Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk. (Exod 23:19, Exod 34:26, Deut 14:21).
Apparently, at the end of the harvests, pagans boiled young goats in their own mother's milk and sprinkled it on the ground in a magical tradition to increase the following year's harvest. Some of the Jews apparently did the same even after giving God thanks for a bountiful harvest!
Three times in Scripture, it is written that we are not to seethe (boil) a kid (young goat) in his own mother's milk. Writing something thrice indicates something extremely important!
First off, we are not to perform activities which the pagans do! This is written in the Old Testament and referred to again in the New Testamament.
1 Corinthians 10:20 "No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons."
In copying the pagans Christians are "participants with demons" (devils). That ought to scare you into thninking rationally. Most Christians would never willingly participate with the devil, but because of his wile, Christians do just that unwittingly. Superstition is evil!
If you put your faith in silly things or false religious practices your faith does not lie in God. Let's think of some of those: lucky charms, communication with the dead, astrology (horoscopes), fortune-tellers, Yoga, positive affirmations, accupuncture, wholistic "medicine", visions of Christ and/or Mary, ad nauseum. You get the idea... if it's not scriptural don't do it! I'll talk about false religious practices later on, but right now let's look at another reason not to seethe a kid in it's mother's milk.
God values respect! The Bible says little about respecting animals although we're not to be a respector of persons. Although both are God's creation, whereas man has pride, dumb animals do not. Man was to have authority over the animals and as caretakers of God's creation, we are to care for the animals he gave us as well. It is prudent to keep in mind, though, that after man sinned we were given skins for covering and flesh for food. We are to remember our spiritual death through the death of animals.
Only one verse directly addresses how we're to treat animals. Proverbs 12:10 " A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel."
We're not to take the life of animals unncessarily! That's respect for what God as provided. I use respect in this sense as being appreciative and holding in high regard the animals. We ought to! They were provided to man for companionship, to help us in our work, for sacrifice to God and for food. They serve utilitarian and divine purposes.
Now back to boiling a young goat in its own mother's milk. A child and its mother have been one. There is a special bond between a mother and her offspring. Humans are told to honor their mother for this reason. You are to do that just because she carried and delievered you. She is owed respect just because of who she is! Likewise, there exits in most animals that same maternal bond. By taking the milk which she uses to nourish her own, boiling it and scalding the remains of her own "child" that is the ultimate disregard of that maternal bond. By performing this act, man has utter disrespect for the mother and her offspring. Even an animal deserves more respect!
Disrespect of the animal couped with the superstitious pagan disrespect of God doubles the damage. Hence, in God's eyes, this command is a serious offense. I call it the eleventh commandment! Although man doesn't deserve respect because we're sinful, like it or not, animals do not sin. They have no soul and no responsibility to do other than what God designed them to do. That will not always be true though!
When Isaiah prophesied the coming of the Messiah and his reign he said this:
Isaiah 11:5 "Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
Yes, when Jesus reigns again on the earth the animal kingdom will return to their domicile state as they were at the creation... just as it was when Adam named them and lived with them in harmony! Jesus will not only bring peace to humanity, but the whole world will live in peaceful coexistence. Every treaty in history or time to come has failed or will fail to bring peace, but with one word Jesus will bring peace to the world... not just to humanity, but to all things!
Yes, we should respect the animals. They are a gift to us and commune with us. Until Jesus comes we're allowed to use them for food and clothing, but we're not to abuse them for entertainment or out of neglect. Respect God... respect the animals... respect life!
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