GENESIS: Give God Your Firstfruits, not Your Leftovers; "And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering!"

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. (Genesis 4:1-2) 

One of the purposes of the Lord God making a helper comparable to man (Genesis 2:18), was to fulfill one of the commandments God gave to the male and female when they were created, So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it;... (Genesis 1:27-28)

Even though after the Lord God formed the woman from Adam, And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. (Genesis 2:23-25) 

However, because of their sin of believing the lies of Satan, the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” (Genesis 3:7-10)

Because of their sin, ...the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.  So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:23-24) Adam and Eve's circumstances changed, but not God's commandment.  Christ Jesus had said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away." (Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33)

Adam and Eve were still going to have children, And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. (Genesis 3:20) And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,... (acts 17:26) Exactly how God made every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth from one blood took years of having children and children having children and so on...

But for now, we'll learn some important lessons from the first two sons Adam and Eve had.  Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. (Genesis 4:3) Abel was a shepherd and Cain was a farmer.  Parents, let this be a lesson to us to train and teach our children, especially our male children that when they reach an age where they are mentally and physically able to take care of themselves, they have to work. The Lord God said to Adam, "...In the sweat of your face you shall eat breadTill you return to the ground,..." (Genesis 3:19) That commandment wasn't just for Adam, but for all men, they have to work!

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. (Genesis 4:3-5) Long before God gave the commandments to the descendants of Adam and Eve about tithes and offerings, we find here that giving offerings to God is already in practice. 

But, why did the Lord God accept Abel's offering but not Cain's.  At some point, the Lord God had to have explained to Adam and Eve about giving to Him their firstfruits from all they earn, and they in turn taught it to their children.  Remember what the Apostle John said about Jesus, And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. (John 21:25) Well, this is even more true about everything that the Lord God did prior to His physical manifestation as Christ Jesus.  Every detail is not recorded, but we can logically fill in the blanks by the actions and responses that are recorded.

God commands that we Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine. (Proverbs 3:9-10)  Before tithes were instituted, firstfruits were given. It is the first of whatever you receive.  For a modern day example, if you get a job, your "first paycheck" would be a firstfruit offering to God. The purpose is to show that we have faith and trust in God to provide all our needs, and He in turn will "... open for you the windows of heavenAnd pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,”
Says the Lord of hosts;... (Malachi 3:10-11)

Abel also brought of the firstborn [firstfruit] of his flock and of their fat, but Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. God is God, and He does not settle for our "left overs".  We are to give Him our firstfruits, and He will bless us with the increase.  We need to learn this lesson as early as we can in our Christian life, so that we can start living by this principle as early as possible, and watch how God will bless. (I don't like to use "I" in these studies, but I am a personal witness and testimony that this is true!)

And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 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.” (Genesis 4:5-7) Too often people get angry with God because things in their lives aren't going the way they desire, but they refuse to admit that they are not obeying God's Word.  Most often people say, "I can't afford to pay tithes and offerings", but these same people are quick to pray, "Lord please bless me."

God's love is unconditional, but His provision is conditional.  Jesus said, "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38) We are to give first out of obedience to God's Word, but also with hopeful expectation, that He in return will give us, and give us an increase. There is one who scatters, yet increases more;And there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself. (Proverbs 11:24-25) AMEN!