11 September Leviticus 2

Seasoned with salt

Leviticus 2:13 (NIV) Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings.

In the Old Covenant, not all sacrifices involved animals and blood. God also accepted offerings of grain. Every offering that the people of ancient Israel made, including the grain offering, had to include salt.

David Guzik explains: “Salt was an important part of the offering because it spoke of purity, of preservation, and of expense. Every sacrifice offered to God should be pure, should be enduring, and should cost something”.

*Salt purifies*

God wanted every sacrifice offered to Him to come from a pure heart. We should be pure in our motives towards God. Salt is pure, but it can become impure if something is added. Similarly, our motives can become impure when we focus on our glory and recognition. Ask God to help you have the same purity as salt. Colossians 4:6 (NIV) “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone”.

*Salt is used for preservation.*

Salt is also used to preserve things, preventing them from spoiling. Meat, for example, would spoil if left alone, but when cured with salt, it stays suitable for a long time. We don’t rely on our efforts when we come to God. We come in the name of Jesus, depending on His goodness, not ours. We are “preserved” by God continually working in us. 2 Chronicles 13:5 (NIV) “Don’t you 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?”.

Salt is used as a preservative, which means it is instrumental in making things last longer. So when we say “covenant of salt,” it simply means that the covenant is perpetual and not to be broken, just as salt preserves.

*Salt had value in ancient times.*

In ancient times, salt was valuable and expensive. Adding salt to every sacrifice made the offering more worthwhile and meaningful. Likewise, we should give our best in everything we do for God, making our offerings to Him precious and valuable. Salt was once so valuable that the Roman army was sometimes paid with salt instead of money. Their monthly allowance was called “salarium” (since “sal” is Latin for salt.)

Matthew 5:13 (AMP) “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has lost its taste (purpose), how can it be made salty? It is no longer good for anything, but to be thrown out and walked on by people [when the walkways are wet and slippery]”. When we are told to be “salt,” we are told we are precious to the world.

Salt played a very significant role in the offerings of ancient Israel, symbolising purity, preservation, and value. Just as salt purified, preserved, and added worth to the sacrifices, our lives and actions should reflect these same qualities in our relationship with God. We are called to offer our best to God with pure motives, trusting in His ongoing work to preserve us. Let our words, actions, and offerings be "seasoned with salt," ensuring they are pleasing to God, enduring, and valuable as we honour Him in all we do.