So much of the Torah portion called כִּי־תֵצֵא/Ki Tetze, “when you go out,” offers instruction to combat cruelty to both humans and animals. Most of these commands are a radical departure from the accepted practices of the surrounding people groups. From returning lost sheep, to protecting the bird’s nest, to not muzzling an ox treading out grain, the Lord causes us to consider carefully the least so that we do not disregard the human other.

Yet, the most radical command in this week’s portion, perhaps in the entire Torah itself, could be easily overlooked. In Deuteronomy 23:15-16 Moses writes, “You shall not give up to his master a slavewho has escaped from his master to you. He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him. You shall not wrong him.”

There is a phrase included in these verses that should be familiar: “in the place that he shall choose.” This phrase appears some eighteen times in the Torah, seventeen of these instances refer to the place where the Lord would choose to make His name dwell (Deut. 12:11 as an example), the other references the runaway slave. Furthermore, Moses says that the runaway slave shall “dwell with you, in your midst,” just as the Lord says He will dwell in the midst of His people.

There are many instances in the Torah when the Lord desires to draw a parallel between two seemingly dissimilar subjects to emphasize a greater ethical and theological point. The Lord, the King of His people, will choose where He will dwell. The sovereign Lord then gives the runaway slave the same right, a right the native born were not given. The Lord will dwell in the midst of His people. The runaway will not be in a type of exile in Israel, he will be part of the community. The similarity is impossible to miss, adding to the theological significance and power of this command.

It was the practice among civilizations in the ancient near east to return runaway slaves. Israel was the exception. Why? Israel was a nation of freed slaves. The Promised Land would be a sanctuary land, just as the City of Refuge would provide sanctuary for those suspected of manslaughter in the land. What this illustrates profoundly is the change of status of the one seeking refuge. The runaway slave may indeed be a fugitive from their owner, but in Israel they received a new status: free man. This freed status was secured and protected by the Lord.  

Yet, the Lord knows the hearts of men. Not only shall you “not give up to his master a slavewho has escaped from his master to you,” but you shall “not wrong him,” meaning to oppress him by enslaving him yourself. He is now your neighbor, even if he is a stranger, and you shall love him as yourself because you were strangers in Egypt (Lev. 19:18, 34). Israel was not to be a society where the strong exploited the weak. The runaway slave was made in the image and likeness of the Living God; therefore he would be shown the same dignity, respect and love as the native born.

How great is the immeasurable grace of the Lord?

In Psalm 91:4 we read, “He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.” Those who seek refuge in the Lord, even the runaway, find covering and protection. Is this deserved? No, it is the grace of God working in our lives. Regardless of our situation in life, when we seek Him we will find home.

Messiah Yeshua/Jesus invites us: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30).

Paul, speaking to the liberated in Christ wrote: “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (Eph. 2:19-22).

In Messiah we become the place where He makes His name dwell (Rev. 22:4). We are provided a place prepared for us in His Kingdom by the risen Lord Himself (Jn. 14:1-4). Whatever our status or condition in life was, when we flee to Messiah, our status changes, or condition changes, and the old master, that serpent of old, has no right of ownership. The slave master called sin caused us to stray, but in Christ, Peter assures us: “For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” (1 Pet. 2:25).

Maranatha. Shalom.