Salt is produced from the combination of two of the most deadly chemicals known to man – sodium, an unstable metal, and chlorine, one of the deadliest gases. When these two deadly chemicals are combined they produce sodium chloride, also known as common table salt. Salt is the only known rock that humans consume.
Additionally salt is produced “from oceans and lakes which can be produced by letting shallow holes of water dry up in the sun. The salt which remains is coarse grained, not like our fine-grained table salt. Salt produced this way is called solar salt. Each gallon of water produces more than 1/4 pound of salt. Salt buried in mines deep in the earth, however, is the main source of our table salt. Salt mines are found almost everywhere in the world. The salt is obtained by two methods. In one, the salt veins in deep mines are broken loose by drills and explosives.”
The word “salt” comes from the Latin word “sal,” which means salt. Salt was once a valuable commodity, and was used as currency. The English word “salary” comes from the word the Latin word for salt. It has been said there are more than 14,000 uses for salt. Salt is used for flavoring and preserving food. It also used in tanning, dyeing, and producing soap, pottery, and chlorine. Salt is also used in melting icy roads, and for agricultural uses. Furthermore, salt purifies, heals, and preserves.
The Covenant of Salt in Worship
Salt was important in the Ancient Near East as well. The Lord included salt in the grain offerings of Israel:
“No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the Lord, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the Lord made by fire. As for the oblation of the firstfruits, ye shall offer them unto the Lord: but they shall not be burnt on the altar for a sweet savour. And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt. And if thou offer a meat offering of thy firstfruits unto the Lord, thou shalt offer for the meat offering of thy firstfruits green ears of corn dried by the fire, even corn beaten out of full ears. And thou shalt put oil upon it, and lay frankincense thereon: it is a meat offering. And the priest shall burn the memorial of it, part of the beaten corn thereof, and part of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof: it is an offering made by fire unto the Lord” (Leviticus 2:11–16).
The grain offering appears always to have followed the burnt offering (Num. 28:1–8) and consisted of flour and oil. Though it too provided a “sweet smelling aroma,” its purpose wasn’t so much to secure atonement, but rather it was a gift of worship or devotion unto the Lord.
In the grain offering three things were to be included: frankincense, oil, and salt. However, two things were to be excluded from the grain offering: honey and leaven. The sacrifice didn’t need to be sweetened. No matter how much we may try, there is no way to sweetened the death of Jesus Christ. It was an awful event. Some would rather us leave out the message of the atoning work of Christ. But His blood had to be shed for the remission of our sins.
Frankincense
Frankincense was a brown-like substance that exuded from the Boswellia tree. It was used as a fragrance (Song of Solomon 3:6; 4:6,14). Throughout the Bible, however, it was used exclusively for sacrifices in worship and prayer. It was the only incense allowed at the altar with the grain offerings, and was included in the incense in the Tabernacle (Ex. 30:34). The purpose of frankincense was to provide a sweet smelling fragrance. Likewise, our prayer and worship should be flavored with frankincense. The Lord loves a cheerful giver, but he also loves a joyful worshiper. Worship shouldn’t be drudgery, it should be delight. Prayer shouldn’t be boring, but beautiful.
“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord” (Ps. 122:1).
“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: Come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, And into his courts with praise: Be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; And his truth endureth to all generations” (Psalm 100).
Oil
The offering had to be accompanied with oil (Lev. 2:1–2, 4, 6, 15), either poured on it or mingled with it. This is a picture of the Holy Spirit, who was given to us without measure (John 3:34). Not only do we need some joy in our worship and prayers, we need the Holy Ghost to accompany it. When’s the last time the Holy Spirit accompanied your worship? When’s the last time the Holy Ghost assisted in your prayer time?
“But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost” (Jude 20).
“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:26–27).
Salt
The Lord didn’t ask for honey or sugar to be added, He insisted on salt. The addition of salt to the grain offering represented an everlasting relationship between God and His people.
Salt symbolized the life and enduring nature of the alliance. In the OT salt appears in the relationship between God and Israel (Lv 2:13). As a purifying agent and preservative in the grain offering, salt symbolized the everlasting nature of the covenant between God and Israel.
The Covenant of Salt
In the Ancient Near East salt was exchanged as a symbol when treaties or alliances were made. Salt signified that the relationship or agreement was perpetual. The use of the salt in the sacrifices was a reminder that God’s covenant with Israel indissoluble.
When God made a covenant with David, it was said, “The Lord gave the kingdom to David forever by a covenant of salt” (2 Chr. 13:5). The covenant between God and David was everlasting (2 Sam. 7). The importance of the inclusion of salt in the offerings, and the representation of salt in the covenant between God and David, symbolizes the everlasting covenant between Christ and the Church.
In light of the covenant of salt, the words of Jesus become significant: “Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another” (Mk. 9:50). To be salt in the world, Christians must be seasoned with salt, which only comes through being united with Jesus Christ in the everlasting covenant of salt. Salt represents permanence and incorruption.
The uses of salt in an offering symbolized an everlasting relationship between Christ and the Church—they everlastingly belong to Him, and He everlastingly belongs to them.
In essence the “Covenant of Salt” cemented the relationship between both parties.
Salt Preserves
Salt dries food to preserve it. Salt draws water out of food and dehydrates it. All living things require water and cannot grow in the absence of it, including bacteria which can cause food poisoning. Furthermore, salt kills microbes that lead to bacteria and toxins.
The world and its toxins could be destructive to the believer. If we stay in the Covenant of Salt with Jesus, then He will keep and preserve us!
“The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: He shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in From this time forth, and even for evermore” (Psalm 121:7–8).
Another translation says:
“The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever” (Psalm 121:7–8 NLT).
Salt as Purifies
Salt can be used as a purifying agent. For instance, the addition of salt may help to purify water. The prophet Elisha purified poisoned water by adding salt to it (2 Kings 2:19-22).
We should also note that salt impedes the growth of leaven. Paul said that a little leaven leavens the whole lump (Gal. 5:9). Leaven, as a type of sin, is dangerous. In the Old Testament, especially in the Passover, leaven represented the defilements of the world. Leaven was to be left out of the bread of the Passover. But the use the addition of salt can kill the leavening agent.
If we are to combat the rise of sin in our hearts, then we must be consistently salted with the Word of God, and devotion to the covenant we have with Him.
Salt Heals
Many of us remember being told by our parents to gargle warm water and salt to ease the pain of sore throats, mouth ulcers, or canker sores (as they are known by in the Whitley home). Conversely, the old saying “rubbing salt into the wound” suggests salt makes things worse and results in excruciating pain. The medicinal use of salt water can be traced back to the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians, all of whom used it to treat cuts, wounds, mouth sores and skin irritations.
“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men” (Matthew 5:13).
The point of this verse is the influence of believers in the world. The church is to be an agent for good in the world. If there is going to be healing in our world, then the church must be salty. The church must bring flavor to a rather bland and sinful world.
But salt can also be bitter. What the church stands for may run contrary to the world’s ideals. Our morality is different. Our lifestyle is different. Our values are different. But these things are what give the church its value. The One with whom we are in covenant with is different! His ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.
Salt can also sting. Salt in a wound may sting, but it may also cleanse and heal. The sting of sin is met with the balm of Jesus Christ. The church’s doctrine may sting the conscience, and make it uncomfortable. But the process of healing begins when the wound is diagnosed.
Jesus said salt could lose its savor. There is a sense that salt may never lose its saltiness, but it could become contaminated causing it to lose its flavor. Or salt may become watered down, causing it to lose its effectiveness. In other words, it is good for nothing, and needs to be cast out and trodden under foot.
Christians may lose their value and effectiveness in the world when sin and worldliness contaminate them. We cannot be an influence for purity if we have been contaminated.
Conclusion
“Now because we have maintenance from the king’s palace, and it was not meet for us to see the king’s dishonour, therefore have we sent and certified the king” (Ezra 4:14 KJV).
“Now because we share the salt of the palace and it is not fitting for us to witness the king’s dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king” (Ezra 4:14 NRSV).
The Pulpit Commentary said, “The marginal rendering is better, and shows the true sense. ‘Eating a man’s salt’ in the East is deriving one’s subsistence from him. The man who eats another’s salt is bound to look after his interests. It was not meet for us to see the king’s dishonour. Rather, “the king’s detriment or loss” – it was not meet for us to stand by tamely and see the king stript of his due.”
In other words, we who are in the Covenant of Salt with Christ, share in His interests! The blessings of Jesus Christ are ours. We derive our subsistence from Him. He provides for us, and care for us. He preserves, purifies, and heals. Furthermore, we must honor Him with our lives. We honor Him with our worship, and devotion. We honor Him by not being ashamed of Him or His Gospel (Lk. 9:26, Rom. 1:16).