Deuteronomy 22:1 Thou shalt not see thy brother’s ox or his sheep go astray, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt in any case bring them again unto thy brother
You have played hide-and-seek, haven’t you? When I was a kid, we used to play hide-and-seek in our travel trailer. We live at the Bill Rice Ranch, but as a family we travelled widely and often with a travel trailer. We would even play hide-and-seek with our parents in the trailer. You may think there is not a good or safe place to hide in a trailer. That is somewhat true. It was a limited game.
I remember an occasion when we played hide-and-seek with our dog Sparky. One of us would stay with the dog, close our eyes, and count. Everyone else would run and hide. Then we would unleash Sparky and she would run and find the hiders. We had a lot of fun. When a young child plays hide-and-seek, sometimes he will cover his eyes and because he can’t see you, he thinks he is hiding. Many times, adults do that in life. They cover their eyes and think that because they can’t see, they are not seen.
Deuteronomy 22:1 dissuades us from that illusion. It says, “Thou shalt not see thy brother’s ox or his sheep go astray, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt in any case bring again unto thy brother.” Now, you probably don’t have an ox or a sheep and your neighbors don’t either, but this is a case law, a case that represents a governing principle. The principle is that when we see something, we are not to hide ourselves. Sometimes we say, “Knowledge is power,” so we want to know things so we have power over other people. Knowledge may be power, but knowledge is responsibility. It is the ability and obligation to respond as we should. If I see something, I ought not act passively as if I do not see it. I need to respond and be responsible. So, knowledge is responsibility.
Now, when is it responsibility and to whom is it responsibility? First, it is responsibility when there are those who are guilty. In Deuteronomy 21:7, when talking about someone who is found dead and it is not known who killed them or how, there was a protocol. It involved sacrifice and the people were to be able to honestly say to God, “Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.” So, it wasn’t just that they hadn’t murdered this person, but that they did not know who had. That indicates that I am responsible not just for what I do or don’t do, but also for what I see and know. I can’t cover my eyes and act like God doesn’t know.
One of the Proverbs says that if I act like I am ignorant when people are being hurt and don’t intervene to help, God, who sees all, will remember that. So, I am to be responsible if I know that something is wrong. Now, I am not to be prying, nosy, or setting everyone straight, but it does mean when something is not right, I am not to act as if I do not know. Knowledge is responsibility.
It is true for these who are needy. Chapter 22 talks about when someone has lost something, like lost-and-found items, and I find it, I need to return it to the one who owns it. Verse 4 says, “Thou shalt surely help him.” If you see a neighbor who needs help, don’t act like you don’t know. If you see something that is not right, don’t act like you don’t know. Knowledge is responsibility. It is responsibility when people are guilty and when they are needy.
Secondly, whom are we to see? Verse 2 says, “And if thy brother be not nigh unto thee, or if thou know him not.” Here is a brother that you don’t even know. This is not a brother with the same mother; this is a brother with the same God. Sometimes we plead ignorance when what we are really doing is ignoring the pleas of other people. Someone has need that we ignore, and we plead ignorance.
In Luke 10 there is a story of a lawyer who came to Jesus and tempted Him. He asked, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus asked, “Well, what do you read?” He answered Jesus, “You should love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Now we are full circle. This is Luke 10:25 and it referencing Deuteronomy 6 and 11. Jesus replied, “Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.” If you know this is what God expects, then do it. Love God and love people.
Luke 10:29 goes on, “But he [the lawyer], willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor?” Whenever you try to justify yourself, you fall short. Only Jesus can justify you and only when you look to Him to do what you cannot do, forgive sin and save. Jesus answered this lawyer by telling the parable of the Good Samaritan. There was a man beaten and left for dead on the side of the road. Verse 31 says, “And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.” This happens a couple of times with others who should have known better. So, someone may ask, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus implies that your neighbor is the one in need of whom you know. The bottom line is that knowledge is responsibility. Look for ways to be a blessing. Don’t plead ignorance. Stand for what is right. Be a help to others.
There are three things we need if we are going to do this. First, we need courage. It is easy to act like we don’t know something because we don’t want to be responsible for what that implies. So, I need courage to do the right thing. Second, I need compassion. Sometimes I see someone in need and I see it without passion, feeling, or care. Third, I need discernment. I need to be able to divide between being a busybody or know-it-all and someone who is actively compelled by God to take action on things that I can actually do something about.
Knowledge is power, but not when I cover my eyes and act like God does not see. Knowledge is responsibility; it is the ability with courage, compassion, and discernment to respond to what I know.