“Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

It’s impossible to escape the news on immigration enforcement. I freely acknowledge that in our modern world immigration is an ongoing concern for many nations. However, modern immigration restrictions are just that, they are modern. Historically the migration of people was much more fluid that it is today. There were no passports or visas required to enter foreign lands, people just went.

The reasons people left their homeland for a foreign place haven’t changed much over the years. Jacob and his sons went to Egypt to escape famine. The Israelites were forced out of their land due to conquest by the Assyrians. Jesus, his family, and many others fled the persecution of Herod by going to Egypt as well. Today people still leave their homeland, along with friends, family, and culture, because war, economics, famine, and persecution continue to be present in the world.

There are many great stories of people who have made it to freedom, one of my favourites is, “Running for My Life: One Lost Boy's Journey from the Killing Fields of Sudan to the Olympic Games.” The story of Lopez Lomong as he escapes Sudan and becomes the flag bearer for the United States Olympic team in China. Tragically there are far more untold stories of people who never made it. People who died in the famines, the wars, and the persecutions. Then there’s the millions of people who have spent years, sometimes decades, living in refugee camps around the world. Everyone of them created in the image of God.

A lot, perhaps most, of the time it is the unjust systems of this world that keep them there. It is the tribalism and nationalism of others that refuses to welcome the stranger.

Whatever your particular perspective is on modern immigration laws, if you call yourself a follower of God then you have an obligation to care for the foreigner who resides in your community. I’m not a big fan of “proof texting” but what follows is a significant amount of Scripture that speaks to how we should treat the foreigner who lives among us. This is not about how they got here, or whether current laws are just, this is about how God’s people are to treat the foreigners who are living among them …

“Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.” Ex. 22:21

“Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.” Ex. 23:9

“Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.” Lev. 19:10

“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.” Lev. 19:33-34

“For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.” Deut 10:17-19

“At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.” Deut. 14:28-29

“Do not despise an Edomite, for the Edomites are related to you. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you resided as foreigners in their country.” Deut. 23:7

“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. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.” Deut. 24:17-22 (To see the application of this read the book of Ruth)

“Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow.” Then all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’” Deut. 27:19

“How long, Lord, will the wicked,
how long will the wicked be jubilant?
They pour out arrogant words;
all the evildoers are full of boasting.
They crush your people, Lord;
they oppress your inheritance.
They slay the widow and the foreigner;
they murder the fatherless.” Psalm 94:3-6

“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.” Jer. 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.” Jer. 22:3

“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. In whatever tribe a foreigner resides, there you are to give them their inheritance,” declares the Sovereign Lord.” Ezekiel 47:22,23

“Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.” Zech 7:10

“‘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

I have not included any New Testament passages here, but I suggest the parable of good Samaritan might be appropriate as story to remind us who our neighbour is and how we are to treat them. Then there’s the parable of the sheep and the goats, “I was a stranger … .” Finally, if Peter is right in saying that you should, “live out your time as foreigners here … .” Then surely we should welcome all the other foreigners with open arms, since we too are aliens and strangers in this world, ambassadors of another kingdom.

A couple of books I highly recommend:

Refuge Reimagined - Glanville
The God Who Sees - Gonzalez
Running For My Life - Lomong