In the course of time Cain brought an offering to the LORD
from the fruit of the soil,
while Abel, for his part,
brought one of the best firstlings of his flock.
Abel, for his part, brought one of the best of what he had as an offering to the Lord. Cain while not necessarily giving his worst, didn't give his first or his best. His sacrifice was, therefore, something he wouldn't really miss, something relatively easy to give. At this point we might think, and correctly, 'At least he gave something.' But his lack of commitment meant that he was not blessed (and could not be) by his offering in the same way as Abel. And when his own deficiency was made evident by its contrast with what he saw in his younger brother he was moved, not to learning and growth in the Lord, but to jealousy and vengeance.
The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
but on Cain and his offering he did not.
Cain greatly resented this and was crestfallen.
When we are content to live mediocre and lukewarm Christian lives do we become jealous of those in our lives that seem closer to the Lord? Sometimes we forget how we got this way. We imagine that we were never favored by the Lord and that others always received more tangible blessings that kept them in step with God. But is it not more likely the case that we have just never sought him with the best of ourselves as these others have perhaps done? After all, God does not desire an indifferent curiosity, or a lukewarm interest in drawing near to him. He blesses offerings that are wholeheartedly given because he desires our whole heart for himself, and not just a portion.
You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart (see Jeremiah 29:13).
The coldly intellectual approach of the Pharisees would not reveal the truth about Jesus because their hearts were closed to him. There had been enough signs for someone who desired to have faith. But the Pharisees did not desire this. Rather, they had a jealousy of Jesus and those whom he blessed, like the jealousy of Cain at seeing Abel blessed by God. Their jealously did not immediately issue forth into violence, although it would culminate in the cross. At this stage they sought only to control him by forcing him to prove himself on their terms, as if by some unfalsifiable sign over which they themselves would sit in judgment.
He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said,
“Why does this generation seek a sign?
Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
It was a sigh, no doubt, that began with Cain, the exhaling of which contained throughout history. It expressed a frustrated compassion for the hard heartedness of man, the compassion that made him try to encourage Cain after his unsatisfactory sacrifice, and give Cain a mark of protection even after his grievous sin. It was a sigh which received all of the abuse heaped upon God, first upon Abel who was a proxy because of his fidelity, then upon the faithful through the ages, especially the prophets, culminating finally on Jesus himself. It was a sigh that contained so much patience, but also so much sadness. As Jesus said elsewhere, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!" (see Matthew 23:37).
Then he left them, got into the boat again,
and went off to the other shore.
Sometimes withdrawing his presence was an act of mercy. In their hardness of heart he was only provoking them into further recalcitrance. But perhaps, he may have hoped, away from him, they might at last come to recognize their longing that Jesus was indeed all he claimed to be.
Are we a part of "this generation" that is always grumbling and seeking to force God to relate to us on our terms? Are we the brother who gives only what is easy, who does the minimum, and fixating jealously on the blessings given to others to ignore the state of our own soul? The Lord will be found by us when we seek him on his terms, with all our hearts. But even if we remain in our present subpar state, even if we prolong this long sigh of Jesus, he does not give up. His compassion for us compels him to keep trying, to again and again attempt to draw us into his mercy.
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.
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