It’s not often that we read through the sacrifices and ceremonies of Leviticus.
When you do, however, and you arrive at the grain offering in Leviticus 2, you might notice something peculiar about its ingredients. For a grain offering you would expect some kind of cereal crop to be the principal ingredient—and you’d be right.
But then it also says this: “You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt” (v. 13).
That’s a lot of salt to add to the mix—what’s the meaning of it?
For God, salt was a symbol of his covenant with the Israelites. And it showed that His covenant with them was permanent. Think of how salt is a preservative. For example, you can salt your freshly caught fish to make it last longer. Or think of how there’s plenty of salt in beef jerky. Salt is also not something that can be destroyed by time or fire, but it endures.
This addition of salt to the offerings is called “the salt of the covenant with your God.” It was a reminder for the Israelites that God’s relationship with them was permanent: not to be destroyed, never broken. This is what God says in Numbers 18:19,
It is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD for you and for your offspring with you.
That’s a striking phrase: with us God has a covenant of salt—a preserved covenant—one that will remain forever.
When a worshiper added salt to his grain offerings, it was a cue to remember: “God has entered into a lasting covenant with me and my people. God will never forsake me, no matter what. And I must never forsake my God. It’s a covenant of salt forever.”
This remains a great encouragement for us who live in covenant (or relationship) with God through Christ. From our side, we can be so inconstant and weak. Our zeal for the LORD can be rock solid one day, almost completely dissolved the next. But God is faithful. He has given his Word to us, sealed and promised, guaranteed through the work of his Son. In Christ, all of God’s promises find their Yes (2 Cor 1:20).
As lasting as the mountains, as reliable as the sun and the moon, God has a covenant of salt with us.
Now reflect that Jesus calls us the salt of the earth (Matt 5:13). In this sinful world, we can enhance and even preserve the lives of our neighbours. When our neighbours see how we live in Christ, when they hear his gospel from our lips, God can bring them to faith. Amazingly, God can use us to preserve them, to save from fire: “You are the salt of the earth.” Or as Paul says in Colossians 4:6,
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt.
But to be salty for others, to have salty words on hand to help them, we must be thoroughly saturated with the “salt of the covenant.” We need to retain our saltiness and to keep our distinctiveness in order to have an impact.
And the only way to stay salty is through a living relationship with God. Without knowing God by his Word and walking with God in prayer, we’ll be bland, lifeless, and devoid of anything good to give.
But when we know God in Christ, we can be living sacrifices—salty sacrifices—presented gladly to worship him.
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