Day 7: Heave Ho

Exodus 29:27-28

New King James Version (NKJV)

Heave Offering, from VisualBibleAlive.com

²⁷ And from the ram of the consecration you shall consecrate the breast of the wave offering which is waved, and the thigh of the heave offering which is raised, of that which is for Aaron and of that which is for his sons. ²⁸ It shall be from the children of Israel for Aaron and his sons by a statute forever. For it is a heave offering; it shall be a heave offering from the children of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, that is, their heave offering to the Lord.

There are so many types of offerings in Exodus & Leviticus that it's hard to keep track. Yesterday I read the wrong chapters, getting a day ahead of myself, so "tomorrow", which is actually yesterday, you'll see more info on various types of offerings. But today I'm explaining the "heave" and "wave" offerings.

The heave and wave offerings were actually a part of the ritual for the peace offering. This was a voluntary offering, often used for giving thanks, or for making vows, or other occasions. With this offering, All of the fatty parts and organs belonged to God. The breast and the thigh was to be food for the priests, and the remainder of the animal was to be food for the offerer, and presumably, his family.

The heave offering was the right thigh of the animal. The offerer would lift it up towards the alter, symbolizing giving the sacrifice to God in heaven, and receiving it back. This portion of the meat was given to the priests. The wave offering was the breast of the animal. In similar manner, the offerer held the portion in his hands, with the priests hands under his, and waved it from side to side before the altar, symbolizing giving the sacrifice to the God of all creation, and receiving it back. The breast was then given to the high priest.

I obtained this information from various sources, but this table lays everything out very nicely and is easy to understand.

Day 8: That Sweet Aroma!

 1897 Bible Pictures and What They Teach Us; Charles Foster

I know, I jumped out of place. This should be day 7, but I read the wrong chapters today! That's ok, tomorrow I'll go back and read what should have been read today. My blog entries will just be out of order.


Chewing through Leviticus has always been kinda hard for me. Today I read 15 chapters detailing the different offerings and all the ceremonial procedures for them. A lot of repetition. My eyes feel crossed and my brain hurts. And I still didn't understand the differences.


So I turned to the internet and looked up a few places that could explain them to me. I figured I could share that for today,. At least a summarized version.

• The Burnt Offering: This was the most common offering, and the first mentioned in Leviticus. It was the only offering that could not be eaten, and it offered up that sweet aroma that the Lord found so pleasing. The burnt offering was voluntary, and symbolized total surrender to God.

• The Grain Offering: This was also a voluntary offering, and the only one that did not require an animal sacrifice or shedding of blood. It was an offering of fine flour that offered up a sweet aroma to the Lord, symbolizing a living sacrifice.

• The Peace Offering: This was also voluntary, and offered a sweet aroma to the Lord. It symbolized fellowship or communion, and was the only offering that the person who offered it could eat the meat of the sacrifice.

• The Sin Offering: This was not voluntary, nor was the aroma pleasing to God. It was required as atonement for the sin nature in general.

• The Trespass Offering: This was also not voluntary, and not a pleasing aroma to God. It was a required sacrifice to pay the penalty for specific sins one had committed.

i obtained this information from the following sermon outline.