One of the continuing commands in the Old Testament was to remember from which you came. It was a warning built around the idea that if you don’t remember, you will forget that once you were immigrants as well and treat those who are now immigrants with dishonor and show them no compassion. Hmmm…

God tells the nation of Israel,

“Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner (the immigrant), for you were foreigners (immigrants) in Egypt.”

Exodus 22:21

This appeal is repeated over and over, and I presume because of the inclination there was to…well, forget.

In my morning reading, there was a section that speaks to this:

“Too often, though, we’ve forgotten precisely what God warned the Israelites not to forget: the challenges and mistreatment that many newly arrived immigrants faced, such as the “No Irish Need Apply” signs of the mid-19th century. Most are likely unaware of the violence and legalized discrimination against Chinese immigrants that culminated in the federal Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, legally prohibiting all Chinese immigrants for more than a half-century. We tend to forget the resentment faced by the Southern and Eastern European refugees and other immigrants who came in through Ellis Island around the turn of the 20th century or Benjamin Franklin’s incredulity that the Germans arriving in colonial Pennsylvania could ever assimilate.”

“Seeking Refuge: God’s Heart For Refugees – 7 Day Devotional”

It seems like this is something that is going on in our nation right now. We are bent on forgetting. I literally hear people say things like, “They (immigrants or refugees) don’t belong here!” Wait, nobody “belongs” here, unless they are indigenous people.

I just did one of those DNA tests. I honestly don’t know why because I am clearly from the British Isles. When I am in London, half the people on the street look like they could be my kin. The upshot? Almost all of my DNA pool is from England. A couple of quick logic steps leads to something I already knew…the early “Fairbanks'” in North America were immigrants. As a matter of fact, every white person in North America doesn’t actually “belong” here, if evaluated by the same standard that present immigrants are. Seriously. This is something that is seemingly forgotten.

With that in mind, I think it wise to drop the stilted arrogance that we (national “we”) are “from here” and move humbly back to a Biblical position in which we take up God’s heart toward the immigrant, toward the refugee…to treat them with respect and embrace. If we are serious about the Bible, there is not an alternative.