Heres a paper I wrote for a class I have called Intro to the Bible. I thought it was pretty awesome what God revealed to me about it. Let me say that if you have a question about scripture pray about it and seek God's guidance with it. Matthew Henry's comentaries also help out alot. Hope you like it.

Exodus 23:19
"Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God.
"Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk.

This verse is an interesting one. It seems that its first part (19a) is completely separate from its second (19b). There appears to be a distinct command here in the first part if the verse; “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God.” The term firstfruits is referring to the portion of the crops that is the first to be harvested. In doing so, you are saying that this portion of your harvest is more than you can afford to lose, but you know that God will bless you for giving to him and to his people. He will in turn bless your harvest and make it more plentiful because you trusted in him. This theme is pretty acceptable here in this verse.

Why then, is 19b added in with this verse. It almost seems like the author just had something pop into his mind here and thought he should through it into the mix. Or maybe when the Bible was being separated into books, chapters and verses, the editor made a mistake when he included this part with 19a. With a more careful look, it might be easy to see that these two parts go together quite nicely and make a valid law.

What significance does cooking a young goat in its mother’s milk have on the Christian life? Is it a practice generally looked down on simply because of cleanliness or is there something more? With some research, I found that the practice of cooking a young goat in its mother’s milk was a superstitious practice that the Gentiles used when they were finished with their harvest. They would take the milk-pottage after the kid was boiled and sprinkle some of it on the land. This would in turn magically produce a more fruitful crop. The Gentiles relied on this practice to give them a better harvest.

God wants his people to give him thanks for the harvest they received and depend on him for the next harvest to come. In a society that relies heavily on what crops they grow to provide food for them, trusting God to provide your needs for the harvest is trusting him with your life. What the purpose of the law is trying to say is that God’s people should trust in him to provide for them when they are in need and he will give you your need. Jesus says himself, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given unto you as well.”

It’s great to see sometimes how a portion of scripture that can be very confusing at first glance can end up being very enlightening upon further study.