Day 13: Why did God reward Abel and not Cain?

In Genesis Chapter 4 God gives us the story of Cain & Abel.  As you read the story, it's hard to understand why God would accept a gift from Abel, but not from Cain. So, why would God do this? It's because Cain was not doing what was right. God is giving us a picture of Obedient Faith.  Hope the verses help, Carol

Here's the story:  Genesis 4:2-5 (NLT)
When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground. When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.

Now, God explains it to Cain in verse 7:
You will be accepted if you do what is right.

Look at the differences between them: 

Abel:Hbr 11:4 It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. God accepted Abel's offering to show that he was a righteous man. And although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us because of his faith. Hbr 12:24 You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which graciously forgives instead of crying out for vengeance as the blood of Abel did.

Life Application Bible Commentary writes that "obedience of faith" refers to...
"the obedience that comes from faith. This was the desired response to the gospel message and the goal of Paul’s ministry to the Roman Christians—that they would obey God because of their faith in God. The only source for the kind of obedience expected is faith in the one true God and in Jesus Christ, his Son. Faith and obedience are inseparable. Where one is lacking, the other will not be found either. Real faith will always lead to obedience; real obedience comes from faith. (Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., & Wilson, N. S. Romans. Life application Bible commentary Page 8. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers)

Cain:

Hbr 11:4 It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. God accepted Abel's offering to show that he was a righteous man. And although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us because of his faith. 1Jo 3:12 We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was right.