On Generations and Goat’s Milk
(Note: I wrote this post back in December, but didn’t have a good photo to use until now… hopefully those are goats, but if not they are close enough!)
“Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk.” -Exodus 34:26b
I’ve been reading Exodus with our discipleship group and can’t get enough. Every time I read it, something new shocks me, shakes me, and makes me ponder the mysteries of God. A couple themes that keep standing out are how God seemed to care a lot about what His people did even in the hiddenness of their homes, and also how many times He said “for generations to come.”
He had to set so many boundaries, laws, and traditions for them… SO many ways that clearly marked them and set them apart as holy. (Why? For a much bigger purpose to save and redeem the entire world through this one specific people group… but that’s not what this post is about). What they wore, what they ate, who they married, and how they cooked their goats… it all mattered. Even the things they did when no one was looking, like what milk they used when cooking. (This was believed to be a pagan tradition and also symbolizes unholiness).
What they did in the hiddenness mattered to God.
It also mattered that His people remembered all that He had done and set aside times of the week and year to stop and celebrate. These rituals and customs became embedded into their culture because they were to be a people who were set apart from the rest of the world. I find it fascinating that God told them very specifically how to celebrate the Passover before the angel of death even passed over their doors. It was so important for the people to remember all He did year after year, for generations to come.
Because He was doing something over generations.
Exodus 31:13 says “you must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for generations to come, so that you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.”
We know through Jesus that God’s heart is for every individual to know Him and find rest in Him. He likes us and wants to be with us. He has shown us this time and time again in the Old Testament as well as the New. For example, hovering over the Israelites in a cloud and having them build the ark of the covenant to house His presence. He’s always wanted to make His home with us and He’s always working to bring us home to Him. That’s the heart and story of the entire Bible.
But we have to trust that He is not just working in our own individual lives, but over generations. He is a miracle working God but He is also a long-haul, bigger picture, Kingdom-building God. He’s not working despite our struggle, but in and through our struggle. Not despite our joys and fruitfulness, but in and through them. He is moving and working through it all. This is encouraging to me during a season of hiddenness and the daily, mundane struggle of parenting and homeschooling. If I don’t trust that God is forming me and forming my children through our daily struggles then I would either go insane or quit. If I did'n’t know the grace of God that covers me and my children then I would drown in the despair of shame and guilt every day.
But instead of going insane, I’ve been inspired recently to pray more hopeful, bigger prayers … for myself, my children, and their children. Maybe I’ll get to see the fruit of those prayers in my lifetime, maybe I won’t. But there’s a hope and joy and expectation in trusting that He is constantly redeeming this world and using us to do it.
He is moving and working in the hiddenness, and He also cares about what we do in our own hiddenness.
So what does this require of us? Trust. Obedience. It always comes back to the verse,
“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.” - 2 Chronicles 16:9
Yes He still loves us in our sinful state and covers us with His grace. That’s the foundation we can confidently stand upon in our faith. I think we have all got that part. But maturity means learning to walk… to run on that foundation. It means learning how to throw off the sin that so easily entangles, trust in His presence and goodness through EVERY season, and wait with HOPE for Him to redeem all things. He meets us here in our present circumstances and cares about every detail of our lives. Sometimes we get to see it, feel it, and taste it. Other times we simply cannot, but can take heart because we know He is not only moving in our present but working things out for future generations. He is a long-haul God and requires long-haul faith.
I think that’s what discipleship is… learning to walk and run on that foundation with other believers. We simply aren’t meant to do it on our own. Not only do we have the power of the Holy Spirit to help, guide, and equip, but we have the body of Christ to hold up our arms when we are weak and remind us of what is true, good, and beautiful. If you need encouragement, ask for it. If you need to confess or repent, invite others into that too. There’s so much for freedom in store for those who fully trust and are ready to obey at every turn.
It’s GOOD NEWS that God cares about what we do and how we live. He cares about how we spend our time, our money, the words that come out of our mouths, the things we watch… His heart is not condemnation, but love. It’s His nature to woo us, to draw us in and show us the better way. You may not be cooking your young goats in their mothers’ milk, but chances are, you’ve got thangs. Thangs that need to be healed, brought before the Lord, and redeemed. Not just for your sake but for the sake of future generations. How we cook our goats matters for those who will follow in our footsteps. Will you ask the Lord “what is the deeper work?” Will you trust Him with the big things and the hidden things? I sure know I want to. Lord grant us the grace to trust and believe.