Does Deuteronomy 22:1-3 teach we should help strays?

[Kilk1]

Hello! Does Deuteronomy 22 teach that we should help stray animals find their owners, even when we don't know the owners? Here's the passage in question (emphasis mine):

If you see your fellow Israelite’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to its owner. 2 If they do not live near you or if you do not know who owns it, take it home with you and keep it until they come looking for it. Then give it back. 3 Do the same if you find their donkey or cloak or anything else they have lost. Do not ignore it.

--Deuteronomy 22:1-3 (NIV)​

Thanks in advance for your reply!

 

[Dave L]

Hello! Does Deuteronomy 22 teach that we should help stray animals, even when we don't know the owners? Here's the passage in question (emphasis mine):

If you see your fellow Israelite’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to its owner. 2 If they do not live near you or if you do not know who owns it, take it home with you and keep it until they come looking for it. Then give it back. 3 Do the same if you find their donkey or cloak or anything else they have lost. Do not ignore it.

--Deuteronomy 22:1-3 (NIV)​

Thanks in advance for your reply!

“A [consistently] righteous man regards the life of his beast, but even the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.” Proverbs 12:10 (AMP)

 

[Heavenhome]

I firmly believe that we are to care for all of Gods creatures, after all in Eden, Adam was given care of them. Sadly, due to the sin committed by him brought about animals death which carries on.
If we see a stray or animal in need we certainly should do all we can to help them.

 

[Heavenhome]

“A [consistently] righteous man regards the life of his beast, but even the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.” Proverbs 12:10 (AMP)

That is the passage I live by in regards to all animals.
And that passage even explains how people who neglect their animals are wicked. How often I have heard in animal neglect or cruelty cases the owner saying " I love my animals"

 

[Dave L]

That is the passage I live by in regards to all animals.
And that passage even explains how people who neglect their animals are wicked. How often I have heard in animal neglect or cruelty cases the owner saying " I love my animals"

You can learn a lot about people through their treatment of animals. I think animals are a good litmus test for the character of people who plan to marry.

 

[Joyous Song]

I add one more point as people who only take in strays as pets, When you rescue a starving animal, give it warmth and food, it never forgets this act. We found rescue animals make the best pets.

 

[Kilk1]

In the past, even recently, if I'd see a stray dog in my neighborhood, I'd just ignore it. Is this not the right thing to do? Considering these things, should I instead have gone outside, brought it into my fence, and contacted an animal lost-and-found service?

 

[Joyous Song]

In the past, even recently, if I'd see a stray dog in my neighborhood, I'd just ignore it. Is this not the right thing to do? Considering these things, should I instead have gone outside, brought it into my fence, and contacted an animal lost-and-found service?

We live out in a farming area, if we see a stray dog we usually go next door and ask about it. usually its their dog, If not we take a picture to church and ask those at church. Once we found a dog on the church steps, it turned out he was a stray that the town fed. We took him home and he was a excellent dog, he even talked when we talked, just not sure what he was saying.

So I guess I say, yes, see if you can find him a home and if not and you have space, give him one but if not then give him to a no kill shelter to find one in time.

 

[Kenny'sID]

Hello! Does Deuteronomy 22 teach that we should help stray animals, even when we don't know the owners? Here's the passage in question (emphasis mine):

If you see your fellow Israelite’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to its owner. 2 If they do not live near you or if you do not know who owns it, take it home with you and keep it until they come looking for it. Then give it back. 3 Do the same if you find their donkey or cloak or anything else they have lost. Do not ignore it.

--Deuteronomy 22:1-3 (NIV)​

Thanks in advance for your reply!

It seems to imply that, but only for the sake of the owner.

That, “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts" from the bible, that one will tell us to take care of strays, peole or animals. The reason It will just feel like the right thing to do.

 

[UnpopularOpinion]

Hello! Does Deuteronomy 22 teach that we should help stray animals, even when we don't know the owners? Here's the passage in question (emphasis mine):

If you see your fellow Israelite’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to its owner. 2 If they do not live near you or if you do not know who owns it, take it home with you and keep it until they come looking for it. Then give it back. 3 Do the same if you find their donkey or cloak or anything else they have lost. Do not ignore it.

--Deuteronomy 22:1-3 (NIV)​

Thanks in advance for your reply!

no , stray animals have no owner

but you can just keep it if you can take the responsibility


You can do similar today if you find a wallet for example , and some ID inside with money , should take the wallet to the owner or at least call him , without robbing him of his money ofc.

 

[Kilk1]

no , stray animals have no owner

but you can just keep it if you can take the responsibility


You can do similar today if you find a wallet for example , and some ID inside with money , should take the wallet to the owner or at least call him , without robbing him of his money ofc.

By "stray animals," I mean animals that verse 1 says are "straying" (NIV); the verse mentions returning them to the owner, so the scenario in Deuteronomy 22 definately involves an animal with an owner.

If you see your fellow Israelite’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to its owner. 2 If they do not live near you or if you do not know who owns it, take it home with you and keep it until they come looking for it. Then give it back. 3 Do the same if you find their donkey or cloak or anything else they have lost. Do not ignore it.

--Deuteronomy 22:1-3 (NIV)​

Does this teach then that if we see a stray (lost) animal, that we should take it and try to reunite it with its owner? Let me know if you see something differently, as I want to make sure I'm understanding the passage correctly.

 

[Kilk1]

Thanks for the replies, everyone! In light of the point by @Kenny'sID that the verse teaches such "only for the sake of the owner," I reworded my OP: "Does Deuteronomy 22 teach that we should help stray animals find their owners, even when we don't know the owners?"

 

[Kenny'sID]

Thanks for the replies, everyone! In light of the point by @Kenny'sID that the verse teaches such "only for the sake of the owner," I reworded my OP: "Does Deuteronomy 22 teach that we should help stray animals find their owners, even when we don't know the owners?"

Yes, we should definitely make reasonable effort to do that, or for that matter, we should try to find the owner of anything, anyone lost.

 

[Hazelelponi]

Hello! Does Deuteronomy 22 teach that we should help stray animals find their owners, even when we don't know the owners? Here's the passage in question (emphasis mine):

If you see your fellow Israelite’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to its owner. 2 If they do not live near you or if you do not know who owns it, take it home with you and keep it until they come looking for it. Then give it back. 3 Do the same if you find their donkey or cloak or anything else they have lost. Do not ignore it.

--Deuteronomy 22:1-3 (NIV)​

Thanks in advance for your reply!

Generally speaking this is about loving ones neighbor as oneself.

I used to farm. Raised cattle. Thing is, each cow is between 500 to 1,000 dollars in worth. That's a lot of money. 1 steer butchered can feed a family for a year. That's a lot of worth.

People's livestock gets out. Fences are great, but they don't stop them from getting out 100% of the time. Getting a call "hey we've got a couple of your cows over here", or giving that call, is fairly commonplace, although larger commercial farmers are less likely to notice a stray here or there.

I actually had a couple heifers once that stayed with my neighbors cows all summer, because they were so bent on going over there he said just leave them.. lol.. (I never could figure those two out!) they weren't costing him anything so it wasn't that big of a deal.

But when it comes time to breed, or sell - it's a big deal when this is how you pay for your land and feed your family.

In such a society as they had in Biblical days, it was a very big deal to lose an ox you relied on to plow the fields (very expensive and extremely useful) .. for most people even today you couldn't just lose one without feeling it somewhere, it'd be like losing a tractor... not easily replaceable.

So when you care for your neighbors animals that have gotten loose, warn your neighbors that you have their livestock... your actually caring for the wellbeing of your neighbor... making sure they have food on the table.

Anything less and it's seen as theft, even today.

 

[Hazelelponi]

Thanks for the replies, everyone! In light of the point by @Kenny'sID that the verse teaches such "only for the sake of the owner," I reworded my OP: "Does Deuteronomy 22 teach that we should help stray animals find their owners, even when we don't know the owners?"

If you were driving by someone's house and you saw your dog in their yard, how would you feel?

Generally, most people would wonder how you came by the animal, and seek to reunite with their pet... perhaps be offended (at best) if you hadn't at least tried to find the owners had the dog simply gotten loose.

Is loving ones neighbor consistent with making sure their fur baby is cared for and the owners found?

I say yes, it is.

 

[Kilk1]

Generally speaking this is about loving ones neighbor as oneself.

I used to farm. Raised cattle. Thing is, each cow is between 500 to 1,000 dollars in worth. That's a lot of money. 1 steer butchered can feed a family for a year. That's a lot of worth.

People's livestock gets out. Fences are great, but they don't stop them from getting out 100% of the time. Getting a call "hey we've got a couple of your cows over here", or giving that call, is fairly commonplace, although larger commercial farmers are less likely to notice a stray here or there.

I actually had a couple heifers once that stayed with my neighbors cows all summer, because they were so bent on going over there he said just leave them.. lol.. (I never could figure those two out!) they weren't costing him anything so it wasn't that big of a deal.

But when it comes time to breed, or sell - it's a big deal when this is how you pay for your land and feed your family.

In such a society as they had in Biblical days, it was a very big deal to lose an ox you relied on to plow the fields (very expensive and extremely useful) .. for most people even today you couldn't just lose one without feeling it somewhere, it'd be like losing a tractor... not easily replaceable.

So when you care for your neighbors animals that have gotten loose, warn your neighbors that you have their livestock... your actually caring for the wellbeing of your neighbor... making sure they have food on the table.

Anything less and it's seen as theft, even today.

If you were driving by someone's house and you saw your dog in their yard, how would you feel?

Generally, most people would wonder how you came by the animal, and seek to reunite with their pet... perhaps be offended (at best) if you hadn't at least tried to find the owners had the dog simply gotten loose.

Is loving ones neighbor consistent with making sure their fur baby is cared for and the owners found?

I say yes, it is.

Before, I'd pretty much ignore stray animals when I'd see them. However, perhaps that wasn't the right thing to do. We were devastated when our dog strayed until a stranger posted online that they found her. Considering Deuteronomy 22, perhaps I should be more like them.

 

[Hazelelponi]

Before, I'd pretty much ignore stray animals when I'd see them. However, perhaps that wasn't the right thing to do. We were devastated when our dog strayed until a stranger posted online that they found her. Considering Deuteronomy 22, perhaps I should be more like them.

Not everyone can take in a stray animal. You have to feed them and allow them out for the bathroom and give them a place to sleep. This isn't possible for everyone but most people can take the time to run a small animal to the local humane society.

In most cases though you would only have the animal a short time though... last time a stray came to my door I had it 48 hours approximately before we found the owners. I posted a pic of him on Facebook and made sure all the neighbors knew we found a stray, and while the owner was a bit farther away, it was word of mouth that eventually found them and they came and got the animal.

You can usually tell if a stray is cared for, even in absence of a tag. If they are healthy and flea free, chances are they just got lost... if they have a collar on it's bonus points for knowing their owners can't be terribly far.

If they look uncared for, you can drop them off at the pound without much worry too, they'll be cared for at least, with a serious attempt for adoption.

 

[Kilk1]

Here's another wrinkle to add: What do I do if I live with my parents, and they don't feel the same way? I've been told in the past that we don't know if stray/lost animals could have diseases, so we should avoid animals we see on the street. My parents are Christians, so should I explain what Deuteronomy 22:1-3 says, and if they still don't agree, can I resort to Ephesians 6:1-3 and Colossians 3:20 till I have my own place? Or, would this be an Acts of the Apostles 5:29 case, meaning I should follow Deuteronomy 22:1-3 regardless of what they say? Perhaps I'm overthinking, but what are your thoughts, everyone? Thanks!

 

[Hazelelponi]

Here's another wrinkle to add: What do I do if I live with my parents, and they don't feel the same way? I've been told in the past that we don't know if stray/lost animals could have diseases, so we should avoid animals we see on the street. My parents are Christians, so should I explain what Deuteronomy 22:1-3 says, and if they still don't agree, can I resort to Ephesians 6:1-3 and Colossians 3:20 till I have my own place? Or, would this be an Acts of the Apostles 5:29 case, meaning I should follow Deuteronomy 22:1-3 regardless of what they say? Perhaps I'm overthinking, but what are your thoughts, everyone? Thanks!

If your living in your parents home, it's to you to respect their decisions even when you disagree. If they don't want you to contact strays, they have their reasons and it's out of love for you. So respect them and do as they say.

Certainly, stray animals can carry a variety of diseases...

I'm just never worried about such things. I have extensive experience with animals which helps. I can tell an animal that's sick from one that's not, one that's cared for from one that's not etc.

If you dont have the same experience with animals, it may behoove you to take more precautions around them than I would.

 

[Kilk1]

If your living in your parents home, it's to you to respect their decisions even when you disagree. If they don't want you to contact strays, they have their reasons and it's out of love for you. So respect them and do as they say.

Certainly, stray animals can carry a variety of diseases...

I'm just never worried about such things. I have extensive experience with animals which helps. I can tell an animal that's sick from one that's not, one that's cared for from one that's not etc.

If you dont have the same experience with animals, it may behoove you to take more precautions around them than I would.

Thanks for the advice!