This is an excerpt from my book Infiltration: The Tool of Socialism. This topic is filled with so much heat and pain. People often use Scripture out of context to support their political ideology. So much hatred and strife has been created to divide people. This is a time when we should be joining together in the name of Christ and seeking to heal divides. As the world falls apart Christ remains the calm in the storm. Enjoy…
“Let me share some passages that should inform our thoughts when it comes to sovereign nations and immigrants. According to the Bible, God established government in Genesis 9-11. …God promised a land with borders to Abraham in Genesis 15:18 and 17:8. He had Nehemiah build a wall around Jerusalem to keep enemies out. You can read about that in Nehemiah 1:1-4.
Let’s now look at some passages in context when normally just a few verses are used out of context to support illegal immigration and open borders. In Exodus 12:48 it says that if a stranger wants to celebrate Passover (worships the God of Israel), they are to be circumcised (previous verses) and live like the native in the land. This means that they are supposed to follow all the civil and ceremonial laws. In Exodus 12:43-49 it highlights that they have to obey the laws. It does tell the Israelites that they are not to oppress a sojourner in Exodus 22:21-24 and 23:9. This assumes that they are there legally and not disobeying the laws of the country. In Leviticus 19:33-34, it again warns against oppressing the sojourner and again the assumption is that they are abiding by the laws in the land.
In Leviticus 20:1-3, it says that if any of the strangers in the land go against God’s laws and worship the false god Molech, which involved sacrificing a child, then they were to be stoned. Deuteronomy 17 has a similar admonition. I would argue this is on the same level as abortion is today. If they worshiped another god, they were to be put to death. The strangers were held to the laws of the land. The former unbelievers in the land of Israel worshiped demons and as noted in Numbers 33:50-56, the Israelites were to drive out the inhabitants of Canaan and destroy their worshiping places or they will be thorns in their side and part of their downfall. Is it not interesting that we don’t hear the same people attempting to use the Bible to promote open borders also trying to enforce these passages?
God grants private property to the Jews and everyone when he says in Exodus 20, in the Ten Commandments, “Thou shalt not steal” and “Thou shalt not covet.” He appoints a specific land with borders. In Numbers 34:1-2, He points out that the land of Canaan was Israel’s inheritance. God established strict laws for those living in the land when in Deuteronomy 4:15-20, He said that after the Canaanites were driven out the Israelites were not to worship anything but YHWH. God forbid the Israelites from copying the worship practices of the pagans in Deut. 12:29-32 and 18:9-14.
God even says that when Israel is attacking a city outside of its territory that they were to offer the city to become indentured servants to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 20:10-15. However, in the land of Israel He says in Deuteronomy 20:16-18 the Canaanites were to be killed. None of these verses have to do with illegal aliens because they would be breaking God’s holy laws. The Jews were not illegal aliens when they came into Egypt in the first place. They understood, though, what it was like to be a stranger in a foreign land. In order to own land, they had to be full partakers in the covenant of God-Numbers 14:14-16, 29-31. Regarding private property, there was a curse on a person who moved his neighbors landmark – Deut. 27:17.”
While a number of these laws were for Israel in their land they are not still active today. Israel does have an eternal right to the land according to Scripture. However God established laws, government and borders long before Israel existed in the land under the Theocracy and the intention was for them to exist into the present. I’ll let you go read Romans 13…
Thank you for taking the time to read and consider the thoughts in this article. If you like and agree, please share it with others. If you are interested in helping us continue to reach people with good resources, please check out the store where you will find resources like M.A.P.S. From the Ancients where I walk through Manuscripts, Archaeology, Prophecy and Science to show the reasons that we can trust the Bible. You will find the Light Project that looks at 8 cults and world religions and compares what they say to what the Bible says. You will also find the book Infiltration: The Tool of Socialism; The Christian Worldview Answer to Socialism and Social Justice. This book is basically like 6 books in one with everything referenced. It explains how we got to the largely Socialist thinking where we are in America by looking at Philosophy, Education, Media, Politics, Economics, and Religion and relating them to the Christian worldview. If you are just looking for something fun, check out some of the artwork that I create on the side!