Quick Thought on Worship (Genesis 4:3-5)

Genesis 4:3-5

3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.

            Why was Cain angry? He was supposed to be bringing an offering to God. He was supposed to be worshipping God. If God is God and not merely another guy like Cain, does God not have the right to declare what worship he will and will not accept? It is one thing to be disappointed that you did not do rightly, but Cain was enraged.

            Do you see how wrong Cain’s heart was? How do we learn from this?

            God is God. God has the right to declare what is acceptable to him in worship. We do not come to God in our own way and demand he accept what we give. We are not in the position of power. We do not have the right to declare what God must want or not want. We are the ones who need to submit to God’s revealed word as we seek to honor him.