Why Was Cain’s Sacrifice Rejected by God?

Nancy said:

I recently read something about this Ron. The scripture used was: “In the course of time Cain brought an offering to Adonai from the produce of the soil.”-Genesis 4:3
More to ponder

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Interesting!

I am doing well - I am enjoying the octave of Easter. Hope you are doing well

aspen said:

I think it had to do with timing - this age was for nomadic people, not farmers

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Hi @aspen,

I saw Nancy's response to you, and was intrigued, so came to find the entry of yours that she was responding to. I took note of the wording of Genesis 4:3, and it's context: but far from being nomadic, it would seem that Adam and his family were farming, keeping livestock and growing crops; and the passage of time seems to have little relation to the subject in hand.

Talking about, 'in hand', do you have an owl in your hands in your avatar?

Respectfully
In Christ Jesus
Chris

charity said:

Hi @aspen,

I saw Nancy's response to you, and was intrigued, so came to find the entry of yours that she was responding to. I took note of the wording of Genesis 4:3, and it's context: but far from being nomadic, it would seem that Adam and his family were farming, keeping livestock and growing crops; and the passage of time seems to have little relation to the subject in hand.

Talking about, 'in hand', do you have an owl in your hands in your avatar?

Respectfully
In Christ Jesus
Chris

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Yes! A baby screech owl - I volunteer at a raptor center.

Yes, I think you are right about Adam and Eve possibly being farmers. Perhaps God was declaring His plan for future generations to become nomadic? I realize that He hit the reset button with the whole flood incident, but there does seem to be a pattern of God calling His people from the comparative safety of civilization into the wilderness....farming IMO, denotes relative stability; nomadic herders have a more immediate need for reliance on God.

Could be a stretch, but I thought I would throw it out there.

aspen said:

Yes! A baby screech owl - I volunteer at a raptor center.

Yes, I think you are right about Adam and Eve possibly being farmers. Perhaps God was declaring His plan for future generations to become nomadic? I realise that He hit the reset button with the whole flood incident, but there does seem to be a pattern of God calling His people from the comparative safety of civilisation into the wilderness....farming IMO, denotes relative stability; nomadic herders have a more immediate need for reliance on God.

Could be a stretch, but I thought I would throw it out there.

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Hi @aspen,

A sanctuary for birds of prey - that must be interesting! To handle these creatures, and see them up close.

Thank you
In Christ Jesus
Chris

aspen said:

Yes, I think you are right about Adam and Eve possibly being farmers. Perhaps God was declaring His plan for future generations to become nomadic?

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While Cain became nomadic, future generations after the Flood were far from nomadic. And even the generations before the Flood lived in cities. Indeed all the ancient civilizations built magnificent cities, and their level of technology may have been even greater than what existed in Europe in the Middle Ages and until the industrial revolution.

Modern man generally fails to give proper credit to the ancient civilizations which existed in South America, India, China, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Babylonia etc. Granted they were all pagans, but they were certainly not nomads wandering around in the desert. Even the deserts are relatively recent creations.

Enoch111 said:

While Cain became nomadic, futures generations after the Flood were far from nomadic. And eve the generations before the Flood lived in cities. Indeed all the ancient civilizations built magnificent cities, and their level of technology may have been even greater than what existed in Europe in the Middle Ages and until the industrial revolution.

Modern man generally fails to give proper credit to the ancient civilizations which existed in South America, India, China, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Babylonia etc. Granted they were all pagans, but they were certainly not nomads wandering around in the desert. Even the deserts are relatively recent creations.

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Yes. C.S. Lewis coined the phrase, ‘Chronological snobbery’ to describe discounting the achievements of ancient civilizations.

Do you have examples of this advanced technology?
I did not claim that cities were unheard of, but the majority of peoples in the world were nomadic.

charity said:

Hi @aspen,

A sanctuary for birds of prey - that must be interesting! To handle these creatures, and see them up close.

Thank you
In Christ Jesus
Chris

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Yeah, I have learned a lot over the years. Raptors are interesting animals - I knew nothing about them before I started working with them. I have to admit, I am still not used to the food prep, but the release parties make it all worth the effort

aspen said:

Do you have examples of this advanced technology?

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Here's one example from ancient Babylon:
'As The New York Times recently reported, researchers have discovered clay tablets indicating that Babylonian astronomers were able to track Jupiter’s movement across the sky using a very advanced method, graphing the planet’s velocity over time. These Babylonian mathematicians were able to accurately predict the distance Jupiter would travel in 60 days (half the planet’s 120-day arc of visibility from Earth). The tablets are dated to about 350 BCE, fifteen centuries before a similar discovery was made in Europe. As Mathieu Ossendrijver, the scientist behind the discovery, told the Times, the etchings on the tablets display “a remarkably modern concept....”

The Advanced Mathematics of the Babylonians | JSTOR Daily

charity said:

Hello @Nancy,

After all the various responses you have received, what are your thoughts concerning this question?

in Christ Jesus
Chris

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I love seeing your avatar too.

I've really enjoyed this thread...our friend @Butterfly first asked the question...and while she was sleeping in UK, we ( @Nancy) posted the question for her.

I like this kind of thread because it didn't get " heavy and bookish" like some threads do. So my tiny brain could follow it okay. lol

Bless you...H

Hello .... Yes I am the culprit ! Lol
I found it helpful to have the cross references from scripture , but must admit some of the sacrificial things get me a bit bogged down. I originall was thrown by the fact that the study I was reading away from the forum mentioned that Cain should have brought a lamb as well. The writer I trusted, but had never heard that before.... So it niggled me, either this trusted writer was wrong, or no one that has preached on it over the years has picked up on it , and presumed, like me, that it was because Cain had not brought his best.
So it's been interesting to read the responses , but am amazed that it has already reached 17 pages !
The conclusion I have reached is that the writer was not just pulling something out of the air - that infact he could have been right !
Rita

Butterfly said:

Hello .... Yes I am the culprit ! Lol
I found it helpful to have the cross references from scripture , but must admit some of the sacrificial things get me a bit bogged down. I originall was thrown by the fact that the study I was reading away from the forum mentioned that Cain should have brought a lamb as well. The writer I trusted, but had never heard that before.... So it niggled me, either this trusted writer was wrong, or no one that has preached on it over the years has picked up on it , and presumed, like me, that it was because Cain had not brought his best.
So it's been interesting to read the responses , but am amazed that it has already reached 17 pages !
The conclusion I have reached is that the writer was not just pulling something out of the air - that infact he could have been right !
Rita

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Marginal references to other passages can be very helpful in Bible study and reading.

farouk said:

Marginal references to other passages can be very helpful in Bible study and reading.

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Yes, I agree- I think I was feeling a bit lazy that day and decided to discuss it rather then look it up. Although it's always helpful to read the references in light of what others say about them as well.
I some times pull subjects up and just follow them through scripture - gives you a better prospective of the subject, but it is time consuming X
Rita

Butterfly said:

Yes, I agree- I think I was feeling a bit lazy that day and decided to discuss it rather then look it up. Although it's always helpful to read the references in light of what others say about them as well.
I some times pull subjects up and just follow them through scripture - gives you a better prospective of the subject, but it is time consuming X
Rita

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They help us to love Bible reading more...

@Butterfly, @Nancy, @"ByGrace", and all who have taken part.

Hello there,

Reading through these later conversational responses which have taken place in this thread, between members; it is so good to see good humoured, pleasant, loving expressions of interest, and comment designed to edify one another, being expressed.

Having watched the news yesterday, in the UK, and the coverage of the funeral service held in Northern Ireland for the young female journalist who was tragically shot dead there: and also receiving a telephone conversation from my grandson to say that he had taken part in a peaceful demonstration to highlight the very present dangers associated with global meteorological changes. I came onto the forum intending to enter a thread on the need to behave in a loving way to one another, in the face of so much turmoil and unrest, and found this little oasis of loving responses, which has been a balm to my soul.

Praise God!

Thank you to all concerned.
In Christ Jesus
Chris

I watched the funeral as well , wasn't it emotional - such wonderful testimony to Lrye.
I saw the marches as well, good for your grandson xx