Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Exodus 21-22

Highlight Verse:

““You must not mistreat or oppress foreigners in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭22‬:‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I admit it. I took the easy verse to highlight.

That said, let’s look at the herd of elephants in the room.

Old Testament laws and rules seem very harsh by today’s standards.

But, when you read them, keep two things in mind –

• These were rules meant to keep the Israelites a strong nation in a world nearly devoid of morals. And…
• They were revolutionary at the time. They granted limited rights to women and slaves. In that day, in that region, that was nearly unheard of.

Back to the highlight verse. Israel had a rather welcoming attitude toward people visiting their land and even joining their nation.

This stemmed from the fact that they were foreigners in a foreign land before coming to the promised land.

I can relate, at least a little.

My Dad’s family came from Spain to Mexico and then from Mexico to the US.

Being half Mexican, half white, I never felt fully a part of either culture. I can understand a little of how the Israelites felt when they settled the promised land.

God defends His people with a rule granting his people citizenship in their own nation.

He also defends the foreigner in the land by granting them some rights.

I believe we would do well to welcome the foreigner with God’s love and respect.

Mind you, I’m not trying to politicize the treatment of foreigners in the land. I think this principle allows for a wide range of immigration policy which I won’t comment on.

But I believe a precedent is set here about how we personally treat individuals and families.

Is it difficult for you to treat certain types of people with respect?
Can you relate to the foreigner in the land?