“Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.” – Exodus 22:21 (KJV)
I’m hearing this verse (or a variant that also occurs in other places) a LOT these days, primarily (it seems) to excoriate the current POTUS for his actions and policies to deport illegal immigrants, of whom there are now millions, a great many of whom entered the United States during the four years of the previous Presidential administration. And I was asked by a good friend (who happens to be a POC) why (in light of this Bible text) my first reaction to “illegal immigrant” is to conjure up thoughts of rapists, murderers, drug dealers, or other such unsavory and potentially deadly insinuations. After all (the argument goes) all the ones I know are perfectly decent people, just wanting to have a better life, and besides God wants us to be kind to strangers, and so …
So, let me, without being a Republican (or “Trumpian”) apologist, attempt to unpack the situation, and the theology, in order to get to what I hope is God’s viewpoint in the current melee.
First of all, since we’re being told that this verse from Exodus should guide our current political stance, let us unpack the context of ancient Israel and how and why God demanded this as part of His plan for His people. Secondly, I want to try to trace the lineage from ancient Israel to the 21st Century U.S. of A. to see if and how and why this principle applies. Thirdly, I hope to come to a hopefully correct interpretation and application of God’s Word to the immigrant situation, and thus to an understanding of our Christian responsibilities. And along the way I want to show what I believe is the correct relationship of God’s church with American politics. Whew!
Topic number 1: the context of Exodus 22:21 in the time of Moses and Joshua. Notice that the direct comparison is made between the time of Israel’s sojourn in Egypt after the death of Jacob and then his son, Joseph with the situation some 400 years later when the nation of Israel is being led into their own land, and how the government / society should be structured there. The verse parallels the “Golden Rule”, namely to treat others as you would like to be treated. Israel had fortunate treatment in Egypt for many years, not least of which was because the second-in-command of that nation “happened” to be of Abrahamic descent, and thus it behooves the new nation to treat other “strangers” as they themselves were treated (at least to begin with). Nice! No arguments there.
But there are a number of other verses surrounding this one that further explain the way these strangers were to act all during the time they dwelt in the land of Israel. One is Exodus 23:12 which extends the duty of resting on the Sabbath to the stranger as well as the native-born Israelite. So, in modern terms, we could say that the foreigners were to obey the same regulations (laws) as the natives. No special treatment, nor exemptions, just because they were strangers. Another is Leviticus 17:10 promising punishment for either Israelite or stranger who breaks the law against eating blood. Again, making the foreigner equal with the native. Or how about Leviticus 20:2, which mandates the death penalty for anyone, foreign or native, who sacrifices their children to Molech. In modern American terms, being a stranger doesn’t exempt you from the laws against child abuse, murder, etc.
Now, here’s a REALLY interesting commandment, and one I think that speaks to part of the problem we currently have with immigration. Leviticus 25:35 commands the nation to help a native-born citizen who becomes poor, or unable to sustain themselves, in the same way as the immigrant or stranger. In other words, if you’re going to bend over backwards to help the immigrant, you better be sure you’re treating your own citizens just as well. And that’s where I see the U.S. failing big time. How many poor, disabled veterans, orphan children citizens have been neglected here while the immigrants are getting phones, houses, hotel stays, jobs, etc.? Don’t mistreat the foreigner, but also don’t mistreat your own while at the same time showering strangers with help and support. So, how come our legislators are making sure the immigrant detention centers are safe, clean, etc. while prisons for our own citizens are overcrowded, drug-infested, and violent? How many of our veterans are suffering, or homeless, or sick / disabled and unable to get help or housing, while illegal immigrants are being given jobs, houses, phones, cash, free health care, and so on? How many teens have to die of fentanyl overdose from the drug dealers we freely admit to the U.S.? How many mothers have to suffer at the death of their children at the hands of violent criminal gang members from South America? How many legislators are going to grandstand, demanding “due process” for illegal immigrants, while injustices toward their own constituents are left unaddressed?
So, I’m hoping you see my first point: much of the sympathy toward the immigrant right now seems to me to be misplaced and hypocritical: they are just a bit more equal than citizens. Sure, let’s make sure we obey Exodus 22:21, but we can’t at the same time neglect Leviticus 25:35.
Okay, but what about my second question: how do we trace the history of the laws of ancient Israel down to the present day? Well, there’s no space here to trace the history of Israel down to the First Century, the advent of Christ, the founding and rise of His church, and the history of Christendom for the last 2,000 years or so. But starting at least from the time of Constantine in the year 350 A.D. or so, much of Western jurisprudence has been dominated by Christian values, many of which were derived from the Mosaic Law (cf. Exodus, Leviticus, etc.). But I think a fundamentally flawed movement began back in the 1980s (roughly), and that is the idea of Christian Manifest Destiny. The book, “The Light and the Glory” and its sequel, traced the history of Christianity in the nascent United States, but then made the assertion that America is the new incarnation of ancient Israel, that is, a nation completely under God. The implication is that not only the blessings promised to Israel, but also the moral principles, the laws, and the governance structure of America was based on the Bible, and increasingly should be completely conformed. Well, except for the burnt offerings, probably. The hue and cry about Project 2025 was largely a reaction to this idea, that of the U.S. becoming a Christian dictatorship.
Well, I reject that principle on so many levels. First, it is VERY clear that the spiritual successor of Israel of the Old Covenant is the Church of the New Covenant, not the U.S. of A. In fact, I could believe (and I’m not the only one) that the U.S. might in fact be the Whore of Babylon, spoken of in the book of Revelation, and not the New Jerusalem. Having said that, what requirement do we have to structure the laws of our country to the Biblical laws of Exodus? Well, we can rightly contend that God’s laws are good, and we would do well to obey them as much as possible. But, then, do we have the option to pick and choose which portions of God’s Word we want to canonize into U.S. Code and which we don’t? I don’t recall any commands from the Lord Jesus Christ on the order of “make sure that every country you go to, make sure that country has My Word as it’s law”. Close, but no cigar. He commanded us to make disciples OUT of every nation, not “of every nation“. See the difference?! Some of the strongest Christians I know of are from countries where their laws are diametrically opposed to the Word of God (cf. ancient Rome, China, and many more). What makes us think that our primary purpose as American Christians is to make sure that our country’s laws conform to the Bible? I mean, I’m as pro-life as you can find, but as I’ve posted before, I don’t think we primarily ought to be making sure that abortion is outlawed everywhere. Would be nice, but … primary? No. I need to be making disciples.
So, the third question: how does this apply to the present crisis? Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I don’t for one second believe that every “immigrant” (illegal or not) has the purest of motive in coming here, to just make a better life for themselves. Some? Sure; I know many. Most? Maybe. All? Not a chance. But another point that I think many of my friends are missing is that there is a distinction between “immigrant” and “illegal immigrant”. Yes, this country was built by “immigrants”. Yes, a lot of our food is harvested by “immigrants” (well, not actually, but by card-holding “seasonal workers”). Are U.S. citizens hiring and paying “illegal immigrants” to work for them? Of course. I know many. But, I think the point is that God was mandating fair and equal treatment for the “stranger” and “foreigner”, but in exchange He was asking that these immigrants conform themselves to their new host country; obey its laws, adopt its culture, and yes, its religion. Be good neighbors. Just like His people were to be good neighbors to the strangers.
And therein lies the rub: a good portion, how many I don’t know, and that’s kinda beside the point, of the current crop of “immigrants” and NOT doing what God required in response to the kindness they are being shown. Many are refusing to assimilate (as in, learn the English language, abide by our laws, adopt the American “ethos”). How many come in to purely take advantage of the freedom we enjoy, to make money by selling drugs to our children, or to “make a living” from welfare benefits, and free healthcare, or to oppress and imprison others in sex-trafficking or slavery? Are all “illegals” doing this? Of course not. How many? I have no idea and neither do you. Which is kind of the problem: we don’t know. There is no accountability. Citizens are bound by the laws; illegal immigrants in a sense are already outside the law, so why would they be bound by any other law, if their very presence in our country is “lawless”?
But, back to one of the original questions: why does my mind leap to “immigrant = dangerous”, “immigrant = drug dealer, etc.” especially when much of our experience is that “immigrant = foundation of our country”? That’s a good question. I can only say that one rotten apple spoils the whole barrel. And I suspect, without any direct knowledge of this: some countries have been deliberately sending us their criminals, rather than deal with them themselves. After all, why would violent gang members hang around Venezuela, when they could just sneak over the border into the U.S. where there are many more rich to steal from, weapons are much more accessible, and there are many more neighborhoods to hide in? Wouldn’t you? And wouldn’t Venezuela just be happy to have their worst of the worst gone to America to cause trouble here instead? And since the border has effectively been completely open for four years (which NEVER occurred in the previous 250 years), there was very little reason NOT to flee to the richest, and freest place on earth; with a literal cornucopia of abundance to feast from.
So, I want to examine one other Bible passage related to immigration (well, tangentially, but still applicable), which is Jeremiah 29:7
“Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
In context, the people of Israel were being conquered, and forcibly deported to Babylon, home of a cruel and tyrannical government, and yet God was requiring them to be good and do good there. So, in the spirit of “doing unto others”, shouldn’t the foreigners and strangers coming into Israel do the same? And if we here in 2025 America are binding ourselves to God’s Law to welcome the strangers, shouldn’t we ask the same of those strangers we are welcoming? Why should we welcome the lawbreakers, the murderers, gang members, rapists, drug dealers, sex traffickers, or violent offenders and give them free reign?
I suppose the argument could be made that we don’t require citizens to pass morality tests to live here, so why should we require that of the immigrants? Well, we in essence do require it. “No one is above the law” as we say. Citizenship, however obtained, is a reciprocal covenant: you can enjoy the freedoms and benefits of this country, in exchange for obeying the laws and contributing to the society of which you’re a part. And I believe that’s a big part of what God was saying in Exodus and Leviticus as I cited above: foreigners and strangers are to be welcomed into the nation of Israel, on the same terms as native-born. Both sides of the covenant: enjoy the blessings, obey the laws.
And to be completely fair, AFAIK there were fewer fixed borders in the time of Israel. So, there is not a completely parallel situation to the U.S. currently. I don’t see many “immigration regulations” in the Bible. But, consider this: the kings of Israel didn’t take kindly to foreign armies (read Philistines, Amorites, etc.) invading the nation. An invasion with hostile intent was NOT treated with kindness in return. Invasion ≠ immigration. (For the non-mathematically-inclined, that’s a “NOT EQUAL” symbol). And yet, I fear that to many “good Christians” these days, the distinction between these two is fuzzy at best.
So, there’s my position. And just so you know, I have close friends, whom I even call family, that are illegal immigrants. Wonderful, lovely people. People I am proud to welcome to this country, and to protect and provide for. Am I conflicted? Massively.
But, I think my main point is this: it is massively hypocritical on the one hand to demand that our current President treat the “immigrant” (most of whom are “illegal”) with kindness, and shower them with blessings, and require nothing in return, based on a few verses in the Bible, and yet ignore the many verses in that same Bible that require the “immigrant” to behave themselves in accordance with the kindness they are being shown. Oh, and wait, what about Romans 13:1-2?
Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
Let’s commit to following the WHOLE counsel of God.