The Path of Truth Forum

Did you realize: Cain offered a sacrifice he was pleased to give.

Reminds me of:

2 Samuel 24:18-25 ESV
(18) And Gad came that day to David and said to him, "Go up, raise an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite."
(19) So David went up at Gad's word, as the LORD commanded.
(20) And when Araunah looked down, he saw the king and his servants coming on toward him. And Araunah went out and paid homage to the king with his face to the ground.
(21) And Araunah said, "Why has my lord the king come to his servant?" David said, "To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the LORD, that the plague may be averted from the people."
(22) Then Araunah said to David, "Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Here are the oxen for the burnt offering and the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood.
(23) All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king." And Araunah said to the king, "May the LORD your God accept you."
(24) But the king said to Araunah, "No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
(25) And David built there an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD responded to the plea for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.

Amen! Wow! So in other words, true sacrifice will cost us something? I never seen that before. Thank you Lord, for opening my eyes to see it now! We can sometimes take for granted the things the Lord has given us. We think we have attained them from our righteousness or our own power! Wonderful revelation today!

I red something on the Notice Board some days ago. It said Abel sacrificed because it was the right thing to do whereas Cain sacrificed hoping to please, and I suppose being pleased himself with his own sacrifice, "Look how great this is! Surely God will also be impressed."

Did Abel sacrifice to impress or because it was the right thing to do? Did David sacrifice to impress? I believe he did it because it was the right thing to do.

W

God testified that Abel by faith offered a better sacrificed than Cain. I see that true sacrifice unlike the world's way,requires faith. We must sacrifice our life in this world for the Kingdom of God. I remember, Victor, telling us, "it will cost us everything to serve God.

Victor Hafichuk wrote:Did you realize: Cain offered a sacrifice he was pleased to give.

To me, being pleased to give [as an offering / a sacrifice ] unto the Lord rings a lot of alarm bells! Why? A true offering not only costs you [everything] but requires faith also.

Being please with ones offering is self idolatry because we acknowledge our [self righteous] effort....therefore, no faith required! And, not pleasing to the Lord.

'Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?" They answered, "Caesar's." He said to them, "Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."' Luke 20:24-25 WEB

The things [the image] whose are of God will cost everything. There is no pleasure when we offer especially our lives and take up the cross! We must die. Again, it takes faith.

Thank you Darrell, William, Paul and Victor for your refreshing posts. Yes, we've heard it before. But, it is good to hear and discuss these topics again but viewed at different angles.