Through the years I have heard this discussed numerous times. Usually the answer I hear is that Abel made the first blood sacrifice to God when he made an offering of some animals from his flock. Genesis 4:2-5 tells of this offering and of the one offered by his brother, Cain:
“Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.”
This story of Cain and Abel points to the importance of a blood sacrifice as the only appropriate sacrifice to cover our sins. And the Bible underlines this truth by saying, “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Heb. 9:22).
Abel’s sacrifice of his animals also points forward to the sacrifice that was to come—that of Jesus Christ on the Cross for our sins. However, Abel’s blood sacrifice of his flock was apparently not the first in the scriptures.
For that, we must look back to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden after they sinned before God. Remember how they attempted to cover their nakedness by themselves? Genesis 3:7 put it like this, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”
Yet later in the same chapter we see that “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them” (Verse 21). I believe this shows the great importance God places on being “properly clothed” with garments of the blood sacrifice that can indeed cover our sins.
We see the same principle of being “properly clothed” in the New Testament as well: “Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Gal. 3:25-27).
Also, the book of Revelation states that those saved in the great tribulation, “Have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 7:14). Our clothing is shown to be critical as well as saints of God chosen to participate in the marriage supper of the Lamb in Revelation 19:8: “To her [the bride of Christ—or the Church] was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints” (KJV). Of course, we know that our righteousness comes from our relationship with Christ, and is not of ourselves.
Praise the Lord that He Himself has chosen to cover us and our sins with a lasting covering!