Why was God not pleased with Cain's offering?

Why was Cain rejected and Abel accepted?

Cain was a faithless man who lived his life in a way which displeased God. When he brought his offering to God it was not accepted.

Genesis 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?
‘doest well’ means ‘do good’ or ‘that which is right’. The NIV translates it:

NIV Genesis 4:6 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?

Some suppose that Cain should have offered an animal. The scriptures indicate that Cain’s whole attitude and way of life was evil. The New Testament writers’ inspired comments are as follows:

Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

1 John 3:12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.

It may reasonably be supposed that his motive for killing Abel was envy. This was why the rulers of the Jews killed Christ and they were of their spiritual father who was a murderer.

I hope you have found this helpful.

How to Pleased a Man

 A man takes pleasure in any number of things and, contrary to popular belief, they don't all revolve around the bedroom. Please your man and he'll soon wonder how he got along without you in his life. Most relationships go through ups and downs, but make sure your ups are more frequent than your downs by doing the little things it takes to please a man.

Instructions

1.  Meet your man at the door wearing a costume, perhaps a nurse, maid or anything revealing. Play a little fantasy game before heading to the bedroom to fulfill his fantasies.

2. Feed your man's regular hunger, not just his sexual appetite. A good meal goes a long way towards keeping a man satisfied since it's hard to get upset when your tummy is full of good cooking.

3. Tell your man how great he is. You don't need to make up stuff he knows isn't true, but look for his strengths and let him know how much you value them. For example, maybe your man can fix just about anything. Reward him for a job well done with kudos for his talent.

4. Watch sports with your man if that's what he likes to do for entertainment. Or learn to bowl if he's a bowler. The point is to get over your initial dislike and do some of the things your man likes to do. You get to spend more time together, and he'll start to see you as a friend, as well as a lover.

5. Keep yourself looking as nice as possible. Get your hair and nails done, wear nice-looking clothes and stay in shape. Men are pleased when they have a well put-together lady on their arm when out in public, so save the sweatpants for the gym.

6. Please your man best by treating him the way you want him to treat you. Men really aren't that much different from women...except for a little testosterone and a few physical differences.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't nag when your man spends time with his friends. He won't be pleased if you call every hour to check on him. Give him some space and he'll come back to you afterwards.

Seven Simple Ways to Pleased the Lord

 

Over the years I have heard numerous new Christians complain about the complexity of the Christian walk. Frustration over trying to "figure out" how to be a good Christian has forced more than one believer to throw up his hands and blow the whole idea off. Like anything profound in life, the key to being able to grasp the concept and actually DO IT lies in the ability to keep things simple. The walk and lifestyle of a Christian does not have to be as complicated as a Calculus class in college. Here is an example of how to keep our Christian walk simple.

Look at Titus 2:11-14:

"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.

Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.

Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Who gave himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works."

DENYING UNGODLINESS-this simply means to reject, renounce or disown whatever is opposed to God. Whether in our minds, bodies, homes or lifestyles; we should isolate those things which are opposed to God and reject or disown them. If a worldly CD causes your mind to think things contrary to God, then get rid of it. If a certain television show immediately gets you "out of fellowship", quit watching it. The first step in learning the Christian walk is to isolate and eliminate things that are opposed to God.

DENYING WORLDLY LUSTS-this also implies rejecting, renouncing and disowning something; but here it is dealing specifically with worldly lust. Worldly lusts are simply whatever constitutes sinful worldly desires in a believer's life. God has planted within us the desire to please HIM. The world has programmed us desire what it offers. The battle in our minds is one of rejecting worldly desires, which is what the flesh wants, and accepting the desire to please God which is what He wants.

LIVE SOBERLY-although this may appear to be dealing with alcohol, the idea of living soberly is really that of exercising self-restraint or self-control. Of course, if a person did this in respect to alcohol, they would stay sober. There are too many potential pitfalls awaiting believers to allow the mind to become intoxicated or dulled by drugs, alcohol or any other influence which stupefies it. To live soberly is very similar to saying "stay alert".

LIVE RIGHTEOUSLY-to live righteously is not so much in relation to God as it is to behave in a just and right manner before men. To "live right" is the manifestation of "being right" in one's relationship and fellowship with God. By our fruit we are known and others need to see the good fruit of righteousness we produce when we live according to the standard of God's Word. As believers, we strive to think, act and speak that which is right and proper per God's definition.

LIVE GODLY-here is where our "righteous living" in respect to God enters the picture. Just as we strive to "live right" before men; we strive to live in a godly manner to bless God. To live in a godly manner is to be pious, but not religious. There is a dignity about us when we are living in a godly way. The easiest way to think of this is to imagine how Jesus would live if He were here now. It is not so much what Jesus would do as how Jesus would live and think.

LOOKING FOR THE BLESSED HOPE AND GLORIOUS APPEARING-there is no way to endure the pressures and pleasures we are daily bombarded with in this life without keeping our eyes on our "happy hope" or the hope which imparts happiness. This is the motivating factor in being willing to live in an ethical and upright manner, which is what the preceding things were all speaking about. Without the hope of Christ's appearing burning in our heart, we will surely "burn out" and fail in our walk.

ZEALOUS FOR GOOD WORKS-Jesus Christ gave Himself for us so that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify us for Himself a special people. This is the reason we strive to live in a manner pleasing to Him. We are zealous for good works because of all He did for us, not because "we have to". We endeavor to walk uprightly and in a godly manner because we are "special" to Him. He gave His live so we can be a pure bride to Him. That is what this is all about.

If we reject all that is opposed to God and sinful worldly desires; and if we live exercising self-restraint, righteously and in a godly manner we will be zealous for good works. We do all this keenly looking for the coming of our groom to gather us to Him and to be with Him forever more. We do all this so that we can be chaste and pure when He appears. We do all this because we so love Him for all He did for us in giving His life a ransom for our sins.

Jesus Christ has redeemed us from every lawless deed we ever committed in our lives. Every sin we ever committed was totally washed away when we got saved. Now we are to be zealous to please Him through our good works. Not to be saved, but to be able to present ourselves pure and chaste at His appearing. This is our very reason for living. 

It Pleased God to Crucify His Son

There is no truth more breathtaking than God’s gift of His Son. It could not have been said better than when it was spoken by John, the Apostle that leaned on Jesus’ breast. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believed in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) Neither the Romans nor the Jews crucified Jesus. The Father sent His Son, His own Eternal Son, out of His own bosom for the designed purpose of being the sacrifice of death to save from sin. Just as the Father slew the first sacrifice in the Garden of Eden to provide a temporary covering from sin, the Father provided the finished work on Calvary.

No one ever described the death of the Son of God better than Isaiah, Israel’s statesman prophet. Isaiah first spoke of the viciousness of Jesus’ suffering in His fleshly body that He bore as the instrument of sacrifice. "As many were astonished at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men." (Isaiah 52:14) He did not bare this body, His instrument of sacrifice, that we might glory in the beauty or the pain. It was God’s love and Christ’s love in that we were to rejoice, the willingness to take our place in the judgment of sin. This is the glory of the cross. The writer strengthened this truth in the following words, "For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not." (Isaiah 53:2-3) We are not to glory in His flesh or our flesh, but in the triumph of that cross where God bridged the gap of separation between Himself and His redeemed saints.

Isaiah spoke of that bridge of redemption as He continued to prophesy of Christ, hundreds of years in advance. "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted." (Isaiah 53:4) He was our substitute; He took our place. Everything we deserved was laid upon Him. For all the pain that sin had earned, He was God’s answer and God’s offering in our stead. It is so easy to glory in the gore of His death without one moment of deep repentance for our own sins that he was dying to amend and atone.

This prophecy is careful not to bypass the real truth of His death. The Spirit said, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:6) The Father laid on the very heart and soul of His Son every transgression of human history. The Word said, ".laid on him the iniquity of us all." No sinner need despair because the debt is paid for all that turn wholly to Him. How could one man bare the sin of the world? Only because He was God in the flesh. "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." (Matthew 1:23) The sacrifice was the Son of God because no one else could possibly be the sufficient sacrifice. It had to be God or all was lost.

The pleasure of the Father in this great moment of redemption must be understood by the largeness of His Divine capacity. We understand on a human level, but our Father knows love in the glory of His holiness. Isaiah dared to describe this glory of His love. "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities." (Isaiah 53:10-11) This is an even greater expression of love that John spoke about in his gospel. "For God so loved the world" is beautiful; but, to say, "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him," overwhelms our soul. This is too high for me; it is love that stretches the breadth and length of this universe and must lift our hearts to reverence our God and to love Him with an everlasting love.

When the Son of God was dying and the throes of suffering had reached the highest levels, the Father turned from this universe and darkness enveloped the whole of it. Men have often contemplated those three hours of utter darkness. "Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour." (Matthew 27:45) The answer for this darkness is so beautiful. The Father was willing, even pleased to sacrifice His Son, but He turned His head from the sorrows of this supernatural accomplishment. He could not watch, nor did He allow the crowd gathered around the scene to watch the darkest moments. "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46) It was done; the Father was pleased, although His heart was grieved for His Son.

The Son of God had walked where no one else could walk and He declared, "It is finished." The Father has exalted His Son and given Him a name, which is above every name. Eternity will reveal the glory of the Father’s love for His Son and His saints will rejoice in that glory.

 

Based on Isaiah 53:10, “The LORD was pleased to bruise him, he has put him to grief.” The chapter ends with this parable:

Once there was a land ruled by a wicked prince. He had come from a foreign country and enslaved all the people of the land and made them miserable with hard labor in his coal mines across the deep canyon. He had built a massive trestle for the trains that carried his slaves across the canyon to the mines each morning, and it was heavily guarded.

Two men were still free in this kingdom -- one old and the other young. They lived on an inaccessible cliff overlooking the trestle. They hated the trestle. At last they resolved together to blow it up and destroy the slave labor of the enemy prince. They planned and they prayed and they reminded themselves of the reality of heaven.

The night came when the deed would be done. Their hearts were pounding with joy. It was a hard plan. It would be possible to time the trek of the trestle guard so that the explosive could be carried quickly to the vulnerable spot on the trestle. But there would be no time for the carrier of the explosives to return. It was certain that the he would be seen and the plan foiled if he tried to return. To make sure the trestle blew up the two men agreed that the young man would detonate it by hand on the trestle. He would blow up with it.

But they believed in heaven, and they loved the people of the land. And so the honor of this sacrifice made their hearts leap with joy. The hour came. They folded up the map of their strategy, stood from the table and embraced each other. When the young man got to the door, he turned with the explosive strapped to his back, looked at the old man, and said, "I love you, Father." And the old man took a deep breath—with joy—and said, "I love you too, Son."