Immigration Issues & the Bible
A commentary by Cecil E. Maranville
United Church of God elder, Glendale, Arizona
The
months-long debate in the American Congress on the flow of illegal immigrates
across the U.S.-Mexican border has reached a stalemate. So the disagreeing
House and Senate members are taking their arguments to the people—town-meeting
style—in gatherings throughout the U.S. between now and the fall elections.
No one knows with certainty how many immigrants are in the United States
illegally. The figure often put forth is 11 to 12 million. Clearly, if
even a tiny percentage of these illegal immigrants are terrorists, the
future implications for America are ominous.
Both the House and the Senate have proposed legislation to address
the problem—which encompasses national security, as well as economic
issues. The House version concentrates upon securing the border immediately
against further incursions of illegal immigrants, making no provision
for a path to citizenship for those presently in the country. The Senate
version attempts to address both.
Legal and illegal immigration is an issue throughout the world. In
Europe, for example, countries rely upon immigration to solve their need
for laborers. Yet, increasingly, they are wrestling with other problems
created by immigration.
Europe's immigrant laborers are principally Muslim who have
larger families than other Europeans, and seldom assimilate into prevailing
national cultures. For these reasons, Muslims eventually are likely to
become both the religious and cultural majority of Europe.
Did you know that God gave ancient Israel numerous laws concerning
immigration? Here is one example: "Do not be hard on the man from
a strange country who is living among you; for you have had experience
of the feelings of one who is far from the land of his birth, because
you yourselves were living in Egypt, in a strange land" (Exodus
23:9, Bible in Basic English).
Another one actually says that immigrants should enjoy the same privileges
as naturally born citizens! "Let him be to you as one of your countrymen
and have love for him as for yourself; for you were living in a strange
land, in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus
19:34).
Since these laws were specific to the Israelite nation at that time
they have not retained the same force of law in today's world.
But they do reveal how God thinks and are instructive for today's
believers.
Because the present population of nearly every nation, including the
United States, is the result of some degree of immigration, the counsel
of the statutes of ancient Israel is still valuable.
Immigrants were welcomed in that land ruled by God. However, a consistent
theme throughout the statutes of that land was that God required immigrants
to worship Him, the living God. Regarding that worship, spiritual laws
that existed before the strictly ceremonial laws were imposed on ancient
Israel are still applicable today.
These higher laws are permanent, eternal. God codified them in the
Ten Commandments, where we find one that specifically mentions immigrants—the
Sabbath law: "But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your
God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you…nor the
alien within your gates, so that [they] may rest, as you do" (Deuteronomy
5:14, NIV).
Some of you reading these words are Israelite by nationality (I do
not mean Jews only—for details see our booklet, The
United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy). Did you know
that the God of your fathers ordered the seventh-day as a day of worship
and rest for all time?
Unfortunately, today there is almost universal ignorance about this
profoundly significant commandment. It was given to be a constant reminder
that God created the heavens and the earth in six days and rested on
the seventh day and, as our Creator, He alone is to be worshipped.
Some of you reading this are immigrants living in Israelite nations
(including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the U.S.). Did
you realize that the Creator includes you in this permanent command,
that He specifies your obligation to obey its requirement to rest from
your normal labor and personal pursuits in order to worship Him weekly?
I'm framing this around the immigration debate just to illustrate
that point, not to imply that this commandment, with all of its benefits,
is for Israelite nations exclusively. The commandment comes from the
lips of humanity's Creator and it is truly a revelation and command
for all people.
  To
learn the full details of the modern identity of the so-called 'Lost
Tribes of Israel'—and how they lost sight of their own identity
partly because they ceased observing the Sabbath commandment—request
or download your free copies of The United States
and Britain in Bible Prophecy and Sunset
to Sunset: God's Sabbath Rest.
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