A Thought on how the Bible Comments on Itself

I have often wondered about the story in Genesis 4 where Cain and Abel are bringing their offerings to God.  As the story goes, Cain’s offering was rejected by God and Abel’s was received favorably.  The Bible does not specify why one offering was received and the other rejected.  We are left to ponder the reason.  I have my own thinking on this issue and it is tied to the idea of Abel bringing “the firstborn of his flock” while Cain’s “fruit of the ground” doesn’t carry a similar idea, i.e., first fruits.  Thus, there appears to be a qualitative difference in the offerings, which speaks to the state of their respective hearts.  With this in mind, it occurred to me while reading Deuteronomy 26 this morning that there is a connection with Genesis 4 and the idea that “first fruits” expresses the state of one’s heart.  Moses commands the people to “take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground…and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place that the Lord your God will choose…and you shall go to the priest…then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God.”  The implication here is that taking the first fruits of the land shows the Israelite’s gratitude for the grace of God, which, apparently, Cain did not have…just sayin’