Genesis 4

And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭4:3-5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The Bible doesn’t say why God rejected Cain’s sacrifice. It could be because Abel brought a blood sacrifice to worship God, and Abel did not.  Before Jesus’ blood sacrifice that covers all of us once and for all, God required a blood sacrifice as part of worship and to atone for sins. Although Cain and Abel were before the law of Moses, God may have instructed them on what to sacrifice. It could be because Abel brought “some of the firstborn” and Cain brought “some of the fruits.” God always wants us to dedicate our first and our best of everything to Him. Regardless of the exact reason, we do know that God evaluates our motives, the quality of our offering, and the status of our heart when we give back to Him. “For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (‭‭I Samuel‬ ‭16:7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬).

So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.” And Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear! Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me.” And the Lord said to him, “Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him. ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭4:6-15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

God is and always has been a loving God, but He also is a God of perfect justice.  In the Old Testament we read accounts that describe how He destroyed all life on earth and also where He destroyed entire cities.  In each instance, we will learn that this was the only proper response to the extreme evil that was occurring.  God loved Cain very much.  In verses 6 and 7 He gave Cain a chance to try again, to right his wrong with the offering.  But Cain refused. In verse 15, God protected Cain in spite of what he had done to Abel. Our Holy God has to punish us and judge us for our sins, in order to restore our fellowship (relationship) with Him.  We cannot connect to God if we have uncorrected sin in our lives.  “Because the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastens everyone He accepts as His son” (‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12:6‬ ). He will always give us a second chance to right our wrongs, and He disciplines us because He loves us.