Exodus 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates.
The next issue has to do with the Sabbath, for which there is now a generally accepted substitute in the world of Christendom. When God commanded Cain and Abel to bring a lamb to worship, He did so with the sole purpose of pointing humanity to the great sacrifice to be made by Jesus for our redemption. Abel obeyed and was accepted, but Cain rejected the word of God, yet he was a religious person who showed up for worship, albeit with his own version of what he thought the sacrifice should be.
After he was reprimanded by God, he still continued insisting on his version of worship, and as such, his offering could not be accepted. After he was told of the natural results of his course of action, he complained about the consequences, and God then promised to protect him as long as he would live. Yet, for all the guarantees of protection God then gave, the requirement of a lamb did not in anyway change.
Just because God promised to protect Cain for as long as he lived does not mean that he was in God’s favor. Instead, he was in God’s mercy. Persons in our day who point to the fact that there are some who prosper or seem to be blessed while they are disobeying God are deep into the spiritual darkness, which has now enveloped the earth.
Genesis 4:6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 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.
May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless!