Exodus 23:1-5: a reflection

1“You shall not spread a false report. Don’t join your hand with the wicked to be a malicious witness. 2“You shall not follow a crowd to do evil. You shall not testify in court to side with a multitude to pervert justice. 3You shall not favor a poor man in his cause. 4“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. 5If you see the donkey of him who hates you fallen down under his burden, don’t leave him. You shall surely help him with it.

These laws guard the integrity of a community from the inside. Do not spread a false report or join hands with the wicked to bear malicious witness. Do not follow a crowd to do evil, or twist your testimony to match the majority. God cares not only that justice is done but that ordinary people refuse to lend their voice to a lie, even when the whole crowd is leaning the other way.

Then the law takes a surprising turn toward your enemy. If you come across the ox or donkey of someone who hates you wandering off, bring it back. If you see the animal of one who hates you fallen under its load, do not walk past; help him lift it. God will not let hostility excuse you from basic kindness. The person who wishes you ill still has a claim on your help when he is in need.

Both halves press against our instincts. It is easy to go along with the crowd and easy to ignore an enemy's trouble. God asks more: the courage to stand apart from a lie and the grace to help someone who has wronged you. Ask yourself today where you are tempted to follow the many into something you know is wrong, and whether there is an enemy whose fallen burden you could quietly help to lift.

Lord, give me courage to refuse the crowd when it leans toward a lie, and grace to help even those who wish me harm. Do not let hostility harden me against another's need, or numbers pressure me into wrong. Make me honest in my witness and kind to my enemy, that my life would bear the mark of your justice and your mercy together. Amen.