“I will fix your boundary…” (Exod. 23:31)
“And He made from one man every nation of mankind
to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and
the boundaries of their habitation.” (Acts 17:26)
Question:
“What does the Word of God have to say about immigration?”
In an ideal world, all people should enjoy the resources of planet earth, settle, work, live, and die wherever they choose. Tragically, the Fall of humanity changed the original Paradise so that nature is now blood red, tooth and claw.
To bring order out of the madness of men, God has decreed that different languages be spoken, and people be separated into nations with established boundaries. This divine deign is revealed in the Book of Genesis.
“And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men built. And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.
So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore, is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.” (Gen. 11:1-9)
From a human perspective, land belongs to whoever can control and protect the territory they desire. From a divine perspective, nations are established by God with boundaries which are to be protected when invaded. Any nation that has an open border policy will inevitably be overtaken by an aggressive foe who will destroy traditional customs and values in favor of their own.
Sometimes the overthrow of a nation takes place as a form of divine judgment. This is what happened to the Canaanites. Because of the wickedness of the people in Canaan, God, in His sovereignty, decreed to give the Land of Palestine to a new nation of His creation, whose patriarch was a man named Abraham.
In Numbers 34:2, God explicitly states the Israelites were to possess the land of Canaan. The western border of the Promised Land started with the coastline along the Sea of Galilee. The northern border is defined by a horizontal line that crossed through Mount Hor, Lebo-hamath, Zeded, Ziphon, and Hazarenan. The eastern border crossed through Hazarenan, Shepham, Riblah, Ain, the Sea of Chinnereth and down to the Dead Sea. The southern border started with the wilderness of Zin on the east side of Edom and extended to the west side of the Dead Sea.1
The territory given by God to Israel was about 60,000 square miles, 144 miles in length from the north to the south, 40 miles across the southern border, and 20 miles along the northern border.
A principle is established. Just as Israel was established as a nation with boundaries, so other nations must also respect their own boundaries, be content, and live within them.
This establishment principle does not rule out temporary movement from one nation to another in a time of crises. The biblical word for this migration is sojourn. An appeal is made to Scripture.
“And if a stranger [migrant] sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex [rage or be violent] him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” (Lev. 19:33,34).
The problem that rises is when a migrant (sojourner), who is to be treated well, according to the Mosaic Law, unilaterally decides to be an immigrant without any regard for what the nation’s laws may be about protecting their borders. It is at this point that the migrant becomes an illegal immigrant.
Question:
“What should a nation do about illegal immigrants?”
The well-meaning globalist argues against the plan of God, and the wisdom of God in establishing national boundaries, to insist that unfettered immigration be the national policy. Any “so called” illegal would then be made “legal.” Moreover, every new “immigrant” should be fed, clothed, housed, employed, and maintained, without a word of censure.
In protest, an appeal is made by the Christian to Scripture to remind the globalist of God’s plan for nations, and the need for every person to respect legitimate authority based on the teaching of Paul set forth in the Epistle to the Romans.
“Every person is to be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore, whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.
For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a servant of God to you for good.
But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a servant of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Therefore, it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing” (Romans 13:1-6).
Another principle is established. Just like nations, and boundaries, Law is instituted by God and should be obeyed. True, there are times when a Christian must disobey an unjust law, to perform an abortion for example, there are times when a Christian must obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29). However, as a guiding principle, people in general, and especially Christians, are to honor those who are in authority.
When a migrant (“sojourner”) decides on their own to stay in a new nation without permission, they become an illegal immigrant and violate not only the Law of the Land, but the Laws of God.
It is at this point the Church has a right and a responsibility to raise her voice in protest and call individuals to accountability and righteousness for God has made “us,” Christians, “kings and priests unto our God” (Rev. 1:6).
So, what should the Church remember, do, and say?
What the Church Should Remember
First, the Church should remember that time does not erases the crime. There is no statute of limitation for sexual assault, murder, war crimes, or crimes against humanity such as fraud and embezzlement, kidnapping, or being an illegal immigrant. Time does not eliminate their crime against the state and the Laws of God.
What the Church Should Do
Second, the Church should find a way to help the government deal with the illegal immigrant in a way that is consistent with the best interest of the national public. The Church should not be promoting a policy of blanket amnesty for such a policy would protect every rapist, arsonist, murderer, child molester, and anarchist that sneaked in the country to hurt others. A responsible parent would never deliberately put their child into the hands of someone wants to harm the child, and responsible national leaders will not let others come to hurt their citizens they have vowed before God to protect.
What the Church Should Say
Third, the Church can remind illegal immigrants who profess Christ as Savior, that God has established boundaries for the good of people, and for the purpose of evangelism. “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:26, 27). The Church should say to the illegal immigrant, “Go home and honor the will of God. Come back in a legal way but go home. Go home and respect the Laws of the land. Go home and evangelize.”
As Christians struggle to help arrest illegal immigration, the time will come when an individual has to take a stand, without apology. That time is now. Hopefully, belief and behavior will unite to help society solve this problem because both are rooted in the Bible. Let all things be done decently and in order, including immigration.
The Collected Works of Stanford E. Murrell 