Immigrants and Aliens

Scripture
Exodus 22:21-24
“You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.”

The Christian Story
Pastor Caleb shared that the Christian story is a story of immigration. Here are the references used in the sermon.

God called Abraham to emigrated from his home and immigrate to a strange land in order to bless the nations (Gen 15)
Isaac, the son of promise, was called a Sojourner in the land (Gen 26)
Jacob, immigrated to Egypt to find food, shelter and security from the famine in his home country (Gen 46)
After centuries of oppression as foreigners in Egypt, Moses led the Hebrews to emigrate from Egypt (Exodus)
Years later, after settling in the promised land, a Jewish widow named Naomi was saved by a foreigner named Ruth, who, at great cost to herself, left her home and immigrated with Naomi in order to find shelter, food and security (Ruth 1)
From Ruth’s line came David, a mighty king, who at a worship gathering proclaimed that he and his people were but aliens and sojourners before God. (I Chron 29)
Years later, David’s kingdom fell and a greater king was born, Jesus, whose family immigrated to Egypt, seeking refuge and safety from the murderous ruler Herod
This Jesus said to His followers “I was stranger and you welcomed me” (Matt 25)
This Jesus calls His followers to spread the Gospel to all nations (Matt 28)
This Jesus desires that we show hospitality to strangers (Heb 13)
This Jesus made a bunch of strangers into a people (Eph 2), citizens of a kingdom without end (Luke 1), and promises we will live eternally in a multi-ethnic, multi-racial, multi-cultural kingdom (Rev 21)

Related Resources

Interview with Adam Estle from the National Immigration Forum
I Was a Stranger 40 Day Scripture Plan  Printable Bookmark PDF    |    Digital Plan on Bible.com
‘For God so Loved‘ Video (Feat. members of DSBC)
Open letter to Gov. Napolitano Re: Broken Immigration System (06/18/2008)

Related Scriptures
Leviticus 19:34
You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
Deuteronomy 10:17–19
For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.  Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
Proverbs 20:23
Differing weights are detestable to the Lord, and dishonest scales are unfair.
1 Peter 2:9–14
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.  ‘Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits. Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the emperor as the supreme authority or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good. ‘
Romans 13:1-6
‘Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God. So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval. For it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For it is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong. Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath but also because of your conscience. And for this reason you pay taxes, since the authorities are God’s servants, continually attending to these tasks. ‘
For a list of recommended resources, visit www.dsbc.church/life