What role does salt play in the offerings mentioned in Ezekiel 43:24? Setting the Scene Ezekiel 43:24: “You are to present them before the LORD, and the priests are to sprinkle salt on them and offer them as a burnt offering to the LORD.” Salt in Earlier Offerings • Leviticus 2:13—“You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You must not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.” • Numbers 18:19; 2 Chronicles 13:5—“a covenant of salt,” emphasizing permanence. What Salt Communicates • Covenant permanence ‑ Salt resists decay; its inclusion declares God’s covenant as incorruptible. • Purity and consecration ‑ Salt’s cleansing properties picture the removal of corruption (cf. Exodus 30:35). • Flavor and acceptability ‑ Seasoned sacrifices were pleasing, not bland, symbolizing wholehearted devotion. Why Salt Appears in Ezekiel’s Restored-Temple Vision • Continuity with Torah worship—The future priests still obey the original command to salt every sacrifice. • Assurance of an unbroken relationship—In the millennial setting, Israel’s renewed worship is stamped with the sign of an everlasting covenant. • Holiness before glory—Sprinkling salt precedes the offering’s ascent, underscoring the need for purity before God’s glory fills the Temple (Ezekiel 43:4-5). Echoes in the New Testament • Mark 9:49-50—“For everyone will be salted with fire… Have salt among yourselves.” • Matthew 5:13—“You are the salt of the earth.” – Believers inherit the same calling: preserve, purify, and make life pleasing to God and others. Practical Takeaways • God still values purity and permanence in worship. • Our words and deeds, like salt, should preserve truth and make the gospel attractive (Colossians 4:6). • Faithfulness today anticipates the day when every offering to the Lord—literal or lived out—will bear the mark of an everlasting covenant. |
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