The Covenant Of Salt

Praise be to the wonderful name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Today, I want to talk about something sacred and often overlooked — something that has spiritual weight and covenant significance. Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth.” Not just a metaphor, but a calling, a covenant, a commission.

Salt isn’t just a flavoring agent. Biblically, it’s a symbol of permanence, purity, preservation, and divine relationship. It shows up nearly 40 times in Scripture, but there are three moments where it’s directly tied to a Covenant of Salt. And those three moments set the stage for who we are today.

In ancient times, a “covenant of salt” was a special promise between two people. One person — usually someone of higher status or greater power — would offer salt, and the other would eat it. This wasn’t just a meal. It was a sacred act. It meant, "I will be loyal to you. I will protect you. I’m binding myself to you."

Salt was considered essential — not only for preservation, but many believed it was the element in blood that gave life. Salt helps maintain fluid balance, supports nerve and muscle function, and aids nutrient absorption. So when you ate someone’s salt, it was as if you were sharing life with them. It’s not far off from what we might call becoming blood brothers.

And in the ancient Middle East, like in Israel, most bread had salt in it. So when you shared bread, you were sharing salt. And to eat salt together was to form a covenant of peace, loyalty, and friendship.

That’s the weight behind this covenant. That’s what makes being called “the salt of the earth” such a sacred identity.

1. Salt Preserves the Covenant

Let me take you to Leviticus 2:13 where God says:

“With all your offerings you shall offer salt.”

Every offering had to include salt. That wasn’t optional. God was saying, "If you're going to give Me something, it's got to be preserved. It’s got to last."

Now look at Numbers 18:19. God gives Aaron and his sons the priesthood forever and seals it with these words:

“It is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord with you and your descendants with you.”

Then in 2 Chronicles 13:5, He says:

“Don’t you know that the Lord, the God of Israel, gave the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt?”

So we see two things:

The priesthood is sealed with salt.

The kingship is sealed with salt.

And then, the Lord brought this to my heart...

In Revelation 1:6, it says:

“He has made us kings and priests unto God.”

And again in Revelation 5:10:

“You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

Isn’t that incredible?

God sealed Aaron’s line with salt for the priesthood.

God sealed David’s line with salt for the kingdom.

And now He calls US kings and priests — and says, “YOU are the salt of the earth.”

That’s not poetic. That’s prophetic.

Salt is not just what we carry — salt is what we are. We are part of a covenant that preserves us and calls us into sacred purpose.

Let me give you a picture of how salt behaves. If you dissolve salt in water, it becomes invisible. But it doesn’t disappear. It’s still there, active, present. And when the water evaporates? What remains is the salt — pure, unchanged, undestroyed.

Salt is the residue of faithfulness. Even when life evaporates our strength, our resources, even our visibility — what remains is our covenant identity. You may go through a season of loss, dryness, or invisibility, but the salt — the covenant God made with you — will still be there.

You are the residue that remains when everything else fades. That’s the power of the covenant of salt.

2. Salt Purifies and Reveals the Heart

In ancient times, they would rub newborn babies with salt to purify and dedicate them. That image is found in Ezekiel 16:4. Salt meant cleansing and consecration.

But salt also reveals what’s in the heart.

In Deuteronomy 29, when Israel broke covenant, their land became brimstone and salt — desolate, cursed, barren.

And then there’s Lot’s wife in Genesis 19:26. God says, “Don’t look back.” But she does. She turns and becomes a pillar of salt.

That’s sobering.

Salt, which once sealed covenant, now seals judgment. Jesus Himself warns us in Luke 17:32: “Remember Lot’s wife.”

She didn’t preserve God’s covenant, so God preserved her as a warning. She looked back, longing for what God was saving her from. Her body turned, but her heart never left Sodom.

When I read that, I asked myself:

Am I walking forward with God?