Can you explain the heave and wave offerings mentioned in Numbers 18:11?
Let’s begin by reading Numbers 18:8-10, “And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of mine heave offerings of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel; unto thee have I given them by reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, by an ordinance for ever. This shall be thine of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every oblation of theirs, every meat offering of theirs, and every sin offering of theirs, and every trespass offering of theirs, which they shall render unto me, shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons. In the most holy place shalt thou eat it; every male shall eat it: it shall be holy unto thee.”
The priests and the Levites received no inheritance of land. Numbers 18:20 tells us, “And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.” The Lord declared that He would be the part and inheritance for the Levites. The priests and Levites had the great responsibility of keeping the order of the Tabernacle. We read in verse 1, “So the Lord said to Aaron, “You, your sons, and your father’s household with you shall bear the guilt in connection with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the guilt in connection with your priesthood.” (NASB). It was their responsibility to make sure no stranger came near unto the Tabernacle, or the utensils used in the Tabernacle. (Verses 2-4). They were to observe this under the penalty of death as we read in verse 3, “And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die.” What a great and grave responsibility belonged to the priests and Levites.
In verses 8-19, the Lord lists many of the things that would be given to the priests and Levites to sustain and provide for them. They had no land to inherit, so the Lord made provision for them in the different sacrifices and tithes required from the Israelites.
So…what are these heave and wave offerings? These offerings received their names because of the motion of the priest when making these offerings to the Lord. The heave offering was offered in an up and down manner while the wave offering was offered in a side-to-side manner.
The heave-offering and wave-offering formed part of the provision made by the Lord for the priests
and their families. By a grant, everlasting in its duration, God thus gifted the house of Aaron as we read in verse 11, “And this is thine; the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it.”
This is a blessed lesson for us to learn. For those who live to serve the Lord, He will make provision for us to sustain us in our labors for Him. Paul, the apostle, depended upon the Lord to provide for his needs, and the Lord was faithful to make sure Paul had enough to continue in his work for the Lord. In Philippians 4:10-13 Paul said, “But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (CC) (566.2)