[Faith-talk] Daily Thought for Sunday, August 4, 2013

[Paul]

Hello again to most of you on this Lord's Day, at least that's what it is here in North America and Europe as this is being written.  On the other hand, it's already Monday morning in Australia and New Zealand.  I hope and pray that, by God's matchless grace and His providential care, that your day is going well or went well.

Sonia Randall, an author living in Oregon, wrote a very interesting article called "Salt of the Earth" which is rendered as follows:

Salt.  You put it on your french fries.  It comes on chips and pretzels, and makes everything taste better.  You probably think you already know all about it.  It preserves food and makes things taste better.  What else is there to know?

Salt has been one of God's most precious gifts since ancient times.  Medieval rulers considered it "white gold." In the Mediterranean, people used salt cakes as currency.  In some places it was traded--ounce for ounce--for gold.  Many trading routes in southern Europe centered around the salt trade.

Salt was important to the ancient Hebrews too.  It was essential to preserve meat in the hot climate, but Leviticus 2:13 says God instructed them to use it with all their sacrifices.  They had a ready supply of it on the southern shores of the Dead Sea, then called the Salt Sea.  Numbers 18:19 tells us that the term "covenant of salt" referred to the bond of love between God and God's people.  Elisha purified spring water with salt (2 Kings 2:21).

When they were rebuilding the temple, King Artaxerxes ordered that the Jews be given as much salt as they wanted, along with other building supplies (see Ezra 7:21-22).

Even Jesus referred to this precious commodity in Matthew 5:13, "You are the salt of the earth"--a phrase still used today to refer to people who are unusually good and admirable.

Other ancient peoples considered salt a symbol of the binding relationship between one person and another.  Friends who ate bread and salt together committed themselves to unbreakable friendship.  In medieval times, to eat the king's salt was to owe him complete loyalty.  At banquets a bowl of salt was placed in the middle of a long table.  Those seated "above the salt" or closer to the host were highly honored guests.  Less honored guests were seated "below the salt," another phrase still used today.

Evaporation of sea water is the oldest and easiest method for obtaining salt.  It is called solar salt.  Another type called rock salt is obtained from underground deposits where ancient seas have dried up.  The ancient Chinese, who valued salt highly, were the first to develop elaborate mining methods to recover rock salt.  They developed a deep drilling technique which is regarded as one of ancient China's greatest innovations.  Mining became an important industry wherever salt was available.  This deep drilling also helped increase knowledge about the geologic layers inside the earth.

As more salt was produced, God showed people more uses for it.  It is now involved in the production of dyes, soap, glass, pottery, paper, plastics, pesticides, cleaning fluids and antifreeze.

Salt is the only mineral we add to our foods for flavoring.  Even the biblical Job exclaimed "Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt?" (Job 6:6a).  In ancient times it was used to preserve food but now it has more applications than any other mineral.  God's covenant of salt is still a blessing.

And there you have Sonia's article, which I hope you found interesting.

Here are some more facts about salt that you probably didn't know.  Rock salt, or calcium chloride, is what is spread on roads in winter to keep them drivable.  When you hear on the radio or TV, or read in the paper that your city has so many tons of salt for the roads, they're referring to calcium chloride.

Salzburg Austria, on the banks of the River Salzack, was one of those places whose life in ancient times depended on the salt trade.  Nowadays it is either an Alpine city or the birthplace of the classical composer Mozart.  Maybe I'm wrong here, but I think the German word for salt is "salz." Those of you who know German can correct me if you will.

When I was in southern Poland in 1981, I took a guided tour of a salt mine near Zakopane in the Tatra Mountains close to the then Czechoslovak border.  Can't remember much about the tour, other than that it was interesting.

In the United States the small town of Saltville Virginia, about 18 miles (30 kilometers) from Bristol, owed its existence also to the salt trade, but perhaps now the town's survival means of keeping alive is different.

Now that you've read some extra things about salt, I've a question.  What exactly is Kosher salt? Is it that commodity that has been blessed by a rabbi, like other foods officially pronounced as "kosher" by him or her? This inquiring mind wishes to know.

And now until tomorrow when, Lord willing another daily thought article will be presented, may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and collectively in these last days in which we live.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul