The subordinate offerings are produced out of the basic offerings, such as the breast of the peace offering which becomes the wave offering and the thigh of the peace offering which becomes the heave offering.
Leviticus 7:29-31 shows that the offerer of the peace offering was to bring parts of his offering for the offerings of Jehovah by fire. The fat was to be burned to God by fire on the altar with the breast waved as a wave offering before Jehovah for Aaron and his sons. Wave indicates movement. This signifies Christ moving in His resurrection. Hence, the wave offering is a type of Christ in resurrection. Since the breast signifies love, the breast of the wave offering signifies the loving part of Christ in resurrection. This part is for the priests, that is, for the serving ones’ enjoyment.
Concerning the consecration of Aaron and his sons, Leviticus 8:26-28 speaks of one unleavened cake, one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer being 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 and waved as a wave offering. They were then taken from their hands and offered up in smoke on the altar upon the burnt offering for an offering of consecration by fire to Jehovah for a satisfying fragrance. This signifies that the tender, excellent, and strong parts of Christ, as the three kinds of cakes, with His sinless but Spirit-mingled humanity in different aspects as food, are offered to God in His resurrection. As such, they become a satisfying and fragrant offering in the fellowship of His sufferings unto death on the cross for our assuming of the New Testament priesthood.
The breast of the ram of consecration was waved as a wave offering before Jehovah, and it was Moses’ portion. 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.
Leviticus 7:32-33 says, “The right thigh you shall give to the priest for a heave offering out of the sacrifices of your peace offerings. The one among the sons of Aaron who presents the blood of the peace offerings and the fat shall have the right thigh as his portion.” The heave offering signifies the ascended Christ, and the right thigh signifies strength, power. Hence, the right thigh of the peace offering given to the priest as a heave offering signifies that the strength of Christ in His ascension is given to the serving one as a portion for his enjoyment.
God took “the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering...from the children of Israel out of the sacrifices of their peace offerings” and gave them “to Aaron the priest and to his sons for a perpetual statute to be observed by the children of Israel” (v. 34). This signifies that God has allotted, in our enjoyment of Christ as the peace offering, the loving capacity and the strengthening power of Christ to us, the New Testament priests, as our eternal portion for our enjoyment in serving God. The more we minister Christ as the peace offering and the more we offer Christ as the peace offering to God, the more we will have the loving capacity and the strengthening power of Christ. In this way, we will become stronger and more loving.
The drink offering was in addition to the basic offerings revealed in Leviticus and was offered mainly with the burnt offering, the peace offering, and the meal offering (Exo. 29:40-41; Lev. 23:9-13, 15-18; Num. 15:1-10; 28:1-14; 29:12-38). The drink offering is a type of Christ pouring Himself out for God’s pleasure and satisfaction. It is also a type of Christ as enjoyed by the offerer. Christ, as the heavenly wine, fills the offerer and even causes him to become wine to God, that is, to become a drink offering by being poured out as a sacrifice to God upon the believers’ faith, through the shedding of blood in suffering martyrdom for the Lord (Phil. 2:17).
The offering for thanksgiving is a kind of peace offering and is offered with the peace offering. The peace offering is of different kinds, indicating that the offerers’ enjoyment of Christ is in different conditions. Of all the different peace offerings, the peace offering for thanksgiving is the weakest. Concerning this kind of peace offering, Leviticus 7:12 says, “If he presents it for a thanksgiving, then he shall present with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil and unleavened wafers anointed with oil and saturated cakes of fine flour mingled with oil.” This signifies that Christ, who is mingled with the Spirit without sin, anointed with the Spirit without sin, and saturated with the Spirit as the fine One, as the meal offering in our enjoyment of Him in His conduct, is our peace offering in our thanksgiving to God, having been crucified with the shedding of His blood on the cross (Col. 1:20).
The flesh of the thanksgiving sacrifice of the peace offering was eaten on the day of its offering, and no part of it was laid aside until morning (Lev. 7:15). This signifies that the maintaining power of the peace offering for thanksgiving is rather small, and its enjoyment cannot be carried from one day to the next. This indicates that our offering of Christ as a thanksgiving to God must be fresh and new, with nothing left to become stale. Our experience of Christ daily needs to be adjusted, balanced, fresh, and new.