blondie:
I always wondered why Abel killed sheep...
A question that never came to my mind until you just mentioned it! (giving self yet another slap on the forehead). And it ties into what BTS said:
At first(until the flood) no meat could be eaten.
I would like to see that statement substantiated. I always believed it as a JW.
That proof would be Genesis 9:3, about which (among other things) the WTS says:
*** w90 5/15 p. 30 Questions From Readers ***
Questions From Readers
? Is it appropriate for a Christian to go hunting or fishing?
The varied reactions to hunting often involve deep feelings. So it is best for Christians to strive to understand and apply Jehovah God’s thinking on the matter as found in the Bible.
God gave mankind dominion over both "wild" and "domestic" animals. At first, humans did not have the Creator’s permission, nor perhaps any physical need, to kill animals for food. (Genesis 1:24, 29, 30) Only after the Flood did God give mankind the right to eat animal flesh that was properly drained of "its soul—its blood." (Genesis 9:3, 4) That could be meat from either domestic or wild animals.
Which then would mean that Abel killed animals simply and solely to offer up their carasses to Yahweh as a sacrifice that Abel assumed would be pleasing to his God:
*** w02 8/1 p. 28 Questions From Readers ***
Questions From Readers
Did Abel know that an animal sacrifice was needed to gain God’s favor?
The Bible account of Cain and Abel making their offerings is very brief. At Genesis 4:3-5, we read: "It came about at the expiration of some time that Cain proceeded to bring some fruits of the ground as an offering to Jehovah. But as for Abel, he too brought some firstlings of his flock, even their fatty pieces. Now while Jehovah was looking with favor upon Abel and his offering, he did not look with any favor upon Cain and upon his offering."
There is no mention in the Bible that prior to this event Jehovah had given any specific information about sacrifices or about what kind of sacrifices would be acceptable to him. Thus, Cain and Abel evidently made their offerings solely of their own volition. They were barred from access to their parents’ original Paradise home; they began to feel the effects of sin; and they were alienated from God. In their sinful and pitiful state, they must have felt strongly the need to turn to God for help. Offering God a gift was likely a voluntary gesture on their part toward gaining God’s favor.
As matters turned out, Abel’s offering was accepted by God, but Cain’s was not. Why? Was it because Abel offered the right things and Cain did not? We cannot be sure that the type of offering had no bearing on matters, since neither of them had been told what was acceptable and what was not. However, it is likely that either type was acceptable. In the Law that Jehovah eventually gave the nation of Israel, acceptable sacrifices included not only animals or animal parts but also roasted grain, sheaves of barley, fine flour, baked goods, and wine. (Leviticus 6:19-23; 7:11-13; 23:10-13) Evidently, it was not the substance alone of the sacrifices of Cain and Abel that caused God to accept one and reject the other.—Compare Isaiah 1:11; Amos 5:22.
Based on this QFR, Abel could just as easily have made a vegetable salad for God.
