“If a slave has escaped from his master and taken refuge with you, you are not to hand him back to his master. Allow him to stay with you, in whichever place suits him best among your settlements; do not mistreat him.”-Deuteronomy 23:16
From verse 23, yet again the Lord lays down a law contrary to all the known laws of the Middle East at the time.
We’re told that if a slave has escaped from his master and successfully reaches any of Israel’s tribal territories, he is to receive asylum…period…no questions asked.
Understand that by definition, this text is referring to a gentile slave who has run away from his gentile master.
In one fell swoop, this law forcefully bans returning slaves to their masters.
The idea being communicated here is that a human being who is being held captive against his will but somehow gets away and manages to get his arse to God’s Holy Land should NEVER be rejected nor forced to go back to his slave master which Scripturally speaking represents an evil or satanic force.
I don’t know about you but I’m getting goose bumps just thinking about this.
Can you see the wonderful picture and pattern laid out before us here folks?
If you’re a gentile, you should be particularly joyful.
What’s being communicated here is…
…if as a gentile you escape your cruel slave master (the devil and this evil world he controls) and run to your Jewish savior for sanctuary in His Kingdom, the Law says that not only must you be accepted but the ruling Messiah will never force you to go back to your former slave master and your former life.
That’s right.
Right here in Deuteronomy 23, this spiritual pattern is laid out for us in physical form for easy-peasy comprehension.
What’s even more stunning is that these escaped gentile slaves must be allowed to reside freely among Israel and are not to be told where can live or what they are allowed to do or not do.
They must not be treated as outcasts or shunned in any way.
From HASHEM’s perspective, they are just as valuable as the native-born free Hebrews…who we shouldn’t forget were once slaves themselves until God in His Grace rescued them from Egypt (which typifies the “world”).
Leave a Reply