Abel was the first priest. He did not hire a priest to offer his sacrifice for him; he did it himself. Every Abel is a priest. Do not ask others to offer your sacrifice. Do not go to a father in the Catholic Church, to a priest in the Anglican Church, or to a minister or pastor. You must be the priest, presenting the sacrificial offering. Everyone in the church life is a priest. We offer Christ to God continually.
Abel was persecuted and killed by Cain because he worshipped God in God's way, not like Cain who worshipped God in his own way. Cain was in the flesh, trusting in the fruit of his labor, but Abel had no trust in himself. He put his trust in his offering. Typically speaking, Abel trusted and boasted in Christ, having no confidence in the flesh (Phil. 3:3). The worshippers in the flesh always oppose and persecute those who worship by the Spirit (Gal. 4:29).
Abel was a type of Christ (Heb. 12:24). What is a type? A type is a shadow or a picture. Although Abel was not Christ, he was a picture of Christ showing some of the aspects of Christ. For instance, Abel was a feeder of sheep. The Lord Jesus was the real feeder, the true shepherd of God's people (John 10:11, 14; Heb. 13:20). Although not many people in the Bible are called righteous, both the Lord Jesus and Abel are called righteous. In Matthew 23:35 Abel was called "righteous Abel"; in Acts 7:52 and 22:14 the Lord Jesus is called the Righteous One. Abel was killed by his brother in the flesh. Jesus also was killed by His Jewish brothers. Furthermore, both the blood of Abel and the blood of Jesus are speaking bloods. Genesis 4:10 says that the voice of Abel's blood cries unto God from the ground. The speaking of Abel's blood, however, was only a type of the speaking of the blood of Christ. In Hebrews 12:24, the fulfillment of the type in Genesis 4:10, we are told that the blood of Jesus is the "blood of sprinkling, which speaks better than that of Abel." Thank the Lord. We have the speaking blood. We not only have the redeeming blood, the cleansing blood, and the covering blood, but also the speaking blood. Abel's blood spoke from the earth; Jesus' blood speaks from heaven. It speaks better things than the blood of Abel. Praise the Lord!