March 25 - The Function of Salt

“‘You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men’” (Matthew 5:13).

Salt has always been valuable in human society, often much more so than it is today. But the particular characteristics of salt that Jesus was referring to in this passage have resulted in various suggestions.

Some interpreters point out that salt is white and therefore represents purity. As the “pure in heart” (v. 8), Jesus’ disciples are to be pure before the world and are to be God’s means of helping purify the rest of the world.

Others emphasize the characteristic of flavor. Just as many foods are tasteless without salt, the world is drab and tasteless without the presence of Christians.

Because salt stings when placed on a wound, some interpreters believe Jesus meant to illustrate that Christians are to sting the world, prick its conscience, and thus make it uncomfortable in the presence of God’s gospel.

Salt also creates thirst. So others believe God intends for His people to live before the world in such a way that others will be made aware of their spiritual dehydration.

While all of these interpretations are reasonable, it’s likely Jesus was primarily referring to salt as a preservative. Christians are a preserving influence in the world; they retard moral and spiritual spoilage. As God’s children and as temples of His Holy Spirit, we represent God’s presence in the earth. We are the salt that prevents the entire earth from degenerating even faster than it already is.

In what ways are you and your church personifying the various properties of salt, whether by words, actions, or outreaches? Think very specifically. Which of these examples are proving to be the most effective at this, and why?

salt as a preservative

Or in related fashion, as a solution.

NaCl, 58.44 g/mol
Solubility in water, 358 g/l (20°C)

2 Chronicles 13:5 Ought ye not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant [brit] of salt?

Disappeared into the waters of the nations, because who's looking there.

covenant of salt = ionic bond:

It's all about the giving. God said to observe His Laws. They teach quite a lot.

NaCl ---> ClaN

a family, especially a large one.

In fact, the entire mass of the very elements and building blocks of all of Creation is expressed in terms of grams per mole, which can be written as a gimel (the letter abbreviation for gram) over the word for mole, like this:

ג\מול

It spells the word gimul, "reward" [גמול], as from Pirkei Avot 1:2...

Shimon the Righteous was from the remnants of the Great Assembly. He would say, "On three things the world stands: on the Torah, on the service and on acts [gimilut] of lovingkindness."

Grams per mole: the weight of the whole world. It's a feature (reward), not a bug. See how easy it is for a camel (gamal ) to go through the eye of a needle. Pass it on through (give).

A mole is the foundation: yesod*, circumcision. The brit.

*According to Jewish Kabbalah, Yesod is the foundation upon which God has built the world.

These simple observations are the rewards for breaking out of Egypt aka the house of bondage. Dissolving the bonds.

Here's the song based upon the above quote from Pirkei Avot:

Al Shlosha d'Varim [Upon Three Things]

Salt. It's a preservative, a solution to the problem of decay.

It's all in there outside of officially accepted study paradigms. All highly integrated in great detail.

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