In order for Exodus 23:19b (“you shall not boil a kid in his mother’s milk”) to be interpreted properly it must be situated in its biblical context, which necessitates a proper understanding of Exodus 24:1-11. It is the primary contention of this paper that it is only through the lens of covenant ceremony of Exodus 24 that “You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk” can be understood. The great covenant ceremony that takes place in Exodus 24 builds to a glorious theophany; and it is in the midst of this ceremony, that Exodus 23:19b would have been read to the people.
First we must establish that chapter 24 is the crescendo of the text. From verses 1-18 of chapter 24 “go up” is used seven times. This symbolic number would indicate completion, or fullness of action. When the big picture is understood, there is a sense of gradual ascent with the climax of Moses reaching the top. It should be mentioned that the pervasiveness of this leitwort and the general picture of continual ascending quickens the reader to see continual progression of thought leading to the ultimate climax of seeing God.
Worship takes place “up”, in the heavenly realm. This entire ceremony is completely contingent on God’s initiating a call to ascend. The theophanic vision in verse 11 is life being lived fully. The dashing of half of the sacrificial blood on the altar v. 6, the reading of the Book of the Covenant v. 7, and the dashing of the other half of the sacrificial blood on the people binds Israel to Yahweh in covenantal relationship. This is one of the formative moments of biblical narrative, and not only cements Israel’s election, the nation is already God’s son (4:22), but now this people has been established as a kingdom of priests and a “holy nation.” Moses declares the sacrifice to be the “blood of the covenant,” and the meal of the peace-offering is consumed by the worshippers. The people enjoy the very presence of God, in a meal demonstrating the peace, unity, and fellowship they have with their Savior. The most glorious life, truly the happiest state of man is to be doing what he was made to do: commune with God.
It is only in the context of covenant relationship that the case laws can be understood. God’s law is given as the path which leads to the theophany. The Laws are a crucial element of the ceremony as part of God’s entering into peaceful fellowship and communion with His people. God’s entering into relationship with His people, necessitates His law, includes His law and climaxes in the glorious life of communing worship. It is in divine worship that the law is given, both in its summary form and practical, specific applications.
Setting the command “You shall not boil a kid in his mother’s milk” in the Book of the Covenant, and as an integral part of the covenant renewal ceremony must be the foundation for its primary interpretation. This last part of verse 19 is therefore the last prohibition, the last imperative given in the book of the covenant. Quite possibly, it would have constituted the final line of that which was read by Moses in the hearing of all the people. The giving of the law must not be divorced from its place in the glorious ceremony, and the theophany and the divine meal of Exodus 24.
More specifically, in Exodus 23:10, we find regulations concerning sabbaths and festivals, Israel’s church calendar. It may appear at first, that Exodus 23:18-19 is a mere appendix to the festival legislation in vv. 14-16, and stated as an organizing principle of worship, or life itself. It serves as an brief summary statement of the purpose of the law, as well as the unavoidable climax of the law properly observed: life lived fully in peace and communion with God in the context of God’s life giving covenant, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of slavery,” the giving of the law, and the covenantal worship of God’s people, what is forbidden is that God’s people take what God has specifically intended for life, and use it as an instrument of death. It is an abomination for God’s people to take and use God’s law, the source of their nurture and sustenance, and use it to for death.
Contrary to many interpretations, there is no prohibition of boiling a kid in milk; the prohibition is the mother’s milk. The milk’s sole purpose for existence is to give life to that particular kid and thus must not be the very instrument used to bring about the kid’s demise. The primary concern is not the mingling of substances, or even the biblical principle of the separation of life and death. Rather, fundamentally, it is the relationship between the two parties that is the focal point.
Exodus 4:22 refers to Israel as God’s firstborn son, a newly born nation. The post-exodus narrative and case laws given are the constituting of that people. The people of Israel have been given life, they have been born, and God now desires to sustain and nurture them promising that “if you indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
There are multiple references in Scripture that attest to the mother-child relationship between God and his people. In Isaiah 66:13 we read, “As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you.” Isaiah 49:15 reads, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.” In a powerful plea for God to intervene on behalf of his people Moses lays the conception, birth and nursing of the child Israel upon God: “Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,’ to the land that you swore to give their fathers.”
The law of God is consistently seen throughout scripture to be the harbinger of life. Moses states in Deuteronomy 30:15, “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply.” Psalm 19:7 states, “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul.” Passages could be multiplied that demonstrate that the law of God was designed to give life. Thus, it is hardly far fetched to understand the law of God as analogous to milk.
The Sitz im Leben therefore, of Exodus 23:19b is this covenantal relationship, this bond between God and His particular people, between “mother” and child. It is a life-sustaining, life giving bond and God provides the means for the growth that he expects, and promises. The bond between God and His people is why the law was given, and why it is a central tenant of the ratification ceremony. The laws come from God and are the means by which He accomplishes His purposes leading to the glories of life; eating and drinking, before the very face of God.
The New Testament implies that the kid law is the climax of the exodus, a summation of the whole law. In 1 Peter 2:2, the apostle says, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation.” Strikingly, in 1 Peter, the surrounding context of this passage is saturated in Exodus imagery. To begin, in 1:13 Peter urges his audience to “gird up the loins of your minds.” This is an obvious reference to the Exodus event, where similar language is used, and “Israel prepares herself to leave Egypt.” The phrasing is profoundly similar to Exodus 12:11.
1 Peter continues to reference the Exodus event in 1:18-19. “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” This clear reference to the Passover begins to paint a picture in our minds. What is Peter referencing but the Exodus event itself! In other words, he is indicating that these people are about to head out of Egypt and through the Red Sea, the waters of salvation. Peter is identifying his audience with Israel, with the Church coming out of Egypt.
At this point, Peter mentions that the birth that his audience has experienced came about “through the living and abiding Word of God.” Peter refers exclusively from this point on to post Red Sea language, the exact historical context of Exodus 23:19b. Peter then quotes Isaiah 40:6, in reference to the Word of God. It was the Word of God that was responsible for their birth, it is the “word of the Lord that remains forever,” therefore they are to long for the “pure spiritual milk” of that living word, the law of God.
God desires to give life, and it is an abomination to take what was made to give life, and make it a harbinger of death. To use something good, to take something life giving and wield it as an enemy of life, is forbidden. The law of God is to bring life, not death. The worship of God, the festivals and celebrations are to be life giving, and making life more glorious. The gifts that God has given his people are to be presented to God with thanksgiving, not consumed idolatrously. This is true specifically, but also metaphorically.
God has always had dealings with man through covenant relationship. Since the dawn of time, God has been a God of light and life. His commands are for life and more life, and He hates death. The purpose of human existence is life; and the purpose of that life was peaceful and perfect communion with God. The pinnacle of human existence is worshipful relationship with God. The law of God was given to bring life, to bring God’s people into harmonious and everlasting relationship with him. The Book of the Covenant, this first set of laws, was to serve the people by bringing them up and keeping them in that relationship. In good keeping with neighboring laws; it would be a most dreadful thing to take God’s life-giving, nourishing law and make it an instrument of death.
Jacob Skogen is a student at Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte, North Carolina. This is an abbreviated version of a paper he wrote for a Theopolis class.