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

[Poppa Bear]

Thanks for this Paul. My name is Nate and I am new to the list and look 
forward to more. Perhaps I will be able to share here and there as well.
In His grip
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Paul" <oilofgladness47 at gmail.com>
To: <SereneMountain at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, August 04, 2013 12:26 PM
Subject: [Faith-talk] Daily Thought for Sunday, August 4, 2013


> 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
> _______________________________________________
> Faith-talk mailing list
> Faith-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/faith-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> Faith-talk:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/faith-talk_nfbnet.org/heavens4real%40gmail.com