The biblical book of Ruth tells the moving story of a Moabite woman who married an Israelite. When her husband died, his mother, Naomi, assumed that Ruth would return to her Moabite people.
“Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee,” Ruth answered, “for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.” (Ruth 1:16)
Note carefully Ruth’s words. She didn’t say, “My people shall be thy people, and my God thy God.” Instead, she said, “thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.”
Ruth did not demand that Naomi and her fellow Israelites convert to her ways and her religion. Rather, she said, I will adopt your people and trust your God.
Ruth’s words underscore today’s immigration debate, where Christians are often torn between a desire to show compassion and a need to uphold the law. And the Bible does give instructions on how to treat the stranger.
“And if a stranger sojourn with thee in our land, ye shall not vex him,” Moses tells us in Leviticus 19:33-34. “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.”
Deuteronomy 24:19-22 directs that when we harvest olives, we should leave some for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. Exodus 12:49 says, “One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.”
Clearly, the Bible and the Christian conscience command kindness and fair treatment of sojourners who enter the land. We are all descendants of immigrants – even Native Americans, who probably entered the Western Hemisphere thousands of years ago across the Bering Strait.
But it is fair to assume that authors of Scripture were speaking of immigrants who, in the case of the United States, entered legally and came to this country intending to be law-abiding, productive citizens.
Certainly, many immigrants, including my great-grandparents who immigrated from Norway in 1852, came legally, intending to work hard and become productive citizens, thereby building a better life for their children and grandchildren. President Donald Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Border Czar Tom Homan have no quarrel with such as these. Their concern is with those who come illegally and intend to exploit American generosity.
“Illegally?” We’re not supposed to say that. They’re not illegal aliens, they’re “undocumented persons.”
Let’s think about that for a moment. The Immigration and Nationality Act Section 264(a) requires every alien to carry proof of their lawful immigrant status, such as a Green Card, an Arrival-Departure Record, or an Employment Authorization Document. Aliens who do not carry such proof are violating federal law. Aliens who violate federal law, it would seem, are illegal aliens.
A nation cannot survive without secure borders. As Paul told the disputants on Mars Hill, God has made “of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation” (Acts 17:26). God also requires that the king be “one from among thy brethren,” for “thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother” (Deuteronomy 17:15), a good passage to compare with the U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 1, Clause 5.
God has established civil rulers to care for the people He has placed under them, defending them against foreign enemies without and criminals within. From what I can see in Scripture, God has not given the civil ruler any duty toward aliens, other than fair treatment for those legal aliens within his borders. If a nation chooses to admit foreigners to immigrate, it may do so; it may also close its borders if it so desires. Compare the U.S. Constitution Article I, Section 8, Clause 4, which gives Congress power to “establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization.”
Why are some Americans raging against Trump and the ICE agents who are simply enforcing federal law? Why are they fine with 14 million (some say more) illegal aliens in the United States, some of whom arrived while President Obama spoke strong words about strong borders but looked the other way while millions entered, and many more while President Biden openly ignored the problem?
Does the left view these 14 million illegals as potential Democratic voters? Having exterminated their own offspring by abortion, is this their way of replacing them?
Consider Ruth’s words once again. It’s not “my people shall be thy people,” but “thy people shall be my people.” Not “my God thy God,” but “thy God my God.”
Colonel Eidsmoe serves as Professor of Constitutional Law for the Oak Brook College of Law & Government Policy, as Senior Counsel for the Foundation for Moral Law (morallaw.org), and as Chairman of the Board of the Plymouth Rock Foundation (plymrock.org). He and his wife Marlene reside in rural Pike Road, Ala. He may be contacted for speaking engagements at [email protected].
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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