# 49 God Knows Our Hearts

The Book of Genesis Day 49 Ge 4:3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. Adam and Eve’s kids grow up. Abel becomes a keeper of sheep and Cain becomes a tiller of the ground. At some point in time they decide to bring an offering to the Lord. Cain from his produce, and Abel from his sheep. As we said last time, this was the forerunner of the tithe. But a problem occurs with the offering. God respects the offering of Abel, but does not respect the offering of Cain. The word “respect” here means “consider.” Imagine giving someone a Christmas present and they don’t even “consider” it! They ignore it completely! How would you feel about that? We aren’t told why, and we aren’t told how Cain knew that God didn’t pay attention to his offering. Only that Cain was angry (probably at God, certainly at Abel) about the situation, and that his countenance fell. (He got a little long in the face!) Perhaps we should think about the times we get angry at God and disappointed in Him. Maybe Cain was upset about unanswered prayer. The Lutheran Study Bible has a note here that says, “the language implies that the offerings were accompanied by prayer requests, and that Abel received that for which he prayed but Cain did not.” Sound familiar? We too, are often caught brooding about God, when things don’t go our way. But why did God refuse to consider Cain’s offering? First of all, we are reminded that God always looks at the heart and not outward appearances. 1Sa 16:7b, “For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." Then there’s the matter of Cain’s character. 1Jo 3:12 speaks of Cain in this manner, “not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous.” And in Jude, 10,11, we read this about Cain, “But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves.” 11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain Let’s face it, Cain was not exactly Mr. Nice Guy he was an unrepentant, corrupt, evil doing, pawn of the devil, and he was governed by his flesh. God sees external and internal evidence of faith. He knows all hypocrites and if He doesn’t deal with them in the here and now, He will on that final Day! Cain’s offering to God was not considered because Cain lacked true faith and Heb 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him,” Hypocrites are actors, and no amount of offerings and good deeds can make up for the lack of true faith! Hypocrites don’t like to be called out by God and it angers them to the point of murder. Don’t believe me? Just ask Abel, or the prophets, or Jesus! There is only one hope for the hypocrite, and that is the God-given gift of repentance! Ask Him for it with a sincere heart and He will bring it to you. Because as He says in 2 Pet 3:9 that He is, “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” And that includes the hypocrite! Reflect: When’s the last time you were angry? When’s the last time you were disappointed? What kind of damage do hypocrites inflict on the church? At times, we all engage in hypocrisy. What’s the best way to handle it? Pray: Father, help me to avoid the trap of hypocrisy. Let me always remember that I am nothing but a sinner saved by grace!