In Exodus 29 the anointing oil is mentioned first in verse 7 and again in verse 21. Verse 7 says, “And you shall take the anointing oil and pour it upon his head and anoint him.” This refers to the anointing of Aaron before any of the offerings were slaughtered. First Aaron himself was anointed apart from the blood. This is a type of the anointing of Christ mentioned in Psalm 133. In this psalm the ointment was poured upon Aaron’s head and eventually ran down to the skirts of his garments. This signifies the anointing of Christ by God apart from redemption. Christ’s anointing, of course, did not require the shedding of blood.
Aaron was anointed not only as a type of Christ, but also as a sinful person who was being sanctified to serve God as a priest. Because Aaron and his sons were sinful, there was the need for a second kind of anointing, an anointing with the anointing oil and the sprinkling of the redeeming blood. Actually, regarding this anointing, the blood is mentioned first. This indicates that we must first have the redeeming blood, and then we can participate in the anointing Spirit.
The blood of the peace offering is somewhat complicated. As we have seen, there are three steps, three applications: first, the blood applied to the ear, the thumb, and the big toe of the priests; second, the blood sprinkled upon the altar; and third, the blood with the anointing oil sprinkled upon the priests’ garments.
Verses 22 and 23 say, “And you shall take from the ram the fat, and the fat; tail, and the fat that covers the inwards, and the appendage of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat which is upon them. and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of the filling of hand; and one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer from the basket of unleavened bread which is before Jehovah.” The parts of the ram mentioned here are the richest and sweetest parts. According to verses 24 and 25 these parts, along with a loaf of bread, a cake of oiled bread, and a wafer from a basket of unleavened bread, were burned “on the altar upon the burnt offering for a sweet savor before Jehovah.” The inward parts and the fat were all burned to be God’s food. This is confirmed in Leviticus 3:11 and 16.
The main outward parts of the second ram were the breast and the shoulders. The right shoulder, the inward parts, and the fat were burned, along with the three cakes. The right breast was waved before God. This is a wave offering, a type of Christ in resurrection. This right breast which was waved before God was not burned; instead, it was given to Moses to be his portion. The left breast and the left shoulder were the portions for Aaron and his sons to enjoy. The shoulder was heaved, exalted. This heave offering typifies Christ in ascension. Christ in resurrection is the wave offering, and Christ in ascension is the heave offering.
The breast of the peace offering signifies love, and the shoulder signifies strength. The Christ in resurrection is of love, and the Christ in ascension is of strength. In the New Testament the ascension signifies strength and power. The ascended Christ is a Christ of power and strength.
To repeat, the right shoulder was burned for God, and the right breast was first waved before God and then given to Moses to be his portion. Both the left shoulder and the left breast were heaved up before God and then given to Aaron and his sons to be their portion. In forthcoming messages we shall cover these matters in more detail.
From what we have covered thus far, we see that we need Christ to be our sin offering, to be the ram as our burnt offering for God’s satisfaction, and to be our peace offering, with all its aspects. Part of the peace offering is for God’s satisfaction, and part is for the ministering priests. As priests, we may enjoy our part of the peace offering along with the bread.