And thou shalt hallow the breast of the wave-offering, and the shoulder of the heave-offering, that hath been waved and heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, of that which is for Aaron, and of [that] which is for his sons.
Exodus 29 describes the week-long ceremony that made Aaron and his sons priests, and verse 27 names the priests' own share of the ram of ordination. Why does God take the breast and the thigh (older translations say "shoulder") for Himself, then hand them back as food for the men who serve Him?
The words "wave" and "heave" describe real movements of the meat in the priests' hands. Commentators pass on what those movements were.
The rabbis explain that the heave shoulder was moved up and down, and the wave breast from side to side. These actions were done 'before the Lord.' They seem to picture the ones who moved the offerings as truly in His presence, with their hands filled with Christ.
The two portions were not equal in size, and one writer finds meaning in that — and in the shoulder itself:
The whole breast was waved, but only one shoulder was heaved. So God claimed part of what the shoulders stand for, while everything the breast pictured was declared to be His. The shoulder seems to stand for ability to serve, and the right shoulder for this: whatever is best able to carry the load should be given up to Him.
The breast and the shoulder picture two things in Christ that His people feed on.
What are we to learn from this rich and generous gift of "the wave breast and heave shoulder" as the priests' food? Only this: that all the perfect love of Christ, which we can never fully search out, and His almighty power too, are opened up to us for the lasting comfort and strength of our souls. The breast is the seat of the affections, and the shoulder the source of power, so both are set before us... And these parts too they could wave before the Lord, acceptable to Him beyond measure, and most precious to us.
Commentators differ on what separates a wave offering from a heave offering. One sees a difference in how fully the offering is given up to God:
Look at the passages where heave offerings and wave offerings appear, and I think you will see that heave offerings are a fuller and more complete giving up to God. Wave offerings are presented to Him, and sanctified by being presented in this way, and He is owned in them. But they are needed for the service of man — that is, for the Church.
Another reads the two motions as marking two stages in Christ's own history:
A wave offering and a heave offering seem to differ in this. The heave offering stresses the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from among the dead, while the wave offering shows His ascension into heaven.
The verse hands a share to Aaron and his sons, but they are not the only ones with a part in this sacrifice.
God, Christ as Priest, and the whole Church, pictured by Aaron and his sons, all feed alike on the offered sacrifice. It was the fellowship of God, of Christ, and His people — all having their part — in accomplished atonement. We also learn that Christ alone is the food of His people. They are brought under the full value of His sacrifice, which consecrates and sanctifies them, and He becomes their nourishment and strength... Priestly food must be eaten in connection with the altar. In the same way, you cannot feed on Christ if you separate Him from the cross.
This portion was not a one-off gift for the week of ordination. One writer shows how steady it is, and how far it reaches.
Every member of the priestly family — "daughters" as well as "sons" — is to feed on "the breast" and "the shoulder," whatever their measure of energy or ability. These are the affections and the strength of the true Peace Offering, raised from the dead... This makes everything "sure and steadfast," come what may. Men may fail and fall short; strange fire may be offered. But God's priestly family must never lose the rich and gracious portion that God's love has provided and God's faithfulness has secured, "by a statute for ever."
- Presented: the breast was waved from side to side, the shoulder lifted up and down, both "before the Lord." It pictures people standing in God's presence with their hands filled with Christ.
- Given back: what is first offered to God becomes food for the priests. The sacrifice God accepts is the sacrifice His servants live on.
- Love and strength: the breast stands for the affections of Christ, the shoulder for His power. Both are opened up for the comfort and strength of the soul.
- Shared: God, Christ as Priest, and the whole priestly family each have a portion in the one offering. That shared meal is fellowship in an atonement already accomplished.
- Forever: a lasting statute fixes this portion for every member of the priestly family, whatever their ability. Human failure cannot cancel it.
And they shall be for Aaron and his sons, as an everlasting statute, on the part of the children of Israel; for it is a heave-offering; and it shall be a heave-offering on the part of the children of Israel of the sacrifices of their peace-offerings, [as] their heave-offering to Jehovah.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.