GIVE THE LORD GOD YOUR VERY BEST

Proclamation:

“In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to The Lord.  And Abel also brought an offering, fat portions from some of the first born of his flock.  The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering He did not look with favor.  So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.”  Genesis 4:3-5 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of God which were written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  In this fourth chapter of Genesis, Moses presents the sons of Adam and Eve.  Cain grew up to be a worker of the soil and Abel grew up to be a keeper of the flocks. (Genesis 4:1-2)  In the course of time, Cain brought of some fruits as an offering to The Lord.  Abel, however, brought the best from the first born of his flock as an offering to The Lord.  Abel and his offering were looked upon with favor by The Lord, but He did not look upon Cain and his offering with favor. (Hebrews 11:4)  Cain did not give The Lord God his best and The Lord God told him that if he had done that which was right, he and his offering would have been accepted. (Genesis 4:6-7)

Application:

When we give to The Lord God, we should give Him the very best of what we have to offer.  We are to give to Him from the first fruits of all of our increases. (Proverbs 3:9)  He deserves the first portion of the very best that we have, and not some small part of that which is left over after we give to ourselves and to others. We need to put God first in everything, including our giving. (Matthew 6:33)