If you come across your enemy's ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. The obligation to return a wandering animal even to an enemy is one of the most striking provisions in the covenant law. The enemy is not someone the law has defined but someone who has wronged you personally. The return is not optional — be sure to return it. Matthew 5:43–44 records Jesus commanding love for enemies; the covenant law's requirement of active service to enemies' property interests is the Old Testament legal form of the same principle. Proverbs 25:21–22 says if your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat — the principle of active good toward enemies runs through both testaments in different registers.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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