"The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk." - Exodus 23:19
The Paternoster (a.k.a. the "Our Father", or what should properly be called The Lords Prayer example) includes in it the petition - "Give us this day our daily bread". Some of us recognize our deep dependence on Him for the food He provides - others may say - "He doesn't provide! I work really hard for my money, and I am the one putting food on the table". That is true! However, that food originated from the land, and every farmer knows how dependent he is on climate for his crops! All the money in the world will not generate food if there is a famine in the land. God provides for our food in the same way that He feeds the birds of the air, they get their food - but it is not dropped into their nests! They are out working and actively looking for it, and they find it. God is intimately concerned with our wellbeing, and that includes even our daily diet! That is why Israel was instructed to avoid eating certain animals, as they could have been carriers of certain diseases, and why there was such an emphasis on cleanliness and hygiene in the Law.
How does this apply to this weeks verse? Other than recognizing that He is providing for us day by day, and is concerned with our daily bread, there are two other applications.
First, we need to recognize that God is our Jehovah-Jireh, the only One from whom we receive all things, whether that be rain for our crops and animals, or children from His hand. That is why the first born/fruits of all that grew in the land of Israel, and the first born of every animal of the flock, and the first born males in Israel were lawfully His property. They were to be offered to Him or redeemed without delay (on the eighth day), to reinforce that message, as well as to serve as a reminder of Israel's deliverance from Egypt, where the firstborn of all cattle and children of the Egyptians had to be slain to get Pharaoh to relent. It is a reminder of a past deliverance, and a very present providence. Israel was to look to HIM and not to any other for their day to day needs.
Which brings us to the second application.The second part of this text has been understood by some commentators to refer to a pagan fertility custom prevalent in OT times. A kid (symbolizing new life) was boiled in the milk of the mother (symbolizing the current harvest, or a sustaining force) and that milk spread on the fields and trees of the land to ensure a good and fruitful harvest, and a good next year. You can see for yourself a certain warped and twisted symbolism that would appeal to the superstitious mind. This was not only an abhorrent custom to our God (making a mother participate in the death of her child by horribly repurposing what was intended for its nutrition) but also completely unnecessary as it had literally would have had no effect in procuring the desired result, which depended solely on the hands of God Himself! Its the reason we see it mentioned in this context, and repeated 3 times (other two references Exo 34:26,Deut 14:21) in the Law.
Rabbinism took occasion to adduce from this commandment injunctions of an extensive culinary kind, according to which every Jew was strictly prohibited, not only from using milk, butter, or cheese with meat, but he was obliged to keep separate sets of kitchen utensils for each of those two classes of food. Its why an orthodox Jew will not have a cheeseburger for fear of inadvertently "seething" (in his stomach) a kid (the burger), and milk (cheese) made from its mother. You may applaud the detailed adherence to the letter of the Law here, but we fear that the spirit of the Law may have been missed here.
The Kosher food industry today is estimated to be a $12.5 Billion dollar one, with around 195,000 kosher certified products, and an estimated 1.3M Jewish, and 35M non-Jewish consumers of kosher foods (sources: www.lubicom.com/stats,www.koshertoday.com). http://www.kosher.com/whatiskosher, is a good place to go to start to understand what keeping kosher means. Certainly, there are benefits to eating food that has been hygienically and humanely prepared, and also meet rabbinical standards for observant Jews. Is this however an extreme departure from the intent of this law?
God intended for His people to look only to Him for their necessities, honor Him with what is His, and avoid cruel and inhumane practices. Legalism has led us to the situation we see here, where the Law has become a an unnecessary burden laid on the backs of good intentioned people. It should lead us back to the Word in prayer to see Him as He is, keep His Words in Spirit and in Truth, and worship and serve Him by loving our fellow man instead of sorting kitchen utensils.