Rest Even for Animals

We are looking at Exodus 23:4–5 today in conjunction with verses 10–12, but we should not overlook the importance of the placement of verses 4–5. Verses 4–5 look at the kind of care for one’s neighbor that might go unnoticed by the wider community. Society as a whole is unlikely to know when a member returns a person’s animal. These verses are sandwiched between verses 1–3 and 6–9, which touch on love for one’s neighbor in public settings. After all, the most loving thing one can do in a court of law, which society as a whole has an interest in, is to tell the truth. This arrangement helps readers understand that neighbor love, later commanded explicitly in Leviticus 19:18, must characterize all of life. What we do in public and in private must reflect the principle that we love our neighbors as ourselves.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Exodus 23:4–5 is the way that it broadens the definition of “neighbor” to include even our enemies. In ancient Israel, nearly every family produced at least part of its own food, and often donkeys, oxen, and other creatures did much of the work on the household farms. These beasts of burden also provided transport of people and goods. Consequently, the loss or injury of an animal constituted financial loss and even economic disaster for Israelite households. It would be tempting for ancient Israelites not to help an enemy by returning his lost animal or assisting his overburdened beast, but verses 4–5 explicitly directed the ancient Israelites to help their enemy by returning or rescuing the enemy’s animal. One’s neighbor, this text indicates, is not merely anyone whom we like but anyone in need whom we happen upon, even if that person hates us. Jesus’ parable of the good Samaritan, wherein a Samaritan helps a Jew who would have been his enemy, is just a fuller explication of verses 4–5 (see Luke 10:25–37).

Interestingly enough, God’s law looks out for the welfare even of animals, for helping the animals of an enemy was to show kindness to his beasts. That concern for creatures besides humans is evident also in Exodus 23:12, which prescribes Sabbath rest even for the animals. Of course, even though Scripture commends treating animals well, its primary focus is on people. The Sabbath year and Sabbath day covered in 23:10–11 may have benefits for animals and the land, but these things exist chiefly for the good of men and women, including the poor, sojourners, and servants.