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"And in process of time it came to pass, that 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 : But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell." [Genesis 4:3-5]

Some people might believe that the first Old Testament animal sacrifices had begun with Moses. Others might believe that they had begun in the above passage with Cain and Abel. But neither of those beliefs is correct. The first animal sacrifice in the Bible had been performed by the Lord in response to the sin of Adam and Eve. They had rebelled against Him by eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As a result they had realized for the first time in their lives that they were naked, and that had made them feel ashamed and afraid. Genesis 3:6-10 says, "…she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked …And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself ." One should realize that sin always makes the individual realize that he or she is naked before the Lord. Then knowledge of that will make him or her feel ashamed and afraid. But as the first two people had learned, one cannot hide from God.

By what they had done, Adam and Eve had brought some very unpleasant consequences upon themselves and also upon ALL of humanity. First, they had been expelled from the Garden of Eden and had been forced to live outside of that ideal environment. Second, they had experienced being physically separated from God and from the tree of life which meant that they would also in time experience physical death. Third, because of Adam's transgression against God, ALL human beings are forced to live their lives in some difficulty and face the same penalty of physical death. I Corinthians 15:21-22 says, "For since by man came death , by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die , even so in Christ shall all be made alive." Thus, it is because of Adam's choice to sin against God that everyone born into this existence must die.

But their story and the sacrifices by Cain and Abel do not end there. God had shown compassion and mercy to Adam and Eve by providing a covering or clothing for them so that they would no longer be naked. Genesis 3:21 says, "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them ." Therefore, God had performed the first animal sacrifice recorded in the Bible, and He had done so for a very definite purpose. The covering had removed the shame and guilt that Adam and Eve had felt. It had symbolically also COVERED their sin. So the later offerings by Cain and Abel had NOT been incidental or without history. One can be sure that their parents had probably many times shared with them their experiences with God while in the Garden of Eden. Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go : and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

They had probably many times told them about ALL of their good and fun experiences together. With tears in their eyes, though, they had probably also many times told them about the day when they had been tempted by their own lusts and had by their own CHOICE fallen into sin. James 1:13-15 says, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil…But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust , and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." They had probably also taught them many times that God had killed an animal or animals to provide a covering for their sin and to take away their shame. So Cain and Abel would have almost certainly grown up in their home with their parents outside of the Garden of Eden hearing about ALL of their parent's experiences while inside the garden.

Therefore, Adam and Eve had probably taught them about the importance of offering a sacrifice unto the Lord. For them, the sacrifice would have been twofold. It would have first shown their gratitude to God for what He had done for them in the garden. But it would have also been to show their gratitude to Him for what would have been their blessed life living outside of the Garden of Eden. From a theological point of view, their sacrifice would commemorate their sin having been covered. It would also have been a picture of the future offering by God of His only begotten Son. Many years later, the Prophet David would express the blessedness of having one's sin covered. Psalm 32:1 says, "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered ." Many years after that, the Apostle John would write that God had offered His only begotten Son so that EVERY human being can have his or her sin covered and also receive eternal life. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The conclusion is that Adam, Eve, and Abel had probably been SAVED because they had received God's covering for their sin. Unfortunately, the evidence suggests that Cain had NOT come to the Lord to be SAVED .