we read "God is no respecter of persons,"
but Scripture is full of contradictions, and such things present no
difficulty to the spirit of faith, which, like hope, "believeth all
things."

Why was Cain's offering slighted? The Bible does not tell us, but many
reasons have been advanced by commentators. The Talmud supposes that
Cain did not offer his _best_ produce, but only the inferior kinds, thus
giving God what he did not require himself, and treating the holy rite
of sacrifice as a means of working off his refuse vegetables. Kalisch
waives this theory, and thinks it probable that Cain's sin was primarily
not against God, but against man. "The supposition," he says, "is
obvious that envy and jealousy had long filled the heart of Cain, when
he contrasted his laborious and toilsome life with the pleasant and easy
existence of his brother Abel. With incessant exertion, tormented by
anxiety, and helplessly dependent on the uncertainty of the skies,
he forced a scanty subsistence out of the womb of the repugnant soil;
whilst his brother enjoyed a life of security and abundance, in the
midst of rich valleys, beautiful hills, and charming rural scenes. And
while he envied Abel's prosperity, he despised his idleness, which was
indebted for the necessaries of life to the liberality of nature, rather
than to personal exertions. This hatred and jealousy took root in Cain's
heart. He beheld the happiness of his brother with the feelings-of an
enemy. The joy at the success of his own labors was embittered by the
aspect of his brother's greater affluence. How could God look with
delight upon an offering which the offerer himself did not regard with
unalloyed satisfaction? How could he encourage by his applause a man
whose heart was poisoned by the mean and miserable passion of envy?"

But all this is gratuitous and far-fetched. Cain was not afflicted with
so laborious an occupation. Adam supported himself and Eve, and all Cain
had to do was to provide himself, and perhaps Abel, with vegetables. Nor
could Abel's occupation have been light, for flocks and herds require
a good deal of attendance, and in those early days they needed vigilant
protection against the ravages of wild beasts. Abel's task must have
been quite as heavy as Cain's. Our opinion is that the Lord showed his
usual caprice, hating whom he would and loving whom he would. Jehovah
acted like the savage hero of Mr. Browning's "Caliban on Setebos," who
sprawls on the s