As a shepherd, Abel set his work apart for the glory of God. He offered a blood sacrifice on his altar, and the Lord looked with favour on Abel and on his offering. In this, we see an early and striking picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. Like the first faint light of dawn in the east, Abel does not reveal everything—but he clearly announces that the Sun is rising.
Abel was both a shepherd and a priest, offering to God a sacrifice with a pleasing aroma. In this, we glimpse Christ, who presents to His Father a sacrifice that forever receives God’s full approval. Abel was hated by his brother—hated without cause—and so too was the Saviour. The natural, sinful man despised the one accepted by God, the one in whom the Spirit of grace dwelt, and that hatred did not rest until blood was shed.
Abel fell, and his own blood was poured out upon the altar where he served. In this, he points forward to the Lord Jesus, slain by human hatred while faithfully ministering before God. As Scripture says, “The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” Let us pause and mourn as we see Him struck down by the hostility of mankind, His own blood staining the altar of sacrifice.
Abel’s blood cried out from the ground: “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me.” But the blood of Jesus speaks with a far greater voice. Its message is not judgment, but mercy. What a privilege it is to stand at the altar of our Good Shepherd—to see Him offered there as the slain Priest—and then to hear His blood proclaim peace: peace in our consciences, peace between Jew and Gentile, peace between sinful humanity and an offended God, and peace that echoes through all eternity for those washed in His blood.
Abel was the first shepherd in human history, but Jesus will always be first in worth, glory, and love. O great Shepherd of the sheep, we—the people of Your pasture—bless You with all our hearts as we behold You slain for us.