“The meat offering”
Every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt. —Leviticus 2:13
Read Leviticus 2:11-16
Today we will again look at the meat offering. These offerings consisted of fine flour, cakes made from flour, or green ears of corn dried by the fire as a gift of first fruits. Our Scripture passage today gives us more regulations about these offerings, including ingredients absolutely forbidden for use. a) No leaven or yeast could be used in the meat offering, for it symbolized sin and corruption. The person who was offering had to be a hater of sin and a lover of righteousness.
b) No honey could be used either, for it may have symbolized the lusts of the world which he who offered also had to block from his heart. One ingredient was absolutely essential in these offerings, namely, salt. The inclusion of salt indicated that the service of the Lord was not to be considered tasteless and unsavory. Salt pointed the person who was making the offering to the power and purity of God’s command. In contrast to the corruption symbolized by leaven, salt symbolized the need for preservation and purity. Since salt was in used Old Testament times to point to friendship covenants, God wanted the Israelites to remember the covenant of grace which He made with Abraham and confirmed with them individually. Do you find the service of the Lord tasteless and flat? Then you need to go back and consider your baptism, asking the Lord to teach you the power of His covenant and Word.
What does the use of salt point to?