The Salt Covenant (Sacrifices 5)

There’s a folktale of a king who had three lovely daughters.  He knew he would need to select one of them to rule after him.  He decided to make the determining factor for this momentous decision which daughter loved him the most.  So, he asked each one of them.  The first said, “Father, I love you more than gold and silver.”  The second replied, “Father, I love you more than diamonds and rubies.”  The third said, “I love you more than salt in my soup.”  His majesty had been feeling pretty good, on hearing from his two older daughters, but the answer from his youngest enraged him.  Accordingly, he banished her from the kingdom.  Shortly thereafter, a salt shortage hit the kingdom. Soon, the people were crying out for salt, as their bodies began to suffer the consequences of salt deficiency.  Upon hearing of this bad situation, the younger daughter returned, to find her father very ill.  As she comforted him beside his sickbed, he recognized the truth of her words of love, and he gave to her the kingdom.

Legends and folktales endure because at their essence there is some kernel of truth.  In this story, the importance of salt is emphasized.  We find in the Bible that salt is elevated there too.  Let’s start with the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.  The verse appears in similar form in all three of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 5:13, Mark 9:50, and Luke 14:34.)  Here is Mark’s version from the NLT (New Living Translation):

Salt is good, but if the salt loses its saltiness, with what will you season it? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with one another.

Did you ever wonder why Jesus used salt as a learning aid?  I’ve heard sermons about this, and most of them refer to the preserving properties of salt, and/or the healing properties of salt.  It is true that the Body of Christ, we who follow Him as Savior, serve as a positive influence in this world in those ways.  But, in addition, I believe Jesus was heartening back to the salt covenant of the Old Testament, by using salt as the metaphor here.

Let’s look at the verses in the Old Testament which inform us about the salt covenant and the use of salt in the korbanot (offerings).

First, in Leviticus 2:13 - - 

And you shall season each of your grain offerings with salt. You must not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offering; you are to add salt to each of your offerings.

Further along, Numbers 18:19, a salt covenant was made between the LORD and the Aaronic priesthood.

All the holy offerings that the Israelites present to the LORD I give to you and to your sons and daughters as a permanent statute. It is a permanent covenant of salt before the LORD for you and your offspring.

So, as a result of the commands for the Temple korbanot, all of them were offered with salt.  And, in both cases, the “covenant of salt” was mentioned. (Salt was also added to incense that was offered on the altar.)

Ezekiel 43:24 and 2 Chronicles 13:5  are also pertinent references to the study of Salt Covenant.

In 2 Chronicles 13, we read about the epic battle between King Abijah of Judah against King Jereboam of Israel.  Before going into battle, where his forces slew 500,000 of Israel’s warriors, King Abijah referenced the salt covenant God made with the descendants of David.  Verse 5 - - - 

Do you not know that the LORD, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt? 

Here the reference is made to the salt covenant being between God and King David and his descendants (of which Jesus was one, of course.)

We first see salt mentioned as important in Job 6:6-7 - - - 

6Is tasteless food eaten without salt, 

or is there flavor in the white of an egga?

7My soul refuses to touch them; 

they are loathsome food to me.

“Loathsome food” ... interesting.  And, wouldn’t you think he would have said, “my tongue refuses to touch them”?  But, no, he said my SOUL refuses....

A covenant, biblically speaking, was a strong, enduring, legally-binding promise, initiated by God. We have examined here three major touch points in Scriptures, concerning salt being used to symbolize specific covenantal relationships with God: the Aaronic priesthood, the line of Davidic kings and the covenantal relationship between Christ and His Church. (In Matthew 5:13, He says “You are the salt of the earth...”)

The truth is that God does not get overly specific in Scripture as to why He chose salt to symbolize these important covenantal truths.  But, I do think we can draw some logical conclusions.

1.  Salt endures and preserves.

Several years ago, I went through a “prepper” phase, where I hoarded non-perishable foodstuffs in our basement.  Fortunately, “the end of the world as we know it” has not occurred, which would require desperate action to stay alive.  However, I will tell you that the 100 or so rolls of toilet paper I had stored up certainly made 2020 less anxious for our family, but I digress.... My point is that there are several canisters of salt down there.  Kosher Salt and Sea Salt “do not go bad”, despite that it has an expiration date on the canister.  

For centuries, salt was used and is still used as a preservative for food, particularly for meat.  Though a distasteful thought, salt was also used in mummification, again, as a preservative.

2.  Salt enhances flavor and gives a picture of establishing the covenant.

Our English word “salary” comes from an ancient word meaning “salt money”.  Salt has long been associated with making agreements.

In other extra-biblical Near East sources, we find salt playing a key role at covenantal meals, where it was eaten by the parties involved to “seal the deal”.  That tradition still endures in some Eastern cultures today.

In Malachi 1:1-12 the altar of God is referred to twice as a table, “the table of the Lord”.  Even today, at the Sabbath table, a ceremony is performed where the Sabbath bread is dipped in salt, as a reminder of the eternal attribute of God, His changelessness.  What He has vowed, He will fulfill.  What He has promised, He will keep.  His words will stand past the end of time.

In summary, while the salt covenant is never explicitly spelled out in the Bible, we can deduce from the characteristics of salt, its value and the contexts in which the salt covenant is mentioned that it has a great deal to do with God’s promises to His chosen.   Blessed be His name, forever!

Sources:

"Making Sense of Sacrifices, Part 3", by Dr. Jennifer Scrivner, Beth HaShomer Ministries

http://www.jtsa.edu/a-covenant-of-salt

https://www.gotquestions.org/salt-covenant.html