IMPACT AS SALT (7)

“You shall make of these an INCENSE, a compound according to the art of the perfumer, SALTED, PURE, and HOLY” – Exodus 30:35

Believers in Christ manifest Cleansing and Purifying IMPACT as SALT through prayers: “You shall make of these an INCENSE, a compound according to the art of the perfumer, SALTED, PURE, and HOLY” (Exo.30:35). These scriptures conclude the instructions on how the tabernacle was to be constructed and used. It describes how the fragrant incense, a symbol of prayer, was to be made. David said, “Let my prayer be counted as incense before You, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice” (Psa.141:2). In Luke 1:9-10, when Zechariah was serving in the temple, we are told: “his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord, and the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense.” The hour of incense was a time for praying.

Our Lord Jesus Christ taught that: “...My house shall be called a House of Prayer for all the nations...” (Mk.11:17). The book of Revelations also presents the scene in heaven, where there were: “Golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints” (Rev.5:8). Our prayers are a fragrant incense offered to God: “Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the PRAYERS of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne” (Rev.8:3).

Salt is one curious ingredient in the Incense; it was “seasoned with SALT, pure, and holy” (v.35). Salt was highly valued as a preservative in the ancient world, but incense does not go bad and would not need a preservative. However, that salt as a preservative makes things last, symbolizes the permanence of the covenant between God and His people. The phrase ‘covenant of salt’ is a way of describing a covenant that would last or be preserved. The same phrase is found several other times in the scriptures (Num.18:19; 2Chr.13:5). Symbolically, adding salt to the Incense offered in the holy place is a reminder that approach to God in prayer was based on a covenant relationship, with forgiveness granted and access opened through the sacrifice of the Substitute.

Believers are not compared to sugar, although we can be sweeter; but to salt. The faithful disciple acts as a preservative, slowing down the effects of decay. The believer must be such that in his presence no foul language will be used, no questionable tales told, and no dishonorable action suggested. He must be like a disinfecting agent in his circle of influence. As salt, we’re to demonstrate loyalty to God. We’re a purifying influence; disinfecting agents of cleansing. We cleanse the ‘wounds’ in other people’s lives as we share the truth of the gospel. We offer, on Christ’s behalf, a divine antibiotic of forgiveness that heals people dying from terminal sin, and restore them to life.