Salting Our Worship!
“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” (Leviticus 2:13, NIV).
Admittedly, the book of Leviticus isn’t the most entrancing read, but I’m having a field day in it! Recently, I came across the above verse and boy did it prove to be a “Whoa, Nelly” moment. A mere two verses before this, God commanded the Israelites that no honey should be added to their grain offerings (Leviticus 2:11). But here we find the LORD telling them to season their grain offerings with salt. What gives??
Bible commentators have noted that the reference to a covenant of salt implies an offering to God that is pure (because salt is a pure chemical compound), enduring (because salt preserves things and makes them last longer), and valuable (because salt was an expensive product in pre-industrial times). If so, God’s command to salt our offerings to Him is intended to ensure we offer worship that is pure and sincere. Moreover, that the LORD refers to it as a covenant suggests that worship necessarily takes place within a context of the covenantal fellowship which He has established with you and me.
This much is clear: God is NOT interested in sickly-sweet superficial worship—hold the honey, please! In his comments on Leviticus 2 (from Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Vol. 33), Charles Spurgeon inveighed against a type of “molasses godliness” he could not stomach. This is not about loving salt and hating honey; after all, the Bible has a lot of nice things to say about honey (e.g., Proverbs 24:13), and the manna God provided the Israelites in the desert tasted like honey-sweetened wafers (Exodus 16:31).
Ultimately, it is about offering worship to God that is pure and true. He is on the prowl for worshipers who worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24)!
On this Valentine’s Day with candies and sweets galore, consider chomping on some good salty chocolate as a reminder to always salt our worship to the LORD!