The covenant of salt and "none righteous"

Salt is mentioned in reference to covenants twice in the Old Testament, first here:

13 And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt. (Leviticus 2)

Then again here:

19 All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the Lord, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord unto thee and to thy seed with thee. (Numbers 18)

Like so many other covenant symbols, salt has both positive and negative connotations.  On the one hand, salt is an important preservative. On the other, in excess it can bring agricultural barrenness and desolation. Leviticus 2 contains some interesting concepts which will be the subject of this post:

Because salt was employed as a preservative, its use in a covenantal context also emphasized the expectation that the covenant would last for a long time... Because salt inhibits the leavening action of yeast, which represented rebellion, salt could additionally stand for that which prevented rebellion. An additional explanation for the appropriateness of salt in connection with the covenant is found in its association with agricultural infertility: In a Hittite treaty, the testator pronounces a curse: if the treaty is broken, “may he and his family and his lands, like salt that has no seed, likewise have no progeny.” (Zondervan,. NRSV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, p. 832).

This adds context to Christ's famous saying:

13 Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the salt of the earth; but if the salt shall lose its savor wherewith shall the earth be salted? The salt shall be thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men. (3 Nephi 12; see also Matthew 5)

Let's take this just a little bit deeper. In what way do the covenant people of the Lord preserve the broader population? We actually have examples of this.  A classic example is found in the story of Abraham:

23 ¶ And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?

25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

26 And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.

27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:

28 Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.

29 And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty’s sake.

30 And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.

31 And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake.

32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake. (Genesis 18)

Ten righteous people can save an entire city from destruction.  The principle here is that the righteous can serve as salt -- a preservative.

This also serves to highlight the significance of covenant rebellion. When none are found to be righteous, the people are in a truly terrible position. Paul gives us a somber summary of this state by pulling together verses from Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and Isaiah:

10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:

14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:

15 Their feet are swift to shed blood:

16 Destruction and misery are in their ways:

17 And the way of peace have they not known:

18 There is no fear of God before their eyes. (Romans 3)

The highlighted passage above paraphrases Ecclesiastes 7:20.

The Book of Mormon makes use of this phrase twice to underscore the degree of wickedness preceding eras of destruction among the Nephites.  The first example is here:

11 And because they did cast them all out, that there were none righteous among them, I did send down fire and destroy them, that their wickedness and abominations might be hid from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints whom I sent among them might not cry unto me from the ground against them. (3 Nephi 9)

The other example is found at the end of the period of righteousness following the visitation of Christ:

46 And it came to pass that the robbers of Gadianton did spread over all the face of the land; and there were none that were righteous save it were the disciples of Jesus. And gold and silver did they lay up in store in abundance, and did traffic in all manner of traffic. (4 Nephi 1)

(Side note: "no, not one" from Romans 3:10 is also found twice in the Book of Mormon, both times in an interesting but unrelated context to the purpose of this post.  See Moroni 7:17 and Moroni 10:25.)

The fancy word for this dual meaning is "bivalence" -- the covenant of salt highlights the fact that the same covenant which can bring about everlasting life also leads to severe consequences if rebellion sets in.

Belonging to Yahweh

For a person to belong to another person is a very foreign and perhaps even abhorrent notion today. But it was a normal part of ancient cultures. For instance

Often a man who had taken on debt and could not pay it off was forced to sell himself or one of his family members to the creditor as a debt-slave. No actual “sale” took place, but the person was transferred into the possession of the creditor. The “sale price” was understood to be a loan, which the debtor had already received and was now unable to repay. Redemption occurred when the debtor or one of his family members eventually acquired the means to pay off the debt and thereby retrieve the debt-slave from the creditor. To redeem a person was, in a sense, the act of buying the person back from the creditor, often at the same price (the amount of the loan) at which the person was “sold.” (NRSV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)

Even though we may be uncomfortable with it, the common scriptural idea of being the Lord's people and belonging to him is best understood in this context. A lot of this can be traced back to the Exodus. 

The LORD said to Moses: Consecrate to me all the firstborn; whatever is the first to open the womb among the Israelites, of human beings and animals, is mine...When in the future your child asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall answer, ‘By strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human firstborn to the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD every male that first opens the womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem. (Exodus 13:1-2, 14-15)

Apparently, the Israelites were indebted to Yahweh for sparing their firstborn right before they left Egypt. We remember that they were spared as long as the blood of the lamb was stricken on the door posts. But as stated in Exodus 13, they would now belong to the Lord. The firstborn animals were therefore sacrificed to him, but the firstborn human male would be "redeemed", that is, an animal could be sacrificed in his place, just like a redeemer could pay the debt of someone else according to ancient practice. Later on, the firstborn are replaced or "redeemed" by the Levites.

I hereby accept the Levites from among the Israelites as substitutes for all the firstborn that open the womb among the Israelites. The Levites shall be mine, for all the firstborn are mine; when I killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both human and animal; they shall be mine. I am the LORD. (Numbers 3:12-13)

In Numbers 8, there is a formal consecration of the Levites as substitutes for all the firstborn belonging to the Lord. In verses 6-12, the Levites are commanded to wash themselves, offer a sin offering, go to the tabernacle to be brought before the Lord, and have Israel lay their hands on their heads. Then the Levites are to be offered as an offering to the Lord!

13Then you shall have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons, and you shall present them as an elevation offering to the LORD. Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the other Israelites, and the Levites shall be mine. (Numbers 8:13-14)

Fortunately, unlike many other cultures at the time, human sacrifice was strictly forbidden under Mosaic law. Instead of the Levites being slain and burned on the altar, animals again "redeem" them or are sacrificed in their place. But the "elevation offering" is interesting. It has different translations in different Bible versions, but here is an explanation

The Hebrew word translated “elevation offering” denotes a type of offering that is lifted up toward the heavens in presentation and dedication to God and then lowered into the hands of the priest. This practice is evidenced in Egyptian and Mesopotamian ritual offerings pictured on monuments, steles and plaques. Often the breast or right thigh of the animal was uplifted as an elevation offering. In Israel, the elevation offering was associated with the well-being offering (here; v. 34; 23.20), the consecration of the priests (8.29; Ex 29.27), the dedication of the Levites (Num 8.11– 13, 21), and the purification ritual for Nazirites (Num 6.19– 20). In Lev 10.15, the “thigh that is raised” (that is, moved upward) and the “breast that is elevated” (in Hebrew, moved from side to side) were ordained as gifts for the Aaronic priesthood. Grain and oil offerings were also presented in such fashion, as with the consecration of the priests (8.27; Ex 29.23– 24), cleansing ritual for lepers (Lev 14.12, 21, 24) and the sheaf of grain and two loaves for the festival of weeks (23.15,17). The transference ritual of up and down, forward and backward movement signified that the offering was moving from its temporary owner to its ultimate owner, God. (emphasis added)

I don't know what that would have looked like for the Levites who were presented as an elevation offering to the Lord in the tabernacle, but I can imagine them waving or making some gesture towards heaven to indicate that they now belong to Yahweh as his property. After this they are ready to officiate in the tabernacle.

Levites also served as guardians of the sanctuary and constituted the first level of human presence in proximity to the tabernacle according to detailed encampment instructions for Israel in a "concentric circles of holiness" arrangement. I will not go into details here as Lord Wilmore soon will write more about that. But in their function they provided a constant visible presence among the 12 tribes to remind them of the need for holiness and righteousness as God's people. This was also the case when Israel finally obtained the promised land and each tribe has a designated inheritance. The Levites had no such designated portion of the land but lived among the other tribes serving as priests and facilitated the rendering of the tithes by Israel, among other things. Instead of land, the Levites inherited the Lord!

Then the LORD said to Aaron: You shall have no allotment in their land, nor shall you have any share among them; I am your share and your possession among the Israelites. (Numbers 18:20)

Levites, who have been dedicated to Yahweh as his possession now inherit him in return in a reciprocal relationship. The idea of God being our possession is not as usual in the scriptures as the other way around, but the closely related idea of inheriting everything our Father has, is very important in Latter-day Saint theology. The promised land is obviously a symbol of the heavenly destination that we all seek. What I also like about this, is how the Levites were first consecrated to God and served among Israel to bring them to God for his possession too, so they eventually could inherit him by "entering into his rest". This is a type and example for priesthood holders today.

In order to avoid turning this into an Old Testament blog, I will close by sharing a Book of Mormon scripture beautifully conveying these ideas.

17 And blessed art thou because thou hast established a church among this people; and they shall be established, and they shall be my people.

18 Yea, blessed is this people who are willing to bear my name; for in my name shall they be called; and they are mine.

19 And because thou hast inquired of me concerning the transgressor, thou art blessed.

20 Thou art my servant; and I covenant with thee that thou shalt have eternal life; and thou shalt serve me and go forth in my name, and shalt gather together my sheep.

There are the Lord's words to Alma-1. It is not stated here, but we know that his people were in bondage and God redeemed them. Perhaps this is one of the reasons for the Lord now claiming them as his. Belonging to God as his possession is not a bad thing though, even if it can sound like it to modern ears. When Alma in this capacity serves in His name and gathers His sheep, he gets eternal life in return.