Abel was the second son of Adam and Eve and is known in scripture as the world’s first martyr and a towering figure of faith, whose brief life established the principle of worship acceptable to God.
The Early Life and Occupation of Abel
The account of Abel is found in the earliest pages of the Bible, immediately following the fall of man.
- Name and Meaning: The name Abel (Heb. Hebel) is generally understood to mean “breath,” “vapour,” or “vanity/transitoriness,” a poignant and perhaps prophetic title given the brevity of his life.
- Family: He was the younger brother of Cain and the son of the first human pair, Adam and Eve.
- Vocation: The King James Version identifies Abel as a “keeper of sheep,” contrasting him with his older brother, Cain, who was a “tiller of the ground” (Genesis 4:2, KJV). This distinction foreshadows the foundational difference in the nature of their work and their subsequent worship.
The Nature of Acceptable Worship
The central lesson of Abel’s life concerns the required quality and posture of worship before God.
The Offerings
In a foundational act of worship for the new human race, both brothers brought an offering unto the Lord:
“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.” (Genesis 4:3-4, KJV)
The Divine Respect
The Lord demonstrated a clear difference in His regard for the two offerings:
“And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.” (Genesis 4:4-5, KJV)
The New Testament later clarifies the crucial distinction:
“By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.” (Hebrews 11:4, KJV)
Abel’s offering was “more excellent” because it was offered “by faith.” The offering of the “firstlings of his flock” involved the shedding of blood, signifying a deeper acknowledgment of the nature of sin and the need for atonement and a substituted life—a foundational principle existing before the detailed sacrificial system of Israel was given. Cain’s offering, being only from the ground and not offered in the spirit of humble faith, was rejected.
The First Martyr and the Crying Blood
Cain’s jealous anger over God’s rejection led to the first act of murder in human history.
- The Fratricide: Cain, full of wrath, led Abel into the field and “rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.” (Genesis 4:8, KJV).
- The Voice of Blood: After the murder, God confronted Cain with the shocking reality of his crime:
“And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.” (Genesis 4:10, KJV)
Abel is thus recognized by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself as the “righteous Abel,” the first man to be persecuted and killed for his righteousness and faith (Matthew 23:35, KJV).
The Return Question: A Better Word
Abel’s story provides a crucial element for understanding The Return Question and the end-time focus of the website, TheLordsReturn.com.
The New Testament makes a remarkable comparison between Abel’s blood and the blood of Christ:
“And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:24, KJV)
Abel’s blood cried out for vengeance and divine justice against his murderer, an indictment of the first great act of violence in a fallen world. In stark contrast, the Blood of Jesus—the promised Seed of the woman—cries out for forgiveness, atonement, and eternal cleansing.
Abel is the inaugural figure in the great company of martyrs whose blood cries from the earth. The fact that the blood of Jesus speaks a better word assures the faithful of The Lord’s Return and the ultimate justice that will close the book on all the righteous blood shed on the earth. Abel, though dead, still speaks an enduring message: true worship is the ultimate test of faith, and that faith is anchored in the promised work of the Redeemer.