Leviticus 10:15
The heave shoulder and the wave breast shall they bring with the offerings made by fire of the fat, to wave it for a wave offering before the LORD; and it shall be thine, and thy sons’ with thee, by a statute for ever; as the LORD hath commanded.
The verse assigns the lifted shoulder and waved breast, presented before the Lord with the fat burned to Him, to Aaron and his sons with him as their lasting appointed share. It stands in the consecration of Aaron and his sons and the death of Nadab and Abihu, among the only historical portions of the book that regulates the tribe of Levi and its priesthood and offerings. It teaches reverence for sacred things by the difference between the holy and the common, that even priests may not make common what God has made holy, and that God rejects worship offered contrary to His commands by human substitute and invention. Nadab and Abihu offered with strange common fire instead of the holy fire God commanded, thinking it made no difference, and were devoured by fire from the Lord, showing that failing to distinguish holy from profane makes disobedience light and leads to hiding the eyes from His Sabbaths, while making that difference leads to hallowing the seventh day He sanctified. Its offering belongs to the sacrifices that point forward to Jesus Christ the Lamb of God and His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary, and its forever is limited by what it applies to, a ceremonial shadow abolished at His death.
Context and Priest's Portion
Leviticus is the book concerning the tribe of Levi that regulates the priesthood and its offerings, and this verse stands just after the consecration of Aaron and his sons in chapters 8 and 9. Chapters 8-10 are among the only historical portions of Leviticus, recording the consecration of the priests and the death of Nadab and Abihu. The heave shoulder and the wave breast were to be brought with the offerings made by fire of the fat, to be waved as a wave offering before the Lord, and then to belong to Aaron and his sons with him by a statute for ever.
Priests ate meat from only a limited number of offerings, for those offerings could also consist of grain or other foods. When meat was assigned as their portion, as in the heave shoulder and wave breast, it was lean meat from young, healthy animals, while the fat was burned for the Lord. In the service described with these instructions for the priests' portions, the priests by eating the offering's flesh in the holy place bore the transgressor's iniquity. Sin was thereby represented as entering the sanctuary, pending its final disposition on the Day of Atonement.
Holiness, Obedience and Sabbath
Leviticus 10:15 gives a striking object-lesson on the difference between the holy and the common, teaching reverence for sacred things and that holy things must be kept holy. Even priests set apart to officiate in sacred things are not permitted to make common what God has made holy. Nadab and Abihu in this chapter offered incense with strange, common fire instead of the holy, sacred fire God had commanded, thinking it would make no difference whether they used the one or the other. The Lord showed that it did make a difference by devouring them with fire of His own kindling so that they died before the Lord, because they put no difference between what God had sanctified and what He had not.
Their death shows that God rejects worship offered contrary to His commands. A substitute for what God has commanded is not acceptable, so human ceremonies and inventions must not replace divine ordinances. God is as particular now as then, and as jealous of His word as ever. Those who disregard what God has plainly said and do instead what He has not commanded because it is the custom cannot follow their example and hope to live and be accepted in His sight.
Failing to distinguish the holy from the profane makes disobedience a light thing and leads to hiding the eyes from God's Sabbaths, while making that difference leads to obeying God and hallowing His Sabbaths. No one can say it makes no difference what day is offered to the Lord when God has sanctified and claimed the seventh day. The verse therefore also teaches the necessity for God's servants to be clear-headed, temperate men.
Christ and Meaning of Forever
The regulation stands among the laws governing sacrifices and priestly duties, and every detail of those laws carried significance that reaches its fuller sense in the sacrifice, life and work of Jesus Christ. It belongs to the yearly sanctuary service, whose offerings and priestly rites foreshadowed Christ's ministry in the heavenly sanctuary and his once-for-all service. Its offering takes its place among the sacrifices pointing forward to Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
The statute is declared to hold for ever, yet for ever here marks a duration bounded by the continued existence of that to which it applies, and therefore does not necessarily mean without end. The term rendered for ever is the Hebrew goh-lahm, the same word employed for the endless existence of God, but here fastened to a ceremonial ordinance. In such use it denotes the longest period the persons or things concerned are capable of existing, judged according to their nature and circumstances. Since the ceremonial ordinances are only shadows possessing no permanent value, their for ever was limited and came to an end at the death of Christ, which shows that for ever joined to the torment of the wicked need not mean they will live as long as God exists.