Good morning. What a wonderful
time of fellowship we enjoyed this morning. There's a section of the grocery
store that amazes me today. When I was a kid, we'd go in
and mom would get Morton's salt. Iodized or uniodized, but that
was it. Morton's salt. Now you go in
and you can find salt from the Himalayas, Himalaya Pink. You
can find sea salt. You can find salts from all over
the world. Things have changed. I was reading
that in Texas there is a deposit of salt that is 48 square miles
underground. Up in Michigan, they've been
mining salt for 100 years. We put about 190,000 tons of
salt on the roads in the wintertime in the United States. The mining
for salt in the world is astronomical. China runs number one, US number
two. But at one time, salt was a very
rare commodity. It was expensive. And you waited
for the camel train to come in from dry lake beds where it was
mined. And so as we go to the book of
Numbers today, we want to keep in mind that salt was a rarity. It was a preservative. It kept
things from spoiling. And it was also used in ancient
times if you were going to make a covenant or an agreement with
someone The two parties would take salt and some in their mouth
and swallow it. And that was the agreement. This
is the covenant was based upon this salt covenant. It's used
three times in the scripture, this mention of the salt covenant
or the covenant of salt. And one of them just happens
to fall in our scripture reading in the book of Numbers chapter
18. So if you would look with me to the book of Numbers chapter
18, In years past, I never took the
time to stop and read the book of Numbers. And now oftentimes
I'll get online and I appreciate those guys who read it online
and pronounce the names correctly. But here in the book of Numbers,
as the person was reading, I keep a notebook beside me, and as
a verse comes up that goes like that, I write it down. Well,
this is one of those verses found here in the book of Numbers,
Numbers chapter 18. And I want to read verse 19. Numbers chapter 18. And verse 19, all the heave offerings of the
holy things which the children of Israel offer unto the Lord
have I given to thee, this was to the Levites, to Aaron, and
thy sons and thy daughters with thee by a statute forever. It
is, notice this, a covenant of salt forever before the Lord
unto thee and to thy seed with thee. It is a covenant of salt. Now, if you'll back up with me
to the book of Leviticus chapter 2. The book of Leviticus chapter
2, we have this also mentioned there. Leviticus chapter 2 and
verse 13. This covenant of salt is mentioned. We're going to spend our time
not on the many covenants that are mentioned in the scripture.
We're going to spend our time this morning basically on one covenant that
we depend on every day. The covenant of grace. The everlasting
covenant. Some people, as we get to the
New Testament, called it the new covenant. But it's all the
same. Here in the book of Leviticus
chapter 2 and verse 13 it says, and every oblation of thy meat
offering shalt thou season with salt. Now, just remember, this
is expensive. This is not common grocery store
salt. This is not salt as we know it
today, so plentiful. So, in fact, I've been told not
to be so plentiful with my salt. Neither shalt thou suffer the
salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering. With all thy offerings thou shalt
offer salt. So not only was this to be an
expensive offering from an animal standpoint, but it was also to
be an expensive offering from a salt standpoint. The salt did
not just come out of Morton's cans or boxes as we know it today. It did not come from Fred Meyers
or some other grocery store. It was a very expensive commodity. And the Lord says this in this
passage of scripture, it is a covenant of salt. I want you to remember
the expense of this covenant, but it is also a binding covenant.
It is a covenant that God made with Levi. It's a covenant that
God made with Israel here. And one other place that we want
to look to is found in 2 Chronicles 13. In 2 Chronicles 13, we find
that a king brings up a covenant that God made with David. Now,
this king is long after David, but he wants us to remember that
there was a covenant made with David and a covenant of salt. It is a picture of God and someone
putting some salt in their mouth and agreeing to something. If we remember correctly, we
will find that every covenant that God ever made with men failed
due to men. unable to keep it, even though
they had a covenant of salt, even though it was an expression
of great wealth, great expense, I should say, great expense,
and also that it had great preservative power. It was a covenant that
should be kept. Natural man cannot keep it. Even
after the Lord saves us, we cannot keep a physical covenant. God
is the one that always keeps this side. Man is always the
ones that can't keep that side. So that's why we want to spend
some time on the everlasting covenant this morning. Here in
the book of 2 Chronicles chapter 13, and there in verse five,
it says, ought ye not to know that the Lord God of Israel gave
the kingdom over Israel to David forever, even to him and to his
sons by a covenant of salt. by a covenant of salt. This covenant
of salt, it means it is incorruptible and it is durable. It's a durable
covenant. It is a covenant that should
last forever. And yet we find that God's covenants
with man was failure because man could not keep those covenants.
There was a covenant made with Adam. God made a covenant. The day you eat, you shall surely
die. Now I read in a commentary just
recently, and Nathan was there, and I read it to him, and he
says, that's not true. And I said, of course it's not
true. In that commentary, the commentator expressed Adam's
feeling towards his wife that had eaten the forbidden fruit,
that she was already in a fallen state, and that Adam, out of
his great love for his wife, went ahead and ate the fruit
too. There's only a couple of things wrong with that. Number
one, it's not scriptural. Number two, it's not scriptural.
And number three, it's not scriptural. If you go over there, the covenant
was not made with Eve. She was beguiled. But Adam ate
knowingly. And that covenant that God made,
he fulfilled it the day that Adam ate. He died. He died spiritually
and he began the slow death physically. 900 plus years later, he died
physically. So it was fulfilled, but Adam
could not keep it even in that state that he was in. And we
have other covenants that were made. And the covenant that God
made with Israel. We know it as the Ten Commandments,
the book of Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Numbers. We find through there
how often they promised to keep that covenant and they were unable
to just by their own nature. And God said, I did not give
you a heart. I did not give you a heart to
do this. And He shared with us about the two spies that came
back with a good report. And He says, I gave them a new
spirit. I gave them another spirit. He didn't give to the ten. And
so God's action with us is always in God's side positive. But our action towards Him and
our natural state is always negative. We cannot keep a Well, we're
in a quandary then until we begin to find out that this covenant
of salt that was made here in the book of Numbers, covenant
of salt made in the book of Leviticus, and the covenant of salt made
in the book of 2 Chronicles that we just read is a type and a
shadow and a picture of a much greater covenant. a much more
secure covenant, a much more pleasant covenant, a much more
kept covenant, because God is going to keep it. We find that
this covenant with God, that when He makes it, it's an incorruptible
everlasting covenant. It is what salt really is. It
was expensive to keep this covenant. It's the blood of Christ. And
it is insoluble. It will not break apart. It will
not die. And we find out it is permanent. The covenant that
God makes is permanent. All those other covenants, they
tragically fell because that natural man was unable to do
that. If we want to say a few things
this morning about a covenant, we want to say them about the
covenant of grace, the everlasting covenant, the covenant that God
keeps, the covenant that He has. Now, there's some reasons that
we want to do that, so if you'd turn with me to the New Testament
for just a moment. Book of Hebrews, the book of
Hebrews chapter 9. The old covenant is summed up
in this way. The covenant that was made with
Israel is summed up this way in the book of Hebrews. The Old
Testament saints had much understanding about the scriptures, but I'm
thankful that I live in a New Testament time because I have
the book of Hebrews. The book of Hebrews is just a
glorious book to deal with the book of Numbers or the book of
Leviticus with. Here in the book of Hebrews chapter
10, chapter 10 verse 15, Hebrews chapter 10. There we go. Verse 15, Whereof the
Holy Ghost also is a witness to us, for after that he had
said before, this is the covenant that I will make with them after
those days, saith the Lord. I will put my laws into their
hearts. Now, this is God's expression
about the everlasting covenant. We're going to read why it was
necessary that we have this kind of covenant, that God have this
kind of covenant, in just a moment. But let's read this. He says,
I will make a covenant with them after those days, saith the Lord.
I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will
I write them, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember
no more. Now where remission of sin of
these is, there is no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren,
boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. Now everything
that we needed is expressed in this covenant that God is going
to make with the house of Israel. He made it, and we'll read it,
it's an eternal covenant, but there was a reason that this
is necessary. That covenant of salt that God
made with Israel, with Levi, and even with the house of David
faltered on one side always, human side. God always keeps
his word. He never has told a lie. He will
never make an agreement and not keep his side. So now turn with
me, if you would, to Hebrews chapter nine, and let us read
here why it was necessary that God have an everlasting covenant. A true covenant of salt in Hebrews
9, verse 9, we read this, which is a figure for the time then
present in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices that
could not make him that did the service perfect as pertaining
to conscience. Now, here's a problem with that
covenant. It could not and it did not make
anybody acceptable in the sight of God. It was not perfect. There was no ability in that
covenant to make anybody better than they were. Now, it did create,
as we find during the Lord's ministry it was there, it did
create a lot of Pharisees. It did create people saying,
I am keeping it, but knowing full well they were not keeping
it. This covenant is faulty. This covenant does not stand
because the other party, the human side, cannot keep that
side. Turn with me, if you would, to
the book of Galatians, Galatians chapter 4. In Galatians chapter
4, we have The Apostle Paul, led of the Holy Spirit, to write
these things, to share with us that the true covenant is far
greater, the true covenant is far greater than that covenant
of salt that was made with Levi, or made with Aaron, or made with
David. Here it says in Galatians chapter
four and verse nine, but now after that ye have known God,
or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and
beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage."
Now these two words that the Apostle Paul was led by the Holy
Spirit to use with regard to that covenant said it?s weak.
That covenant is weak because of us. And it?s beggarly compared
to the everlasting covenant. This is such a low covenant. It is such a mean covenant. It is such a covenant that has
no benefit or welfare in it. There's no hope in it. It is
always a judgmental covenant. It is always seeking justice. It is never giving mercy. So
it is weak and beggarly. It is, well, why would you want
that? over the eternal covenant. And
would you turn with me to the book of Romans, chapter 8. As
we look here in Romans chapter 8, and there in verse 3, Romans
chapter 8 and verse 3, we have these words. It says, for what
the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh. He's reflecting on why it was
not a good covenant. It was weak through the flesh.
Adam couldn't keep his covenant. You know, Abraham, as best as
he could, was still a fallen creature before God, even after
he believed. He went and lied about his wife.
We find all kinds of imperfections in all the saints throughout
all time. And if it wasn't for this everlasting
covenant, if it wasn't for the covenant of grace, then there
would be nobody that would ever see God and have everlasting
life. In the book of Hebrews chapter
9 again, would you join me there in verse 15? Hebrews chapter
9. Hebrews chapter 9 and there in
verse 15 we have these words. As we look at the problem with
the human covenant, the problem with the covenant of Mount Sinai,
the covenant that God makes with any man is faulty because on
this one side is a crumbling, crumbling, crumbling man and
on this side is Almighty God. In the book of Hebrews 9 and
verse 15, And for this cause he is a mediator
of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption
of the transgressors that were under the first testament, they
which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. Well, he says a lot in that verse
of scripture, and he just says this, because we have a problem,
God intervened with a wonderful covenant. God intervened with
this wonderful covenant. He's the mediator of the New
Testament, and this mediator of the New Testament is for God's
people, and it is an eternal covenant. over in the book of
2 Timothy, 2 Timothy 1, Titus 1. Let's look at a couple of
verses there as we find that the Apostle Paul again was used
of the Holy Spirit to share with us that this covenant has a reaching
far beyond, far behind the creation of heaven and earth in eternity
past. In the book of 2 Timothy 1, verse
9, who has saved us. 2 Timothy chapter
1 verse 9, and he closes this verse by saying, before the world
began. Now that's where we need a covenant
made. Before Adam was created, we need a covenant made that
will keep the people of God. We need a covenant that is not
based upon humanity. We need a covenant that's not
even based upon a high priest, a natural high priest. We need
a covenant that's not even based upon a good king. We need a covenant
that is not based upon some rare element or compound, excuse me,
Salt. We need a covenant that's based
upon God. And here in the book of II Timothy
1 and verse 9, "...who has saved us, and called us with a holy
calling, not according to our works, not according to a covenant
of works, not according to our works of any kind, not according
to our works of righteousness of any kind, this covenant, but
according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us,
this purpose and grace was given us in Christ Jesus, what? Before the world began. Now we're
talking about a covenant. Now we're talking about a covenant.
An agreement that can be kept. An agreement that natural man
is not involved in. He's blessed with, but not involved
in. We have a covenant made before
man's creation. We have a covenant made before
Adam. We have a covenant made before the foundation of the
world. We have a covenant that reaches way back in eternity.
when God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit,
in covenant mercy, determined to do some things on the behalf
of the church, and it wasn't up to them to keep it. It was
up to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit
to keep it. Now, we don't find these words
everywhere in the scriptures. There's one time we find omnipotent
The Lord God omnipotent reigneth, but we also find that he's omniscient
and omnipresent. This is the God that has kept
a covenant, started a covenant, kept a covenant. It's an eternal
covenant. I should say there's never been a beginning of it.
Well, let's look here again in the next book of the Bible, in
the book of Titus. Paul brings that again up to
a group of people, especially unto a preacher here, and we're
going to find out that this is part of what preaching should
be about, this everlasting covenant. It should be about that. God's
part. God taking care of the business.
God taking care of His people. God having an agreement. And
we can truly say that that was a covenant of salt. They agreed. Doesn't say that each one of
them took some salt, but it is a true, honorable covenant of
salt. It is not faulty because of humanity. Here in the book of Titus, chapter
1 and verse 9, Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been
taught, that he may be abled by the sound doctrine both... I'm reading what I thought was. Is promised before the world
began, again. Verse two, thank you. In hope
of eternal salvation, or eternal life, which God that cannot lie
promised before the world began. Once again, this covenant is
made before humanity. It was made on their behalf,
but it was not made during their time. You know, we find that
this everlasting agreement, this everlasting covenant, this covenant
made before the foundation of the world, it is called a in
some senses, the eternal counsel. Turn with me to Acts chapter
2. Acts chapter 2, as we read through the scriptures about
this covenant of salt and how glorious it is when it comes
from God's standpoint, when it comes from God. And here in the
book of Acts chapter 2 and verse 23, we have this passage given to us about the
very crucifixion of the Lord, which was absolutely essential,
absolutely necessary, and God promised in the Council Halls
of Eternity, in the Covenant of Grace, in the Council of God
in Acts chapter 2 and verse 23, Him, talking about the Lord,
being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God. This is where that covenant was
made, in the counsel halls, determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God. This covenant is termed the counsel of God. We know about
counsels. There's a lot of human counsels.
people sitting down to discuss government, people sitting down
to discuss jobs, people sitting down to discuss issues, a council
gets together. Mr. Roosevelt got together a
whole group of people and says, we need a council of war. and
they voted to go to war, World War II. We have a council. Well, this council took place
before there was any creation. This council took place between
the three of the Godhead. This council took place and said,
in this council, in order to set people free, There is the
death of the only begotten Son. He must shed His blood. In Ephesians
chapter 1, turn with me there as we think about this eternal
covenant, this eternal covenant of salt in the book of Ephesians
chapter 1. We're often drawn to that passage
of scripture because it's so full of the everlasting covenant
of grace. This is what the outflow of it
is. In Ephesians 1, verse 11, being predestinated according
to the purpose of him that worketh all things after the counsel
of his own will." Here in that word, counsel, we have, it was
covered in the Council Halls of Eternity, in the Covenant
of Grace, that everything is going to work out according to
his eternal purpose. It is truly going to be an insoluble
covenant. It will be an eternal covenant.
It will be for the beneficiary of lost souls. It will be for
people God has chosen before the foundation of the world.
And we also read in the book of Hebrews, that's an immutable
counsel. God's not going to change his
mind. There's not going to be a vote down the road a ways. there's going to be an everlasting,
all-time standing, eternal standing covenant that God is going to
make between the Godhead on the benefit and for the benefit of
lost ones. Now over there when God was issuing
that covenant of salt, He's dealing with Aaron and his sons and his
daughters. And you know what? They all could
trace their line right back to Adam. We may not be able to do
it physically, but we certainly can say, I'm a descendant of
Adam. I can't go from here to here
to here, but I know this, if you're following a herd of cows
down to a big river, and you see their footprints, and you
go across the river and get out to the other side, and you see
footprints, you're pretty well assured they made it, at least
some of them made it through. Well, that's the way it is with
the human race. We all descended from Adam and we all have the
same fracture. And yet, there has been an eternal,
everlasting covenant made for God's people. It's immutable.
It changes not. And in the book of Acts chapter
20, the Apostle Paul writes here as he's about ready to go to
Rome. In the book of Acts chapter 20,
he says here that when he was preaching, when he was teaching
in churches, when he was teaching that young man, the Caesar's
household, when he was teaching the Philippian jailer. when he was teaching wherever
he went and wherever God led him. We were discussing the other
day that he had an interest in going to the east, to the orient. God said no. He had an interest
in going north, there, above what we know as Turkey, and the
Lord said no. And then there's a man from Macedonia,
he says, come over here. And that's where he went. The
only reason that he was not sent there or there was there's no
sheep there and there's sheep over here. So he sent him over
here to Macedonia. And here in the book of Acts,
he is reflecting on his ministry among all these people. Now,
if we just remember correctly, he's one of those guys that said
that he kept the law. He's one of those guys that said
he kept it perfectly. He's one of those guys that said,
I'm a Pharisee of the Pharisees. I am better off than anybody
else of my age group. And then the Lord met him on
the road to Damascus and said, sorry. And from then on, he never
referred once to going back to the law. Now notice what he says
here in the book of Acts chapter 20 and verse 27. For I have not
shunned, I've never stopped from saying this, I've never quit
preaching this. Everywhere I went, all I've said
is here to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Now what is he saying? He's saying,
I always preach the everlasting immutable covenant of grace. And by that and that alone has
God determined to save His people from their sins. It was never
a covenant of works that He preached. It was always a covenant of grace. It was the everlasting covenant.
It was the new covenant. And He preached it wherever He
went and never stopped from preaching it. I'm sure in his day and time,
just like in our day and time, that people came along and said,
you know, we would go along with you if you'd stop preaching that
stuff. We would love you more. We would
support you. We'd send offerings, Paul, if
you just quit preaching that stuff. Well, when it came time
to preach that stuff, he wrote to the Galatians and said, you
need to hear that stuff. Because right now you're not
hearing it. I came there and preached it. And now you want
to go back under the weak and beggarly elements of the law?
I have the covenant of grace that I've been preaching and
I've been declaring that God in His purpose before the foundation
of the world wrote some people's names down in the Lamb's Book
of Life and the Son has promised to die on the cross for every
one of those and the Holy Spirit has promised to go and find every
one of those and bring the word of God, the gospel of His eternal
purpose to them and to save them by His grace. The promise were
made before the world began in old eternity. The covenant of
salt has much to picture about the everlasting covenant. Turn
with me if you would back to the book of Hebrews. In the book
of Hebrews one more time, chapter 13. Hebrews chapter 13 and verse
20. This is where we have to trace
our lineage. We don't trace it back to John
the Baptist and we don't trace it back to Abraham. We need to
go further. We need to go to the covenant
of grace. We need to go back before eternity. Now the God
of peace, Hebrews chapter 13 verse 20, Now the God of peace
that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd
of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant. What a joy it is for us to delight
in the blood of the everlasting covenant, that it was promised
before the world began, that it is more, it is much more than
just a physical covenant of salt. Now if that worked for two people
that were agreeing over a piece of property, hallelujah. But
it will never work between natural man and God. It might have worked
between two people that were at war with each other and they
decided to settle down and be at peace. Let's have some salt
and we'll make a covenant. And if that worked, hallelujah.
But it will never make any inroads with Almighty God. This covenant
is made with the Godhead. The church is the beneficiaries.
The church are the recipients. We have never been asked to participate
with it. We've always been, you are a
recipient. We have this treasure in earthen
vessels. What a glorious statement that
God would put His glorious salvation in earthen vessels like you and
I, like Abraham, David, Solomon, and the others in the Old Testament.
You remember what David said as his last words over in 2 Samuel
23? Join me over there. I'm not going
to read the entire passage, but I do want to go to 2 Samuel chapter
23 and read what David said about his hope. This is all my hope. This is all my salvation. What
is it? 2 Samuel chapter 23. Now if we
read earlier in this passage, we find out this is the last
words of David. Coming close to the end of his
life, he's got a few things he wants to say. He's permitted
to write it down. And he says here in verse 5,
Although my house be not so with God. What's he saying? Not everybody
in my house understands this. I'm sure he wished they did,
but he realized he was not in charge of that. My house is not
so with God. Yet, hallelujah, yet he hath
made with me an everlasting covenant. What did David realize as God
brought him the gospel and God gave him the heart of belief? What did David realize? This
covenant is for me. I tried to keep another covenant,
a covenant that works. I can just see David, like everybody
else, trying to work his way into the good graces of Almighty
God, and it never works. But this is where David went
to. He said, he hath made with me that everlasting covenant
before the foundation of the world, that was made on the behalf
of David, and how did David know it? How did David realize that
that covenant was made for him? How does anybody realize it was
made for him? They believe God. They believe
God's word. They believe that God did something
for them in the covenant of grace before the foundation of the
world, and not one bit of their effort ever got them any closer
to God. It was always God dealing for
their behalf. And he hath made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things, and sure, this covenant is immutable. This covenant will not change.
This covenant is God's covenant on the behalf of people. He determined
he would save some people. It is a true covenant of salt. It is a true covenant for the
church, a covenant of salt. You know, after we're saved,
we say, I'll take that salt. I'll agree to that. But before
it is just absolutely. Someone told me I was reading,
I guess it was online says you cannot take a tablespoon of salt
and put it in your mouth and swallow it. I'm not going to try. I thought that was interesting.
You know, the covenant of grace is we, we, it's repugnant to
us until we're made willing. It's not for us until we're made
willing. We could have no interest in
it. Take salt. Are you kidding me? Goes on to
tell us there in that verse of scripture, second Samuel chapter
23 in verse five, He hath made with me an everlasting covenant,
ordered in all things, and sure. For this is, what does he say,
all my salvation, in all my desire. Let me talk about the everlasting
covenant. We're not going to get off onto
the old covenant. We're not going to get off onto
some man's covenant. We're not going to get off onto
some Pharisee's covenant. We're going to get on the covenant
that that other man said, God be merciful to me, a sinner covenant.
That's the covenant that we want to be under. David's last words,
how glorious that God would come to anybody and reveal to them
His eternal covenant of grace that it is immutable, unchangeable,
stationary. Put your life on it. It will
carry you. It will be a blessing. It is
ours to have. There is a verse I want to check
here. I think we read it, but I want
to read it again in Hebrews 13. And with this we'll close. Hebrews
13, verse 20. Now the God of peace that brought
again from the dead Jesus Christ died for our sins. How do we
know that it was an acceptable sacrifice? How do we know? He said there, He has brought
again from the dead our Lord Jesus. That's how we know it
was accepted. He was raised from the dead. God accepted the sacrifice completely. God raised him from the dead. He is the great shepherd of the
sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant. His blood. It's not how much,
but whose blood. The blood of bulls and goats
could not take away sin, never did. People who trusted it found
out it was faulty. But the blood of the everlasting
covenant, the blood of Christ, hath redeemed us from all our
sin, the penalty of it, and caused us to rejoice, as Paul shared
everywhere he preached. I'm gonna tell you about all
the counsel of God. We're going to step away from
us and we're going to go back to God. And that's where the
gospel is. It's in God, it's in Christ Jesus,
and it's in the benefits that we have in the Holy Spirit when
He comes and regenerates us. So, God be pleased to give us
the covenant of salt. Brother Michael.