What Does the Bible Say About Immigration?
Immigration is a permanent (or temporal) movement of people from a different culture/region/ country to another one. Reasons for such movements may include drought, war or deliberate invasion. Let's look at them in detail.
Drought-induced immigration
I believe this is the most common migration we see in Scripture. We have examples like Ruth and family, who were forced to migrate to the land of Moab in search of better living conditions (Ruth 1:1). Other Examples include Abraham (Gen 12:10), Isaac (Gen 26:1) and many others. I am also sure that there are real life examples in the vicinity of your location.
War/persecution-induced migration
Our Lord Jesus’s flight to Egypt is a good example of people running away from their countries as a result of persecution or some kind of life-threatening danger.
Invasion
This is a different kind of migration – where a large number of people move into other territories with the intention of taking over, plundering resources and even replacing the resident culture. We see this with most of the Old Testament narratives of war, such as Joshua’s conquest of Canaan.
How should believers respond to migrants?
First of all, it is understandable and indeed part of human nature to dislike, misunderstand, and perhaps fear strangers: people coming from different cultures. However, for believers, Scripture encourages us to be compassionate to aliens and sojourners (Lev 19:34, Exo 22:21). Most particularly those who were forced to abandon their homelands as result of war and/or drought. Start by realizing that nobody in their right mind likes to leave the comfort of their country – something forced them to! Most of all, do not forget that those people are still humans made in the image of God, and it is just grace on your part that you were born in a place that happens to have better living conditions. Therefore, do not make the mistake of feeling anyway superior to those sojourners, until you view them as less human than you are.
Having said this, I understand that there are many instances where too much foreigners in your land can sometimes be classified as an invasion, especially when such ends by straining the resources that are key to your survival as a resident. My only advice to such a difficult scenario is that there is not much we can do about it, except to put all your eggs in the basket of the law enforcement to regulate the amount of people that flood your land.
Now let me speak from the perspective of the foreigner: It’s understandable that leaving your own country was the last resort because of the difficult situation that you found your family in. Therefore, as you now live in other people’s land, be grateful that the Lord used them to accept you. And you do well most of all, to acknowledge the laws of that country and to respect the people of that nation. Far be it from you that you are found doing mischief inside somebody’s property! To do that is really to bite the hand that feeds you; at worse, you are also endangering the lives of your fellow sojourners who came to find an honest living.
Let me now use this section to address the legal aspect of migration. Every country has its own laws regarding how people come and go. Hence as a believer, you are required by biblical standards to abide by the laws of that land (Rom 13:5-7, 1 Pet 2:13-17). Therefore, it is true that illegal immigration is a sin. I am aware that sometimes it is hard, expensive, a long process and in some countries even impossible to get legal documents. Still, I cannot shy away from the biblical requirement about this issue. It is what it is. Therefore, dear believers, as you stay in somebody else’s house, prayerfully try as much as you can to get proper documentation – as soon as you are able to. At least try!
Here is my word to the residents: indeed, you would feel way safer knowing that all the immigrants around your house are well documented. Nevertheless, I would encourage great caution and wisdom in this issue. If anything, do not let your emotions get the better of you until you resort to taking the law into your own hands trying to chase away “outsiders.” That will not work in your favour either way. Whether we like it or not, we have to allow the security forces to deal with these issues as they are legally trained to do. Once more, I am wary of the fact that even they, can never completely solve these matters to our satisfaction. Again, it is what it is. Ultimately, I hope we all appreciate the reality that there can never be a perfect situation as long as we are still here in a world of sin, where Satan is the ruler. That is why Hebrews 13:14 encourages us to never put our hope on this city, but to look forward to the city that is to come: the heavenly Jerusalem.
Conclusion
Friends, immigration is as old as mankind itself. Which means there will always be people moving to seek better living conditions on God’s planet. Hence we do well to watch our character and conduct wherever we migrate to. And if we happen to be lucky enough to be born in that land of milk and honey, guaranteed, there will be “strange” people coming to live among us. Therefore, we might as well value them as God’s creation, and to share with them whatever we can, provided they also respect our customs and values. Above all, never forget that in Christ, there is neither foreigner nor resident, neither gentile nor Jew, but all are brethren in the Lord Jesus. Let the people say, “Amen!”
Sinothi Ncube
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