Who was Abel in the Bible?

The second Son of Adam. The name, Hebel given him by his mother, signifying 'breath' or 'vanity,' possibly originated in her disappointment at Cain not proving to be the promised Redeemer. In process of time the great difference in the two brothers was manifested by Abel offering to God a slain animal, whilst Cain brought the fruit of own labour from the cursed ground, ignoring the facts that in the fall of Adam life had been forfeited and the ground cursed. Abel presented a sacrifice in the way of faith through a slain firstling of the flock. Heb. 11:4. He thus obtained a witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: cf. Matt. 23:35. Thus early were brought out in clear lines the two seeds: one born of God, and the other 'of that wicked one' 1 John 3:12. Abel is a type of Christ, as Cain is that of the Jew. As the Jews broke the law against both God and their neighbour, so Cain disregarded God's judgement on man, and slew his brother. In Cain is also exemplified the religion of the natural man, who, disregarding his distance from God, thinks he can approach at any time and with any form of worship.

Adam and Eve, having acquired a sinful nature, could only communicate the same nature to their children. Their firstborn was named Cain, which means “smith” or “fabricator,” one who plans and fashions things in a pleasing way. Their second child's name, Abel, means “transitory.” Their names indicate something of what their history proved. Cain depended on his own ability, while Abel depended on the Lord, having his earthly life only transitory, though still speaking after his death (Heb. 11:4). Abel was a shepherd, Cain a farmer. Neither of these has any stigma attached to it: in fact Adam was commissioned by God to till the ground (Gen. 1:23), and Cain naturally followed this.

We might almost have written fact, rather than facts. We are told that he was "a keeper of sheep," but this merely makes it certain that when he brought as an offering "the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof," it was an offering of lambs. We are also told that "the Lord had respect to Abel and to his offering," and this shows that he and his offering were accepted in the sight of God. The central fact is that he found the way of acceptable approach to God by means of a sacrifice, which involved the death of the victim. He was the first man to die, yet, because his act set forth the true ground of approach to God, his name is still remembered and his voice is still heard.

God gave Adam and his wife two sons. The oldest one, called Cain, worked the ground; the younger, Abel, kept sheep. They both brought something to give to God. Surely Adam had told his two sons that when he had lived in the beautiful garden, he had sinned, and was driven out, but that God had covered them with skins, and blood had been shed because of their sin. Cain and Abel were sinful too; they both tried to come to God, each in a different way. Cain brought what grew out of the ground, the fruit such as oranges and bananas, and put it on his altar. He may have chosen the best fruits and the sweetest and prettiest to give to God. But that fruit could not take the place of Cain, in the death which he had earned. That fruit, like the Fig Leaves, had no blood. Abel brought a lamb which he killed, as if he were saying "I am a sinful man, and so should die, but I am asking God to take this killed lamb in my place. And would God take it? Yes; and before God, Abel's badness, his sin, was covered by the killed lamb. But did God take Cain's fruit? No. Why? Because there was no blood shed, so his sins were not covered. Just as the leaves of the fig tree could not cover Adam and Eve's sins, so the fruit could not cover Cain's sins." Blood must flow that we may come to God. Without it we should be thrown into the outer darkness of hell.

ABEL was in every way a contrast to his brother. The one was a farmer; the other was a shepherd. It is an interesting question why was Abel a keeper of sheep? Animal food was not sanctioned until after the flood (Gen. 9:3); "every herb bearing seed, and every tree in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding meat" was the food prescribed for man at his creation (Gen. 1:29). Why, then, should Abel be a keeper of sheep, unless for the purpose of sacrifice?

In this sphere of the individual experience the conflict is between two natures — the one which is ours as born naturally; the other, as born of God supernaturally: and here, evidently, the order is, "first, that which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual." The law of Genesis is thus that the elder gives place to the younger. Cain represents, therefore, that in us which we rightly and necessarily call "the old nature." His name signifies "acquisition, possession;" Abel's, "vapor, exhalation." The contrast between them cannot be questioned, and was prophetic of their lives: Cain possessing himself of that earth on which for man's sake the curse rested, while Abel's life exhaled to God like vapor drawn up by the sun. We may be very conscious, as Christians, of these opposite tendencies: the "flesh," so designated because in it man is sunk down from the spiritual being, which he was created, into mere "body," as we may say, or dust, while the new nature rises Godward.

(1) Why is the younger brought before our notice first? Naturally we should have described the elder brother’s occupation first. Does not God here, right early on the page of Scripture, assert His sovereignty? Not by a direct claim, but quietly by the way He presents things. Does not this very principle run through Scripture? Was not Jacob the younger son? And yet the blessing rested on him. Was not Ephraim the younger? Yet Jacob’s right hand rested on his head. Was not Moses, “slow of speech,” junior to the eloquent Aaron, and was he not chosen to be the leader of Israel’s hosts through the wilderness? Was not David the youngest of Jesse’s Sons? Yet Samuel poured on him the anointing oil.

God clearly put Abel first because he was a man of faith. The man of faith may appear in a less attractive light than the man of the world, but heaven views things very differently from earth. The world’s frown is but for a moment; heaven’s favour is for ever.

96 Let us look a little at these religious characters brought before us. Cain and Abel were both alike as to outward character and circumstance. They were both under the sentence of banishment from the presence of God. They both had employment, and both seemed to have been outwardly decent characters. They both came to worship, too, and Cain brought that which cost him most, that for which he had worked. God had sent him forth to till the ground, and he tilled it; that was all right, and it was right for him to bring an offering. The difference between them was not in all that. In outward character, too, Cain was just like Abel; nothing came out amiss until he killed his brother. What was the mistake in Cain? There was no sense upon his heart that he was driven out of paradise because he deserved it: he might not have known that he was driven out even, for he thought he had nothing to do but to go to God, as if he was all right with Him. This is just what men are doing now. They are driven from God's presence and favour, going on with their occupations, tilling the ground and the like, and, when the time comes round, thinking to come and worship! What would a father feel about his child who had been disobedient to him one day, and coming the next, just as if nothing had happened, expecting to be received as though all was right between him and his father? This is just what men are doing with God. But, dear friends, you are out of paradise, and can you think to come and worship God as if nothing had happened? Are you expecting to get into heaven just the same as (not one whit better than) Adam was when he got out of paradise? If you got into heaven, you would spoil it; but the truth is, you are making your own heaven down here.

Abel's offering involved the death of the sheep, as is evidenced by the words, "and of the fat thereof." At this point Hebrews 11:4 should be read. It shows us that his offering was an act of faith — the first to be put on record. Now faith lays hold on what God has revealed. If we ask what had been revealed for Abel's faith to apprehend, we can only refer to what we have in verse 21 of Genesis 3. Abel apprehended the significance of the coats of skins, and hence by his offering acknowledged that he was a sinner under the death sentence, and could only approach on the ground of the death of a victim. Cain had no faith, He ignored this, and approached under false pretences.

How came poor Abel to be an accepted worshipper? "And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And Jehovah had respect unto Abel and to his offering; but unto Cain," etc. (v. 4). He was accepted by blood. There was this testimony in his offering: I cannot go to God as I am; I am driven out of paradise, sin has come in between me and God, and death, "the wages of sin," must come in between me and God, or I cannot go to God - I cannot go as I am. He took the place of a sinner, and put in faith between himself and God the blood of a victim that had been slain. Unless in his going to God he had owned his necessity that he could not get into the presence of God at all but by blood, he would not have been accepted any more than Cain. But he knew and owned that he could not get to God without blood: he was of faith, and faith ever sees that "without shedding of blood there is no remission," Heb. 9:22. He put death - judicially inflicted death (by slaying the victim) - between himself and God, and then he comes into the presence of God as an accepted worshipper. "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," Heb. 11:4.