Exodus 29:27

29:1-37 Aaron and his sons were to be set apart for the priest's office, with ceremony and solemnity. Our Lord Jesus is the great High Priest of our profession, called of God to be so; anointed with the Spirit, whence he is called Messiah, the Christ; clothed with glory and beauty; sanctified by his own blood; made perfect, or consecrated through sufferings, Heb 2:10. All believers are spiritual priests, to offer spiritual sacrifices,

And thou shall sanctify the breast of the wave offering,.... Set it apart for the use of the priest in all succeeding ages: and the shoulder of the heave offering: as the breast was waved from one hand to another, or cast from the hand of one to the hand of another; the shoulder was heaved up, or cast up and caught again: this also was to be sanctified or set apart for the priest's use, Leviticus 7:32, which is waved, and which is heaved up of the ram of the consecration: the breast was waved and the shoulder heaved: even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons; as these two parts before mentioned in peace offerings were.

THE LAW OF THE WAVE AND HEAVE OFFERINGS, AND OF THE CONSECRATION GARMENTS. (27, 28) The wave offering.—For the future, in every case of offerings made at a consecration, both the breast and the right shoulder (Leviticus 7:32) were to be given to the officiating priest, who was to “wave” the one and “heave” the other before the Lord. “Heaving” was a single movement, an uplifting of the thing heaved; “waving” was a repeated movement, a swaying of the thing waved backwards and forwards horizontally. Both were modes of presenting the thing to God. (29) The holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons’ after him.—That Eleazar was consecrated in his father’s holy garments we learn from Numbers 20:28; but nothing is recorded as to the investiture of later high priests. Still, it is reasonable to suppose that the injunctions here given were carried out so long as the garments worn by Aaron held together. To be anointed therein.—The anointing of each successive high priest is here commanded by implication. Jewish tradition affirms the practice to have been in conformity.

And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder of the {i} heave offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons: (i) So called because it was not only shaken to and fro, but also lifted up.

Heaved up : this was done by throwing the parts upward, and catching them again. Even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons : the words may be rendered thus, of which breast and shoulder of the ram shall be Aaron’s portion, and of which shall be the portion of his sons ; so there is only an ellipsis of the verb substantive, which is most common, and the Hebrew prefix lamed designs a thing belonging to the person to whom that is prefixed, as it is in other like cases, as Genesis 40:8 Deu 1:17 Psalm 47:9 .

Verses 27, 28. - A short digression is here made, from this particular offering, to all future offerings for consecration. For the future both the breast and the right shoulder are to belong to the priests. The shoulder, moreover, is to be "heaved," and only the breast "waved; .... heaving" being a single lifting up of the offering towards heaven, while" waving" was a repeated movement in a horizontal direction. Wave and heave offerings are always connected with the portions of the priests, or with things dedicated to God's service. (See Exodus 25:2 ; Exodus 35:22, 24 ; Exodus 38:24, 29 ; Leviticus 7:30-34 ; Numbers 18:11, 19, 24 , etc.) Exodus 29:27

27 . the breast of the wave offering ] or, the wave breast , as this part of the peace-offering was technically called ( Leviticus 7:34 ; Leviticus 10:14 al. ). the thigh of the heave offering elsewhere ( Leviticus 7:34 al. ) the heave thigh : better (see on Exodus 25:2 ), the thigh of the contribution , i.e. the thigh which was contributed by the worshipper to the priest. As was explained on Exodus 25:2 , no rite of elevation is implied in the expression. heaved up ] contributed ; lit. lifted up , or separated, from a large mass for a sacred purpose. Cf. Exo Exodus 35:24 ; and see DB. iii. 588a ( 5 a ). from the ram of installation , (even) from that which is for Aaron, and from that which , &c.] ‘that which’ (twice) is in apposition wit ‘the ram of installation.’ 27–28 . Both the breast and the thigh of the ram of installation to in perpetuity the perquisite of Aaron and his sons. The verses (which do not agree with vv. 22, 24; for the thigh which was there burnt on the altar is here to be the perquisite of the priests) are probably a later insertion, correcting v. 26, and harmonizing (though imperfectly) vv. 22, 25 with the practice that was usual in the case of a peace-offering, viz. for the priests to receive both the breast and the right thigh ( Leviticus 7:32-34 ). 27–30 . Two parenthetical regulations: neither in Leviticus 8.

10-22. And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle—This part of the ceremonial consisted of three sacrifices: (1) The sacrifice of a bullock, as a sin offering; and in rendering it, the priest was directed to put his hand upon the head of his sacrifice, expressing by that act a consciousness of personal guilt, and a wish that it might be accepted as a vicarious satisfaction. (2) The sacrifice of a ram as a burnt offering (Ex 29:15-18). The ram was to be wholly burnt, in token of the priest's dedication of himself to God and His service. The sin offering was first to be presented, and then the burnt offering; for until guilt be removed, no acceptable service can be performed. (3) There was to be a peace offering, called "the ram of consecration" (Ex 29:19-22). And there was a marked peculiarity in the manner in which this other ram was to be disposed of. The former was for the glory of God—this was for the comfort of the priest himself; and as a sign of a mutual covenant being ratified, the blood of the sacrifice was divided—part sprinkled on the altar round about, and part upon the persons and garments of the priests. Nay, the blood was, by a singular act, directed to be put upon the extremities of the body, thereby signifying that the benefits of the atonement would be applied to the whole nature of man.

Moreover, the flesh of this sacrifice was to be divided, as it were, between God and the priest—part of it to be put into his hand to be waved up and down, in token of its being offered to God, and then it was to be burnt upon the altar; the other part was to be eaten by the priests at the door of the tabernacle—that feast being a symbol of communion or fellowship with God. These ceremonies, performed in the order described, showed the qualifications necessary for the priests. (See Heb 7:26, 27; 10:14).

Consecration of Aaron and his Sons through the anointing of their persons and the offering of sacrifices, the directions for which form the subject of vv. 1-35. This can only be fully understood in connection with the sacrificial law contained in Leviticus 1-7 . It will be more advisable therefore to defer the examination of this ceremony till we come to Leviticus 8 , where the consecration itself is described. The same may also be said of the expiation and anointing of the altar, which are commanded in Exodus 29:36 and Exodus 29:37 , and carried out in Leviticus 8:11 .