Deuteronomy 22 Devotional

No Looking the Other Way

“If you see your brother’s donkey or ox fallen on the road, you must not ignore it; you must help him lift it up.”Deuteronomy 22:4 (BSB)

Many of these laws concern ordinary moments. If a neighbor's ox or sheep wanders off, Israel must not pretend not to see it, but bring it back, keeping it until the owner comes (22:1-2). A donkey fallen under its load must be helped up (22:4). A new house needs a railing on its roof so no one falls (22:8). Even a mother bird on her nest is to be let go (22:6-7). God's law reaches into the small decisions where it would be easy to walk past.

The chapter also includes severe penalties for sexual sin, and these are not easy laws to read (22:20-24). Yet among them is a striking protection. A betrothed woman attacked in the open country, who cried out with no one to rescue her, has done nothing wrong; the guilt falls on the man alone (22:25-27). The God who gave these laws sees the vulnerable, and he does not ignore what others ignore. His people can reflect that by refusing to look away from the need right in front of them.

To think about: What need in front of you this week have you been tempted to walk past, and what would it look like to stop?