42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.Ĥ3 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. The internet, social media, and the cancel culture made this all too easy.įrom the first offering through today, there will be religious people presenting their offerings to the Lord with hearts postured towards God while others hearts are postured towards the things of the world.Ĥ1 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Even “killing” their brothers and sisters reputations with words and falsehoods. People today can attempt to judge the motives of their brothers and sisters, never fully knowing the heart of someone, and make judgements, even accusations. They killed the Messiah in which they waited. Being presented with the savior, they chose their familiar religion and killed their brother. Times where people worship in deeds but not in truth.Ĭain can be likened to a religious zealot in the times of Jesus. Was this story an earlier predictor of what we would see in the days of Jesus and what we can see in the today?Ĭain and Abel speak of the times and the types of worship that would come. He redeemed us from our sins and He reconciles us to a Holy God.Īs I read and reread this story, I found myself seeing Jesus in everything. Jesus is our ultimate and most perfect sacrifice. The Bible says the Lord had regard or respected Abel’s offering.īrothers and sisters, as children under the grace of Jesus, God says this of Jesus and His sacrifice for you and me:Īnd a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love with him I am well pleased.” This story is a reminder to me to ask myself what am I offering God? What is my heart posture as I approach the throne of God? I can only ask what is in my heart when I’m giving an offering to the Lord? The Bible does not give a clear reason why so we can only speculate. You may find yourself asking, what distinguished the offering of Abel from the offering of Cain? Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” 6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. “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. He was stronger and had more experienced in his field. He knew the routine very well. Cain was the older, more established sibling in his family. They were well acquainted and the sheep knew the voice of their shepherd, their protector.Ĭain tended to the fields. The shepherd tended to all the needs of the sheep. He was responsible for not only protecting the sheep, but also taking them to good pasture (preventing malnourishment) and making sure they had easy access to water. The shepherd tended to his sheep day and night, even sleeping with them to protect them overnight. The family relied upon the sheep for food, wool and sheepskin. What was the job of the shepherd? Typically, during this time, the youngest boy was relied upon to be the shepherd until he was strong enough to move to the more difficult manual labor jobs. My children were quiet and attentive as we went through the scripture.Īs I mentioned Abel was a shepherd, one of them chimed in … just like David.Īs I explained the familiar story to my children, I was amazed at how the Lord was opening my eyes to this story in a whole new light. This was our first time reading this story together. Recently, we discussed Genesis Chapter 4, the story of Cain and Abel. This book has 52 illustrated stories, so I can rest assured that we have enough bible stories to review for the entire year. Our little family is going through the Bible Gems to Remember book. So, let me tell you what happened when our Sunday school lesson turned into an aha moment for this mommy. Like me, you may be standing there a little dumbfounded and mind blown.Īfter nearly two decades of salvation, reading the bible scriptures over and over, I continue to remain in awe of the God of the universe. Have you ever experienced a moment where you are VERY familiar with a topic but as you begin to teach it a light bulb goes on and the topic is brought into a whole new light? It is said, if you want to truly understand something – teach it.
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