As kids, we used to say “finders keepers, losers weepers.” (Okay, as adults we still say it, too). That meant that if we found anything out in the wild, it was ours to keep. And whoever tried to claim it got all the “nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah nyahs” they could handle.
That wasn’t the way it worked under the old law. If you found an ox, or a garment, or a donkey, or anything else that you know belonged to someone else, you had to return it (Deuteronomy 22:1). If it’s too far, you take it back with you to your house and take care of it as if it’s your own (Deuteronomy 22:2). Even if it belongs to your enemy (Exodus 23:4-5).
But that poses an interesting question: How far is too far to return something to its owner?
This question applies doubly if the person it belongs to is someone you don’t like. Is a mile close enough for a friend but too far for an enemy? Is the limit on both five miles, no matter what?
To absolutely nobody’s surprise, God doesn’t give a limit for this. The reason should be straightforward enough: Because the idea behind the law is that you don’t ignore what belongs to your countryman, you should use your best judgment (and be honest!) to determine what is really, truly, too far.
Because the law allows the person to decide for themselves what is technically reasonable or practical to deliver back to your neighbor, it was undoubtedly subject to abuse. That’s probably why Jewish scholars have regulated this distance to anything outside of your city.
Another Jewish source places at least some burden on the individual who found it to announce what they have discovered during one of the public festivals, so that those who travel to the area may find it there. In that way, these feasts also act as an ancient “lost and found,” in addition to everything else they supply.
No matter which way you slice it, the idea with these lost items is the same as everything else: Take care of your brother and his belongings just like they were your own.
Or, as Jesus would later put it, “treat others how you want to be treated.” No wonder it’s called the Golden Rule.