He does not want to take what we think is OK for Him.

In either case, Cain did what he wanted for God. He did not want to do want God wanted him to do. He wanted God to accept him on his own terms, something that God will not do. Do we ever do the same thing? Do what we want to do and ask God to bless it?