That’s all of us, and its been so since the Garden of Eden
The Old Testament is the story of migrants, of refugees and exiles, sojourners and foreigners.
Adam and Eve became refugees after being chased from the Garden of Eden.
Cain became an exile when he fled to Nod, East of Eden.
Abram’s family went out from UR and were homeless until Abaram was commanded to go to a new land.
Abraham sinned against God, famine came, and he became a refugee in Egypt.
He lied about his wife and was forced out of Egypt.
Joseph’s brothers sold him to slave traders, and he was a foreigner in Egypt.
The Hebrews fled Egypt and became sojourners in the desert for 40 years.
David was an exile and refugee as he fled from King Saul.
Elijah fled Zarephath and was a refugee when he hid by the Keirith Ravine and sought refuge in Zarephath.
In 722 BCE, Assyria conquered the northern kingdom of Israel, forcing the deportation of many Israelites.
In 586 BCE, the Babylonian Empire conquered Judah and deported much of the population to Babylon.
And, of course, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus had to flee to Egypt to avoid the slaughter of innocents by King Herod.
And what is a foreigner but somebody who isn’t in their homeland, perhaps separated from family and all they cherish? Often, they’ve migrated at great personal risk. Often, they are fleeing hardship such as poverty, famine, or persecution.
They are often victims of man’s sinful nature, the sin brought to the world by the disobedience of Adam and Eve, the first strangers in a strange land.
So, should it be any wonder that God often shows mercy to foreigners and commands his people to treat them fairly?
Are Christians not God’s people? How, then, can we ignore these commands?
Here are all the passages I can find in the Old Testament dealing with foreigners, aliens, and sojourners:
The first passage below seems to have something to say about how we might view birthright citizenship.
“You are to allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the foreigners residing among you and who have children. You are to consider them as native-born Israelites; along with you they are to be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.” (Ezekiel 47:22)
“When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 19:33-34)
“Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.” (Exodus 22:21)
“The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 19:34)
“You are to have the same law for the foreigner and the native-born. I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 24:22)
“The LORD watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.” (Psalm 146:9)
“If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever.” (Jeremiah 7:5-7)
“This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.” (Jeremiah 22:3)
“Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” (Zechariah 7:9-10)
“Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow Israelite or a foreigner residing in one of your towns.” (Deuteronomy 24:14)
“Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this. When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow.” (Deuteronomy 24:17-20)
“When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.” (Deuteronomy 26:12)
“Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow.” (Deuteronomy 27:19)
“So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the LORD Almighty.” (Malachi 3:5)
Relevant from the New Testament:
“Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it”. (Hebrews 13:2)
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.” (Matthew 25:35)