Michael Murphy
Retired minister
The Bible provides guidance on how to treat foreigners or aliens, emphasizing the importance of kindness, hospitality, and justice.
Here are a few passages that address this topic:
1) Leviticus 19:34 (New International Version): “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.” This verse highlights the principle of treating foreigners with love and fairness, drawing upon the Israelites’ own experience as foreigners in Egypt.
2) Exodus 22:21 (New International Version): “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.” Similar to Leviticus 19:34, this verse reminds the Israelites of their past as foreigners and emphasizes the importance of treating foreigners with compassion and justice.
3) Deuteronomy 10:19 (New International Version): “And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.” Here, the Israelites are instructed to love foreigners, recognizing their shared experience of being foreigners in Egypt as a basis for empathy and compassion.
4) Matthew 25:35 (New International Version): “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.” In this New Testament passage, Jesus teaches about the importance of showing hospitality to strangers, implying that kindness towards foreigners is an expression of love for Him.
These verses illustrate the biblical emphasis on treating foreigners with fairness, love, and hospitality, reminding believers of their own history as immigrants and urging them to extend compassion to those who are different from them.