Joel M Bradshaw

6Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.–Colossians 4

When Paul wrote this to the Colossians, he had a Torah principle in mind. Let’s recall the command from Leviticus chapter 2.

You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt. (Leviticus 2:13)

Grain offerings were voluntary and accompanied other offerings. They were opportunities to thank God for his faithfulness, especially regarding the firstfruits of that season’s harvest.

Salt with bread has many functions. It makes the bread taste better. It helps the bread to hold its structure. In leavened bread, salt acts like a yeast restrainer, so the bread doesn’t rise too much. You’ll find this even today in various salt-rising bread recipes. You want the yeast restrained so that other things can be produced and add flavors to the bread. Most importantly, salt affects the overall chemistry of the bread. It’s presence affects water and causes other ingredients to react in desired ways to produce the recipe.

This was salt that was linked to the covenant between Yahweh and his people. The sacrifices were how the relationship was maintained. Salt was a basic benefit of life and so when communicating thanksgiving to God, you added the salt. We obviously don’t know if the ancients understood just how salt worked, but they knew it did. For salt bread recipes exist to this day.

There’s something about the image of salt that is a blessing. It blesses the taste of unrisen bread. It keeps unwanted yeast from growing. It helps to hold the bread otherwise together and makes everything else work right. When it is missing, things just don’t work as intended.

The ancient Israelites were not to let that salt be missing in their conversations to God using bread. Paul wanted the Colossians to have that salt present in their conversations. Thus, when others began to come to them with questions or even arguments (Paul mentioned outsiders to the faith), they would have an answer that came with necessary salt. We season our conversations with others to also be a blessing. And when that is missing, like salt in bread or baked goods, it is indeed missing. Set your best before God on that altar. Bless others like salt blesses you!–JMB