The Covenant of Salt
Let’s look first at how a salt covenant was acted out by the Hebrew people. By the very nature of their descent from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, these people were in blood covenant with one another. The same blood coursed through their veins. Their natural bloodline put them in covenant with one another.
Additionally and more importantly, through the covenant of sacrificial blood initiated by God, each Hebrew (that is, he who was a descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) was in relationship with God, called to serve God first and to serve his fellow Hebrew by loving him as he loved himself.
Leviticus 19:18 – Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
The demands of the bloodline covenant existed and still exist in the Hebrew people from the moment of their conception. They are to serve one another through love. It is a covenant of relationship through the bloodline of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, operating by obedient loving service to each other.
Of course they failed, as all humans fail, but that does not diminish the terms of the covenant which originated with God, not man.
The Covenant of Salt: An Act of Friendship
The blood covenant comes first. It is the foundation of Israel’s entire constitution. But if two Hebrew men wanted to enter into a deeper covenant, a deeper commitment than even that demanded by blood, they would enter into a covenant of friendship: the salt covenant.
Hebrew men would carry a pouch of salt, likely made of leather (a subtle indicator that blood must be shed before salt covenants could be made). Each would pour his salt into a shared bowl, mix it, and break bread together. Then, dipping the bread in the salt, they would eat.
By ingesting each other’s salt, each had symbolically become part of the other. The mixture was then divided, and each man refilled his pouch. The grains, now blended, could never again be separated. The covenant was eternal.
Abraham: Friend of God
Isaiah 41:8 – But thou, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.
We often teach that Abraham became God’s friend because of his faith, and that’s true—but it is not the whole truth. “Friend” is a covenantal term. Abraham didn’t just believe in God; he knew Him. He walked with Him, talked with Him, and even negotiated with Him.
Genesis 18:4–5 – Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort your hearts…
Almost certainly, though unstated, a bowl of salt would have been present with the bread. Abraham refers to himself as God’s servant—still under the blood covenant—but he has now also entered the covenant of friendship. And God initiated it all.
The Salt Covenant in Israel’s Worship
Numbers 18:17–19 – …All the heave offerings… I have given thee… by a statute forever: it is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD unto thee and to thy seed with thee.
Here, God shares part of the sacrificial offering with the Levites, His priests. First comes worship—the sweet savour. Then comes fellowship and hospitality, hallmarks of the salt covenant. This is covenantal friendship, confirmed by God as eternal.
We too are priests unto our God:
Revelation 1:6 – And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father…
Leviticus 2:13 – …with all your offerings you shall offer salt.
The instruction to season grain offerings with salt is a daily reminder to the priests: you are not only bond-servants under the blood covenant, but friends of God under the salt covenant.
Exodus 30:34–35 (ASV) – …and thou shalt make of it incense… seasoned with salt, pure and holy.
This incense, which represents the prayers of the saints (Revelation 5:8), is seasoned with salt—underscoring that our communion with God is rooted in friendship and fellowship, not mere obligation.
The Call to Walk as Friends
This is what God has always desired—fellowship. It is why Adam and Eve walked with Him in Eden. The salt covenant reaffirms this desire and makes it available through grace.
John 15:15 – From now on I call you not servants… I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
The disciples were still servants of the Lord, but their relationship had deepened. They were now friends. The same invitation is extended to us—but we must respond.
Friendship requires commitment. God has opened the way, but we must choose to walk in it. Are you only a bond servant? Or are you also a friend?
Conclusion
If you are in covenant with Yeshua through His blood, the next step is to enter the Salt Covenant. He is waiting to share fellowship, not just duty; friendship, not just service.
NOW is the time to deepen your relationship and become His friend.
He is waiting for you.
Amen.