In 8:25-28 we see that one unleavened cake, one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer were placed upon the portions of the fat and upon the right thigh. Then all these portions were put on the palms of Aaron and of his sons, waved as a wave offering, taken from their hands, and offered up in smoke upon the altar upon the burnt offering for a consecration offering by fire to Jehovah for a satisfying fragrance. This signifies that the tender, excellent, and strong parts of Christ, with the three kinds of cakes, with His sinless but Spirit-mingled humanity in different aspects as food, are offered to God in Christ’s resurrection as a satisfying and fragrant offering in the fellowship of His sufferings unto death on the cross for our assuming of the New Testament priesthood.
Leviticus 8:26 speaks of “one unleavened cake, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer.” This verse also refers to the fat and the right thigh. The unleavened cake, the cake of oiled bread, and the one wafer indicate respectively that we have Christ as our daily food without sin, that we have Christ as our daily food mingled with the Spirit, and that we have Christ as the food that is so available and easy to take in and that is good for feeding the young ones. We feed ourselves with the cakes, and we feed others with the wafers. The fat signifies the portion of Christ that is for God, and the right thigh signifies Christ as our strength to stand.
Verse 27 says, “Then he put all these on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons, and waved them as a wave offering before Jehovah.” Through this filling of the hands, they became consecrated, ordained priests. Today our hands can also be filled with the all-inclusive Christ, with the Christ who is the unleavened cake, the cake mingled with oil, the wafer, the fat, and the right thigh. We have the Christ who is God’s portion (the fat) and the Christ who is our standing power (the right thigh). We also have Christ as cakes to feed ourselves and as wafers to feed others, especially the young ones.
All these things were waved before Jehovah. This means that they were a wave offering, which signifies Christ in resurrection. Nothing here is natural; rather, everything is in Christ’s resurrection. In resurrection Christ is food for us and for the young ones. In resurrection Christ is also God’s portion and our standing power.
“Moses took them from their palms and offered them up in smoke on the altar upon the burnt offering; they were a consecration offering for a satisfying fragrance, an offering by fire to Jehovah” (v. 28). Here we see that the consecration offering is not merely a ram but has been increased to include other items. This all-inclusive offering was offered in Christ’s resurrection to God for His satisfaction.
If we intend to be New Testament priests, we need to take care of all the matters signified in these verses. In order to function as New Testament priests, preaching the gospel, functioning in the church, visiting people in their homes, and caring for the saints, we need to pay attention to all that is covered in 8:24-28. In particular, we need to realize that the priesthood is a burning service. In this service we burn ourselves and cause others to be burned. This burning is upon Christ’s burning. As we burn upon Christ’s burning, we have the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings unto death on the cross for the practice of the New Testament priesthood.
“Moses took the breast and waved it as a wave offering before Jehovah; it was Moses’ portion from the ram of consecration, as Jehovah had commanded Moses” (v. 29). This signifies that the loving capacity of Christ in His resurrection is for the one who ministers Christ to us in our consecration for the priesthood.
This verse indicates that the serving one deserves a particular portion of Christ. When you preach Christ, you deserve Christ. When you preach the gospel, you deserve the rich enjoyment of the gospel. Whenever we, the serving ones, minister Christ to others, we deserve to enjoy the very Christ we minister to them.
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