“If Thou Doest Well, Shalt Thou Not Be Accepted?” - Genesis 4:7

by Micky Galloway

Cain had sacrificed the fruit of the ground to God, while Abel, his brother, had offered the “firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof” (Genesis 4:4). In Hebrews 11:4, we learn that Abel offered his sacrifice “by faith,” indicating that Abel heard God (cf. Romans 10:17) and did what he said. Cain did not. Consequently, Abel’s sacrifice was accepted, but Cain and his sacrifice were rejected. Now he has another choice. He can correct his sin or he can continue in his anger. If he corrects his sin, he may yet be accepted, but if he continues in his anger, “sin coucheth at the door…” (Genesis 4:7). The purpose of the question is to get Cain to think. Why is he angry? What can he do? It is not uncommon for one who is wrong to compound his sin by becoming angry. The Galatians became angry with Paul because he told them the truth (Galatians 4:16). However, anger does not change the facts. Breaking the scales will not change your weight, crashing the mirror will not make you beautiful. There are several lessons to be learned from the question God asked Cain, “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?”

God has the right to determine what is “well.” What pleases man does not always please God. This was certainly Cain’s first mistake. Men have often labored under the false assumption that God’s feelings are determined by man’s feelings. Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1-3) evidently believed that a “strange fire” would be just as acceptable as the fire from the coals of the altar that God had prescribed (Leviticus 16:11-12). They were consumed by fire. King Saul wanted to offer a sacrifice which God had not commanded believing God would accept it (I Samuel 15). He was rejected from being king. Isaiah revealed, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith Jehovah. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). May we ever be reminded that “the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (I Corinthians 1:25).

God has the right to rule, not man. He who accepted Abel and rejected Cain is the same God who either accepts or rejects every man. In Acts 17:22-31 Paul proclaimed the one true and living God who "made the world and all things therein." "He is lord of heaven and earth" and we are dependent on Him, not He on us. He rules the nations in such away that men who seek Him can "find him." "All men every where" are commanded "to repent" in view of the end of the world and a final judgment day. Salvation is in Christ who died, who arose, and who will be our Judge on that last great day. From the beginning of the universe to its end, God rules.

Man’s acceptance is dependant upon man’s doing well. “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?” This has been the measure for every age. Do what is right and you will be accepted. Peter declared to the household of Cornelius, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34-35). It is sin that separates man from God (Isaiah 59:1-2), therefore when a man practices evil he forfeits his acceptability. It is man’s whole duty to “Fear God, and keep his commandments” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). In Micah 6:8 the question is asked, “What doth Jehovah require of thee, but to do justly, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God?” Cain was unwilling to do this. His being rejected was wholly dependant upon his own disobedience.

Every man has a choice. After God asked Cain, “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?” He then presented the other side of the coin. “If thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door” (verse 7). Cain must choose. This is the first time the word “sin” is used in the Bible. The word literally means “a missing of the mark” (Vine’s). In this instance sin is likened to a wild beast crouching at the door ready to strike and destroy dependant upon the decision of Cain. What a vivid picture and warning to him. Yet, Cain did not heed the warning. Instead he added sin to sin. “And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him” (Genesis 4:8). Sin is progressive. If we do not repent, it will grow and grow. It is never satisfied. If we do not choose to serve God, we will become the servant of Satan. Paul asked, “Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves (as) servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness” (Romans 6:16)?

Will we learn the lessons from the question God asked Cain, “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?”