Did God really favor Abel over Cain?

Question

It says that in the Bible. Do you interpret that God loved Abel more. It says he was favored more because of the offering he gave God.

Answer 1

There has ALWAYS been a battle between the ranchers and the farmers, just as in the American "Old West."

Cain's sacrifice was less acceptable because it wasn't from the "first fruits." Abel's sacrifice was the best of the best! It's all there in the Hebrew Bible -- you can't miss it.
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Answer 2

Yes, God favored Abel over Cain because Abel was willing to listen and do the things that God had asked of him...whereas Cain descided that he didn't need to.

Answer 3

Esau I have hated an Jacob I have loved. The first shall be last and the last will be first. These things have a spiritual meaning we are created int he image of God who is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is an eternal spirit and man was created first flesh then spirit above the animals with an eternal spirit. Man is more than flesh but like God has a spirit and the flesh should be in submission to the spirit as Christ himself was in submission to the Father.
I believe you are asking if God loves one of his creatures more than another. we are all equal but the difference in any man is the differeence God does make. God loves us all and offered his own sinless flesh to redeem us while we were yet sinners. The differences of the sacrifices of Abel and Cain are to demonstrate faith the coming of the lamb Jesus Christ and Cain's sacrifice being from the ground which is cursed.

Answer 4

No God didnt love Abel any more than he loved, Cain. It comes down to if you read the scriptures, Abel gave the best that he had to give and Cain just gave an offering.
Then God tells Cain: 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

Cains attitude wasnt right with God.

Answer 5

The reason God accepted Able's offering is because he gave God the best he had to offer & Cain what was left over, Abel gave joyfully & Cain gave because he thought he had to. God says I own the cattle on 1000 hills would I ask you if I needed anything. Our giving is God's way of allowing us to bless Him, it is a previlge not an obligation.

Answer 6

Yes. It is interesting to note that both made sacrifices, even though there is nothing recorded where God commanded it. Anyway, look at their sacrifices. Abel sacrificed a perfect lamb (get the typology?), something that was not of his hands, Cain sacrificed from his crops, something he grew. Abel sacrificed something he could take no credit for, wasn't from his works, Cain sacrificed that which was the work of his hands, his works.

Answer 7

The story of Cain and Abel was written as a very intricate and very intriguing metaphor.

Allow me to explain:

In the area of the middle east in around 8500 B.C., there occurred something known as the agricultural revolution. This area contained the Fertile Crescent, one of the birthplaces of agriculture. The Fertile Crescent lay between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (look on a map; you'll see where I'm referring to). In that area, there developed a people whose existence began to be based on agriculture. Unlike those outside the Fertile Crescent, who raised livestock and hunted for their food (like Abel), the people in the Fertile Crescent farmed and raised crops for their food (like Cain). Those outside the Fertile Crescent were the Semites, or, for a more conventional term, the Jews. Those inside the crescent were the Caucasians (not white people; they were from the Caucus region, where the Caucus mountains are).

So. The Semites raised livestock, and the Caucasians grew crops.

Now, by 4500 B.C., the agricultural revolution of the Caucasians had spread across Asia Minor to the west and to the mountains in the north and east. But to the south, it was blocked by the Semites. You see, because the Semites preferred their way of doing things (raising livestock), they did not want to yield to the Caucasians' way of doing things (growing crops).

Here comes the really interesting part.

If you haven't figured it out by now, Cain represents the Caucasians: Cain raised crops, just as the Caucasians did. Abel represents the Semites: both raised livestock.

Let's continue. By 4000 B.C., the Caucasian agriculturalists had expanded all throughout the middle east and Asia Minor, with the exception of the Arabian Peninsula: the last refuge of the Semites. The reason for the Caucasians' relentless expansion was rooted in their culture: They needed space to cultivate land to grow their crops. The more their civilization grew, the more land they needed. So, at the north end of the Arabian Peninsula, the two cultures clashed. The Caucasians killed the Semites for their land, just as Cain murdered Abel out of envy and malice in the story of Genesis.

Genesis, of course, was written by Moses, who was a Semite, so obviously the story of Cain and Abel is written from the Semite point of view. That is why Abel is favored in the story. The Semites saw their way of life as better, and created a story to symbolize their plight. Moses' people, the Semites, were slaughtered by the Caucasians for their land. In Genesis, Cain murdered Abel out of jealousy for God's favor of Abel.

And that's why God favored Abel.

And for the record, ALL of this information should be credited to Daniel Quinn, author of the novel "Ishmael." All of this information and more is explained with fascinating detail starting with chapter eight of section nine of the novel. I recommend it to anyone curious about the history and plight of mankind.

Thanks for your question, it was a joy to answer! I hope this helps!

Answer 8

Look at this story in its historical context.

It was written by a group of nomadic herders who were championing one deity whose worship was under severe threat from another, Ba'al, who was associated with settlement and farming.

OF COURSE, the Hebrew deity favored the herder's offering over the farmer's. This is local politics told as a narrative.

Answer 9

Also, if the bible is pro-death penalty, why didn't god kill cain when he slew abel?

Answer 10

When you please God, He rewards you, when you disobey God, He punishes you! Abel was more generous then Cain. Therefore God loved Abel for his generosity!