Download Please Pass the Salt - Circle

Please Pass the Salt
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt
loses its saltiness, how an it be salty again?
It is no longer good for anything, except to be
thrown out and trampled by men.”
Matthew 5:13
The Facts, Please!
• Table salt contains two
elements, chlorine and
sodium. It is known
chemically as sodium
chloride.
• Only a small amount of salt
is used for seasoning food.
There are about 1, 400
other uses.
• Long ago salt was so
important and so scarce
that it was used as money.
In ancient Greece, slaves
were bought with salt.
When an owner was
pleased with his slave, he
said, “He is worth his salt.”
We still use that phrase to
say that someone is
worthwhile. In Rome,
soldiers received part of
their pay in salt. This was
called their salarium, from
which we get our word
salary.
More facts, please!
• Salt is found in the oceans,
in salt lakes, in salt springs,
and in salt mines. In the
ocean there are about four
ounces of salt in every
gallon of water. One sea,
though, has nine time as
much salt as that. The
Dead Sea in Israel has 11,
600,000,000 tons of salt!
• In Bible times some of the
salt collected from the Dead
Sea lost its saltiness.
Instead of being thrown
away, it was stored in the
temple in Jerusalem. It was
spread on the marble
courtyards when winter
rains made them slippery,
and people walked on it.
That’s what the Bible
means when it says salt
that has lost its saltiness is
trodden under the feet of
men.
One more fact!
• Long ago, when people signed an agreement,
they ate some salt. It was a pledge of their
friendship and faithfulness.