Fruit From the Cursed Ground
“And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;”Genesis 3:17 (KJV)
After the fall, God told Adam, “cursed is the ground for thy sake.” Then, one chapter later, two brothers brought offerings. “Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering.”
Cain brought what his own hands had grown out of the cursed ground. Abel brought a lamb, a life laid down. Hebrews tells us what made the difference: “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.”
Cain’s offering was the best of his own work. Abel’s pointed to a sacrifice. That is the first picture in the Bible of a person approaching God, and the lesson is already there: we don’t come on the strength of what we have grown. We come through a sacrifice.
Hebrews later speaks of “the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” Abel’s offering pointed forward. Christ’s blood is the better word. Come to God through him, and leave your own fruit at home.
Read it yourself
Read Genesis 4:1–7. What did God say to Cain in verse 7?
Are you trying to approach God with the fruit of your own work?
Father, I don’t come with my own fruit. I come through the blood of Jesus, which speaks better things. Amen.