Sundry Laws
22 “You shall not see your [a]countryman’s ox or his sheep straying away, and [b]pay no attention to them; you shall certainly bring them back to your countryman.2 If your countryman is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall remain with you until your countryman looks for it; then you shall restore it to him. 3 Thus you shall do with his donkey, and you shall do the same with his garment, and you shall do likewise with anything lost by your countryman, which he has lost and you have found. You are not allowed to [c]neglect them. 4 You shall not see your countryman’s donkey or his ox fallen down on the way, and [d]pay no attention to them; you shall certainly help him to raise them up.
5 “A woman shall not wear man’s clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman’s clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.
6 “If you happen to come upon a bird’s nest along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young; 7 you shall certainly let the mother go, but the young you may take for yourself, in order that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days.
8 “When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, so that you will not bring bloodguilt on your house if anyone falls from it.
9 “You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, or [e]all the produce of the seed which you have sown and the increase of the vineyard will become defiled.
10 “You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.
11 “You shall not wear a material mixed of wool and linen together.
12 “You shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of your garment with which you cover yourself.
While many of these are just good common sense, the first passage stands out to me. It is very nearly an answer to Cain’s question, “am I my brother’s keeper?” In some ways, I think it answers the question with a “yes” and then takes it one step further.
Not only are we to look out for our fellow man (love your neighbor as yourself), but we are to watch out for their property also. If it has been lost, we are to restore it, or set it aside and keep it safe so that it can be restored when they come looking for it.
Serving God means always looking out for the best interests of others. That’s what Christianity is all about, making sure others know they are in mortal danger, and sharing the good news with them.