Deuteronomy 23:15-20: in context

Among the laws Moses gives is one that stands out for its mercy toward the vulnerable. You shall not deliver to his master a servant who has escaped from his master to you, he says; he shall dwell with you, among you, in the place he chooses, where it pleases him best; you shall not oppress him. A servant who had fled his master and sought refuge was not to be handed back, but given a place to dwell in safety, and not to be mistreated. Israel was to be a refuge for the one who fled to them.

This law is a striking command to shelter the vulnerable who seek refuge. The escaped servant had fled from his master, presumably from hardship or cruelty, and come seeking safety. And the law commands not that he be returned, as one might expect, but that he be received, given a place to dwell where it pleased him, and not oppressed. Israel was to be a refuge for the one who fled to them for safety, welcoming rather than turning away the vulnerable, sheltering rather than sending back the one seeking protection. The command runs against the grain of self-interest and convention; it puts the safety of the vulnerable fugitive above other claims, and makes God's people a place of refuge. There is a heart of God revealed here that reaches beyond the specific case. God cares for the vulnerable, the fleeing, those who seek refuge from hardship and oppression; and he calls his people to be a refuge for them, to welcome and shelter rather than turn away, to give a safe place to those who come seeking it. The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, the psalm says, a stronghold in times of trouble; and his people are to reflect that refuge, sheltering the vulnerable who flee to them. Hide the outcasts, Isaiah says; do not betray the fugitive; let the outcasts dwell with you. This searches how we regard those who come to us vulnerable and seeking refuge. Do we welcome and shelter them, as this law commands, giving a safe place to the one who flees hardship? Or do we, out of self-interest or convention, turn them away, send them back, refuse them the refuge God commands his people to be? The God who is himself a refuge for the oppressed calls his people to be a refuge too, to welcome the vulnerable who seek safety, to shelter rather than send back, to make among us a place where the one who has fled to us may dwell in safety and not be oppressed. Israel was commanded to be such a refuge; and God's people still are called to reflect the heart of the God who shelters the vulnerable.

When the vulnerable come to me seeking refuge, those fleeing hardship or oppression, do I welcome and shelter them as this law commands Israel to receive the escaped servant, giving a safe place to the one who has fled to me, or do I out of self-interest or convention turn them away and send them back, refusing to be the refuge that the God who shelters the oppressed calls his people to be?