If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under
its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it. (Exodus 23:5)
Whether
these words were spoken by Moses, or (as most critical Bible scholars suggest)
were expansions of a later time, they give us a picture of a nation's
developing legal interpretation.
All
these laws stem from the very first: You
shall have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:3). Jesus spoke that
first commandment like this: Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind and with all your strength (Mark 12:30). Together with the second greatest commandment, it
can be summed up like this: Love
God, love people.
Only
a life filled with the love of Christ could live up to Exodus 23:5. On the one
hand these are not circumstances for which one can plan ahead; they come out of
the blue. Not having time to weigh the pros and cons, uur knee-jerk reaction must
be motivated by God’s love.
On
the other hand, this is a decision that has to be settled ahead of time. Waiting
until the opportunity presents itself will likely be too late. One’s heart must
already be transformed with love for others.
This week, will you shower with kindness those who can benefit
you? …those who will appreciate it? … those who will pay you back? Or will you
love your enemies too?
“If anyone gives a donkey, an ox, a sheep or any other animal to their neighbor for safekeeping and it dies or is injured or is taken away while no one is looking .....
ReplyDelete... just tell them your mother was chasing a cat and ran out in the street .... Sorry, couldn't help it!)
Ok, the real question now: God commanded them to let the land lie fallow for 1 yr after 6 yrs of use. What were they to do for food for themselves and their animals during that year? Did most people own enough land that they only used a portion of their fields and so had other fields to use? Was this to happen after they were settled in the land or while they were traveling around? After all, they were out there for 40 yrs after they got these instructions.