◄ Deuteronomy 22:7 ►
You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days.
Study Bible
You must let the mother go
This command reflects a deep respect for the natural order and the preservation of life. In Hebrew, the word for "let go" is "shalach," which implies sending away or releasing. This directive underscores the importance of mercy and compassion in the treatment of animals, which is a recurring theme in the Torah. By sparing the mother bird, the Israelites were reminded of the sanctity of life and the need to preserve the means of future generations. This act of mercy is not just about the animal itself but is symbolic of a broader principle of stewardship and care for God's creation.

but you may take the young for yourself
The allowance to take the young birds serves as a provision for human needs. The Hebrew word "laqach" means to take or seize, indicating that while human needs are acknowledged, they must be balanced with ethical considerations. This reflects a principle of sustainable use of resources, ensuring that while immediate needs are met, the future is not jeopardized. It teaches a lesson in moderation and responsibility, reminding the Israelites that their dominion over nature comes with the duty to protect and preserve it.

so that it may go well with you
This phrase is a common biblical expression that links obedience to God's commandments with well-being and prosperity. The Hebrew word "yatab" means to be good or well, suggesting that following God's laws leads to a harmonious and blessed life. This promise of well-being is not merely material but encompasses spiritual and communal health. It reinforces the idea that God's laws are designed for the benefit of His people, promoting a life of peace and fulfillment.

and you may prolong your days
The promise of longevity is a recurring theme in the Old Testament, often associated with obedience to God's commandments. The Hebrew phrase "arak yamim" literally means to lengthen days, implying a life that is not only long but also rich in quality and purpose. This assurance of extended life serves as an incentive for the Israelites to adhere to God's laws, highlighting the connection between righteous living and divine blessing. It reflects the biblical worldview that true life is found in alignment with God's will, leading to both temporal and eternal rewards.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Moses
The author of Deuteronomy, delivering God's laws to the Israelites.

2. Israelites
The audience receiving the law, God's chosen people, preparing to enter the Promised Land.

3. Mother Bird and Young
The specific subjects of the law, representing God's creation and His concern for life and sustainability.
Teaching Points
Respect for Creation
This law teaches us to respect and care for God's creation, recognizing the balance between use and preservation.

Compassionate Stewardship
We are called to exercise dominion with compassion, ensuring that our actions do not lead to unnecessary harm or extinction.

Obedience and Blessing
Obedience to God's commands, even in seemingly small matters, is linked to blessings and well-being, as seen in the promise of prolonged days.

Sustainability and Future Generations
The instruction to let the mother bird go ensures the continuation of species, teaching us the importance of sustainability for future generations.

Holistic View of God's Law
This law reflects the holistic nature of God's commandments, which encompass not only human relationships but also our relationship with the environment.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the command to let the mother bird go reflect God's character and His care for creation?

2. In what ways can we apply the principle of compassionate stewardship in our daily lives today?

3. How does the promise of prolonged days in Deuteronomy 22:7 relate to other biblical promises of blessing for obedience?

4. What are some modern examples of balancing use and preservation of natural resources, and how can Christians lead in this area?

5. How does understanding the original Hebrew context of this law enhance our appreciation for its relevance today?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Genesis 1:28
This verse speaks of humanity's dominion over creation, which is to be exercised with responsibility and care, similar to the instruction in Deuteronomy 22:7.

Exodus 20:12
The commandment to honor one's parents is linked to the promise of prolonged life, echoing the promise in Deuteronomy 22:7.

Matthew 6:26
Jesus speaks of God's care for the birds, highlighting the value God places on all His creation, which aligns with the compassionate treatment of animals in Deuteronomy 22:7.
Sermons
Bird's NestJ. Parker, D. D.Deuteronomy 22:6-7
Birds' NestsR.M. Edgar Deuteronomy 22:6, 7
God's Care for BirdsD. Davies Deuteronomy 22:6, 7
How to Take a Bird's NestS. Cox, D. D.Deuteronomy 22:6-7
The Bird's NestH. Melvill, B. D.Deuteronomy 22:6-7
The Law of the Bird's NestT. Champness.Deuteronomy 22:6-7
The Minutiae of ConductJ. Orr Deuteronomy 22:6-12
People
Hen, Moses
Places
Beth-baal-peor
Topics
Bird, Case, Certainly, Dam, Hast, Hen, Mayest, Ones, Order, Prolong, Prolonged, Surely, Thyself, Wise
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Deuteronomy 22:7

     4017   life, animal and plant

Deuteronomy 22:6-7

     4029   world, human beings in
     8472   respect, for environment

Library
Spiritual Farming. --No. 2 Ploughing.
There have been during the last few years great improvements in the construction of the plough, but no one dreams of any substitute for it. Ploughing is as necessary as sowing; that is to say, the land must be stirred and prepared for the seed. In heavenly husbandry there are some well-meaning folk who would dispense with the plough, and preach faith without repentance, but only to find that the birds of the air get most of the seed! If there is to be an abiding work there must be conviction of …
Thomas Champness—Broken Bread

If any Woman, under Pretence of Asceticism, Shall Change Her Apparel And...
If any woman, under pretence of asceticism, shall change her apparel and, instead of a woman's accustomed clothing, shall put on that of a man, let her be anathema. Notes. Ancient Epitome of Canon XIII. Whatever women wear men's clothes, anathema to them. Hefele. The synodal letter in its sixth article also speaks of this. Exchange of dress, or the adoption by one sex of the dress of the other, was forbidden in the Pentateuch (Deut. xxii. 5), and was therefore most strictly interdicted by the whole …
Philip Schaff—The Seven Ecumenical Councils

Excursus on the Word Theotokos .
There have been some who have tried to reduce all the great theological controversies on the Trinity and on the Incarnation to mere logomachies, and have jeered at those who could waste their time and energies over such trivialities. For example, it has been said that the real difference between Arius and Athanasius was nothing more nor less than an iota, and that even Athanasius himself, in his more placid, and therefore presumably more rational moods, was willing to hold communion with those who …
Philip Schaff—The Seven Ecumenical Councils

The Story of the Adulteress.
(Jerusalem.) ^D John VII. 53-VIII. 11. [This section is wanting in nearly all older manuscripts, but Jerome (a.d. 346-420) says that in his time it was contained in "many Greek and Latin manuscripts," and these must have been as good or better than the best manuscripts we now possess. But whether we regard it as part of John's narrative or not, scholars very generally accept it as a genuine piece of history.] ^d 53 And they went every man unto his own house [confused by the question of Nicodemus, …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

List of Abbreviations Used in Reference to Rabbinic Writings Quoted in this Work.
THE Mishnah is always quoted according to Tractate, Chapter (Pereq) and Paragraph (Mishnah), the Chapter being marked in Roman, the paragraph in ordinary Numerals. Thus Ber. ii. 4 means the Mishnic Tractate Berakhoth, second Chapter, fourth Paragraph. The Jerusalem Talmud is distinguished by the abbreviation Jer. before the name of the Tractate. Thus, Jer. Ber. is the Jer. Gemara, or Talmud, of the Tractate Berakhoth. The edition, from which quotations are made, is that commonly used, Krotoschin, …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Whether There is to be a Resurrection of the Body?
Objection 1: It would seem that there is not to be a resurrection of the body: for it is written (Job 14:12): "Man, when he is fallen asleep, shall not rise again till the heavens be broken." But the heavens shall never be broken, since the earth, to which seemingly this is still less applicable, "standeth for ever" (Eccles. 1:4). Therefore the man that is dead shall never rise again. Objection 2: Further, Our Lord proves the resurrection by quoting the words: "I am the God of Abraham, and the God …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Annunciation to Joseph of the Birth of Jesus.
(at Nazareth, b.c. 5.) ^A Matt. I. 18-25. ^a 18 Now the birth [The birth of Jesus is to handled with reverential awe. We are not to probe into its mysteries with presumptuous curiosity. The birth of common persons is mysterious enough (Eccl. ix. 5; Ps. cxxxix. 13-16), and we do not well, therefore, if we seek to be wise above what is written as to the birth of the Son of God] of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When his mother Mary had been betrothed [The Jews were usually betrothed ten or twelve months …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Parable of the Good Samaritan.
(Probably Judæa.) ^C Luke X. 25-37. ^c 25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and made trial of him, saying, Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? [For the term lawyer see pp. 313, 314, The lawyer wished to make trial of the skill of Jesus in solving the intricate and difficult question as to how to obtain salvation. Jesus was probably teaching in some house or courtyard, and his habit of giving local color to his parables suggests that he was probably in or near Bethany, through …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Healing of the Woman - Christ's Personal Appearance - the Raising of Jairus' Daughter
THERE seems remarkable correspondence between the two miracles which Jesus had wrought on leaving Capernaum and those which He did on His return. In one sense they are complementary to each other. The stilling of the storm and the healing of the demonised were manifestations of the absolute power inherent in Christ; the recovery of the woman and the raising of Jairus' daughter, evidence of the absolute efficacy of faith. The unlikeliness of dominion over the storm, and of command over a legion of …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Among the People, and with the Pharisees
It would have been difficult to proceed far either in Galilee or in Judaea without coming into contact with an altogether peculiar and striking individuality, differing from all around, and which would at once arrest attention. This was the Pharisee. Courted or feared, shunned or flattered, reverently looked up to or laughed at, he was equally a power everywhere, both ecclesiastically and politically, as belonging to the most influential, the most zealous, and the most closely-connected religions …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Barren Fig-Tree. Temple Cleansed.
(Road from Bethany and Jerusalem. Monday, April 4, a.d. 30.) ^A Matt. XXI. 18, 19, 12, 13; ^B Mark XI. 12-18; ^C Luke XIX. 45-48. ^b 12 And ^a 18 Now ^b on the morrow [on the Monday following the triumphal entry], ^a in the morning ^b when they were come out from Bethany, ^a as he returned to the city [Jerusalem], he hungered. [Breakfast with the Jews came late in the forenoon, and these closing days of our Lord's ministry were full of activity that did not have time to tarry at Bethany for it. Our …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Mothers, Daughters, and Wives in Israel
In order accurately to understand the position of woman in Israel, it is only necessary carefully to peruse the New Testament. The picture of social life there presented gives a full view of the place which she held in private and in public life. Here we do not find that separation, so common among Orientals at all times, but a woman mingles freely with others both at home and abroad. So far from suffering under social inferiority, she takes influential and often leading part in all movements, specially …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

How Does it Come?
How does the Filling of the Spirit come? "Does it come once for all? or is it always coming, as it were?" was a question addressed to me once by a young candidate for the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. There are many asking the same question. We have considered how the Fullness is obtained, but now we proceed to consider, How does the Fullness come? In speaking of the blessing of being filled with the Spirit, the New Testament writers use three tenses in the Greek--the Aorist, the Imperfect, and the …
John MacNeil—The Spirit-Filled Life

The Development of the Earlier Old Testament Laws
[Sidenote: First the principle, and then the detailed laws] If the canon of the New Testament had remained open as long as did that of the Old, there is little doubt that it also would have contained many laws, legal precedents, and ecclesiastical histories. From the writings of the Church Fathers and the records of the Catholic Church it is possible to conjecture what these in general would have been. The early history of Christianity illustrates the universal fact that the broad principles are …
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament

Deuteronomy
Owing to the comparatively loose nature of the connection between consecutive passages in the legislative section, it is difficult to present an adequate summary of the book of Deuteronomy. In the first section, i.-iv. 40, Moses, after reviewing the recent history of the people, and showing how it reveals Jehovah's love for Israel, earnestly urges upon them the duty of keeping His laws, reminding them of His spirituality and absoluteness. Then follows the appointment, iv. 41-43--here irrelevant (cf. …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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