Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt. 
Exodus 22:21

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I gathered with my girlfriends, who know me inside and out. We love reading and sharing books in our beloved genre, historical fiction. They excitedly began sharing their latest reads and looked at me, waiting for my contribution.

“Well, I’ve been reading a wild narrative-non-fiction filled with a beauty pageant of sorts, impaling people on poles, and an ignorant king who appoints a vicious man bent on destroying the Jewish people.”

“What book, Nancy? Sounds epic.”

“Esther. It’s a book in the Bible—a hard read, full of hate and injustice, but it also shows God working behind the scenes in all the plot twists.”

Why do we hate? Why do we reject those who are different from us.? Recently, I reread about the evil, king-appointed man Haman (Esther 3). He hated the people he viewed as foreigners because their customs and faith were different from the prevailing majority culture. So he asks the king if he can kill every last one of the Jews, and the king gives his stamp of approval. 

The irony in the story is this: Haman’s family, also originated from another place, just like the Jewish people. He was attacking people with a very similar history to his own, but God had bigger plans. While the account in Esther is full of tragedy, there is good news in this true story: God always wins.

Although many stories in the Bible seem to have a fictional plot, they are true and teach us how to live. Throughout the Bible and in our world, God continually points out that our neighbors aren’t just those in close proximity; they are everyone. 

Because every human is created in God’s image, God calls us to treat all people with love and respect. Whether we speak the same language or come from the same land, the reality is that almost every single one of us can trace our history back to a place different from where we reside today. We are all, in a sense, foreigners. 

Did you know Jesus, Mary, and Joseph fled to Egypt to escape Herod’s wrath? Herod feared that baby Jesus would someday take his throne—and Jesus did!

Knowing our own stories and those recorded throughout Scripture should move our hearts to compassion for those fleeing violence and tyranny today. We live in an unjust world with broken systems, and while we seek solutions, our response should be one of kindness and empathy. 

When you feel tempted to draw lines and divisions, remember God’s words in Exodus 22: Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt. 

Next Steps

• If you know and trust Jesus and trust Him with your life, thank Him for being your refuge and your strength. 
• Read these verses in our Bible where God tells us to welcome immigrants. (Sojourners)  
• Read Jesus’s refugee story, Matthew 2:13- 15, if time allows.