17 Then the LORD said to Moses, 18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites and tell them, ‘Any man of the house of Israel or any foreign resident who presents a gift for a burnt offering to the LORD, whether to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, 19 must offer an unblemished male from the cattle, sheep, or goats in order for it to be accepted on your behalf. 20 You must not present anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.

21 When a man presents a peace offering to the LORD from the herd or flock to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without blemish or defect to be acceptable. 22 You are not to present to the LORD any animal that is blind, injured, or maimed, or anything with a running sore, a festering rash, or a scab; you must not put any of these on the altar as an offering made by fire to the LORD.

23 You may present as a freewill offering an ox or sheep that has a deformed or stunted limb, but it is not acceptable in fulfillment of a vow. 24 You are not to present to the LORD an animal whose testicles are bruised, crushed, torn, or cut; you are not to sacrifice them in your land. 25 Neither you nor a foreigner shall present food to your God from any such animal. They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and flawed.’”

26 Then the LORD said to Moses, 27 “When an ox, a sheep, or a goat is born, it must remain with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as an offering made by fire to the LORD. 28 But you must not slaughter an ox or a sheep on the same day as its young.

29 When you sacrifice a thank offering to the LORD, offer it so that it may be acceptable on your behalf. 30 It must be eaten that same day. Do not leave any of it until morning. I am the LORD.

31 You are to keep My commandments and practice them. I am the LORD. 32 You must not profane My holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy among the Israelites. I am the LORD who sanctifies you, 33 who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD.”

REFLECTIONS

Verses 26-28 took me by surprise – the commands not to take a calf or lamb from its mother before the eighth day (not even to offer to the Lord), and not to slaughter both a mature animal and its young on the same day. The thing I’ve always thought of is how much more valuable and important human lives are in God’s sight than the lives of animals – and I still think that’s right. After all, how many animals were sacrificed, at God’s command, to save people from judgment in the Old Testament?

But that doesn’t mean God doesn’t value animals at all, and it certainly doesn’t justify cruelty to animals. In fact, when I looked into it, I discovered there are more verses than I realised that command people to show kindness to animals, even wild animals and birds (Exodus 23:5, 10-12; Deuteronomy 22:6-7; Proverbs 12:10). I guess it’s no surprise that God cares about all of his creatures – and I should too, since they belong to him.