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Genesis 4:1–8 — Cain and Abel’s Offerings · A Tithe of Time Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to a tithe of time, verse by verse.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Today we begin reading from the ESV, Genesis 4, 1 to 8, Cain and Abel's offerings.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: And again she bore his brother Abel.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: If you do well, will you not be accepted?
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Its desire is for you, and you must rule over it.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Cain spoke to Abel his brother, and when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's look closer.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: The passage begins by saying Adam knew Eve his wife.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: Here, knew is a biblical way of describing sexual intimacy between husband and wife.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Eve conceives and gives birth to Cain and later to Abel.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: The brothers grow into different kinds of work.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: Abel keeps sheep while Cain works the ground.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: Both eventually bring an offering to the Lord.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: But notice how their offerings are described.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Cain brings an offering of the fruit of the ground.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Abel brings the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: The text gives us those details about Abel's offering, but it does not tell us that Cain's work or the kind of food he brought was wrong.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Then we are told that the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but not for Cain and his offering.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Genesis does not stop here to give us every reason behind that difference.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: What it does show clearly is Cain's response.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: He becomes very angry and his face fell.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: God speaks to Cain before Cain harms anyone.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: He asks why Cain is angry and then gives him a warning.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: Sin is crouching at the door.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: That is a powerful picture.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: Sin is described almost like something waiting just outside, ready to take hold of him.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: God tells Cain, its desire is for you, and you must rule over it.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Cain receives that warning before the violence happens.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: Then the passage moves quickly.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: Cain speaks to Abel, they are in the field, and Cain rises against his brother and kills him.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: Genesis does not record what Cain said to Abel.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: It tells us that Cain was angry, God warned him about sin, and Cain later killed his brother.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: We do not need to fill in their conversation to see how serious God's warning was.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: This concludes Genesis 4 1 to 8.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Next, we'll continue with Genesis 4 9 to 16.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: And remember, tithe your time.