Leviticus 19:33-34

Leviticus 19:33-34 MKJV  And if a stranger lives with you in your land, you shall not oppress him.  34  The stranger that dwells with you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself. For you were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am Jehovah your God.

Let's look at this in other translations:

Leviticus 19:33-34 KJVA  And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him.  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.

Leviticus 19:33-34 LITV  And when an alien lives with you in your land, you shall not oppress him;  34  as the native among you, so shall be the alien who is staying with you; and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am Jehovah your God.

Leviticus 19:33-34 ESV  “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong.  34  You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 19:33-34 ERV  "Do not do bad things to foreigners living in your country.  34  You must treat them the same as you treat your own citizens. Love them as you love yourselves. Remember, you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God!

Other scriptures:

Exodus 22:21 ERV  "Remember, in the past you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. So you should not cheat or hurt anyone who is a foreigner in your land."

Exodus 23:9 MKJV  Also you shall not oppress a stranger. For you know the heart of a stranger, since you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 10:18-19 MKJV  He executes justice for the fatherless and widow, and loves the stranger in giving him food and clothing.  19  Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 24:14 MKJV  You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, of your brothers, or of your strangers that are in your land within your gates.

Malachi 3:5 ERV  Then I will bring you to justice. I will be an expert witness and testify about the evil things people do. I will speak out against those who do evil magic or commit adultery. I will speak out against those who make false promises and cheat their workers and don't pay them the money they promised. I will testify against those who don't help strangers, or widows and orphans. And I will testify against those who don't respect me." This is what the LORD All-Powerful said.

Jeremiah 7:6 ERV  You must be fair to strangers. You must help widows and orphans. Don't kill innocent people! And don't follow other gods, because they will only ruin your lives.

Ezekiel 22:7 ERV  And the people in Jerusalem don't respect their parents. There in the city, they abuse the foreigners. They cheat orphans and widows in that place.

Ezekiel 22:28-30 ERV  "The prophets don't warn the people—they cover up the truth. They are like workers who don't really repair a wall—they only put plaster over the holes. They only see lies. They do their magic to learn the future, but they only tell lies. They say, 'This is what the Lord GOD said.' But they are only lying—the LORD did not speak to them!  29  "The common people take advantage of each other. They cheat and steal from each other. They get rich by taking advantage of poor, helpless beggars, and they really cheat the foreigners. They are not fair to them at all!  30  "I asked the people to change their lives and protect their country. I asked people to fix the walls. I wanted them to stand by those holes in the wall and fight to protect their city. But no one came to help!

"stranger" - ge^r / ge^yr - H1616

Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries

From H1481; properly a guest; by implication a foreigner: - alien, sojourner, stranger.

H1481 - gu^r

A primitive root; properly to turn aside from the road (for a lodging or any other purpose), that is, sojourn (as a guest); also to shrink, fear (as in a strange place); also to gather for hostility (as afraid): - abide, assemble, be afraid, dwell, fear, gather (together), inhabitant, remain, sojourn, stand in awe, (be) stranger, X surely.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Definitions

1) sojourner

1a) a temporary inhabitant, a newcomer lacking inherited rights

1b) of foreigners in Israel, though conceded rights

Part of Speech: noun masculine

To be a stranger in a strange land makes a person particularly vulnerable. They don't know who to trust. They may not speak the language and thus have problems communicating. They don't know the land. They don't know the dangers.

This is another fit circumstance for the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Moses exhorts the Israelites to remember how they felt while they were strangers in a strange land. He wanted that to motivate them to be kind to strangers, show hospitality, and be willing to go out of their way to help them. Many people would take advantage of the foreigner, but God warns us not to do that. We are "love our neighbor as ourselves".

"The Israelites were to hold out encouragement to strangers to settle among them, that they might be brought to the knowledge and worship of the true God; and with this in view, they were enjoined to treat them not as aliens, but as friends, on the ground that they themselves, who were strangers in Egypt, were at first kindly and hospitably received in that country" - Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary

Today, America's borders are not secured. And due to the promises of citizenship and free stuff made by the Democrats, we are experiencing a crisis. People are pouring over the border into the U.S. at the Mexican border. Mexico, Central and South America are so corrupt and evil that these poor people are desperate to get into America. And I certainly understand how they feel and would be anxious to get to what the Democrats have promised too. These are mostly uneducated, maybe even illiterate poor people who want a better life and America represents the Promised Land to them. Democrats, desperate for votes to retain power have encouraged these poor people (who are easily led and would be heavily dependent upon taxpayer monies given by Democrat programs) to come with the promises of citizenship, amnesty (granting citizenship for illegal aliens).

I blame Democrats for the crisis because they have held out these promises to get these poor people to come but their sole aim is to import voters who are dependent upon Democrats. Those who pay the bills are the citizens who are taxed to pay for these freebies given to illegal aliens. It is taken from those of us who are workers and it's forcibly withheld from our paychecks and then given to people who haven't worked for it. Free healthcare, while workers have to pay exorbitant insurance premiums for their healthcare or exorbitant prices for healthcare. Free housing while workers have to pay exorbitant prices for rent and to purchase a home. Free transportation while workers have to buy a car. Free childcare while workers have to pay for childcare. Free education while taxpayers have to pay for it. Free college/university while workers have to pay outrageous tuition and books. So workers are taxed to give away AND they have to pay their own way.

There is only so much that can be taken from workers to give away to non-workers. Eventually a worker will quit working because he makes more from government freebies than he did working and paying high taxes. When we hit that tilt, people will quit working and tax dollars will quit coming in. We will all be on the government dole. Then where do they get the money for it?

But I digress, what does this scripture mean to me in our current crisis? Should these verses change my view on illegal aliens in America? Are we to let everyone in, pay for it and say nothing? Just grin and bear it?

What would Jesus do? I have to be real honest and search myself carefully. What would Jesus do? I know He loves those poor people and He would weep to see them. He also knew that there is no human answer to their problems. Person A cannot remedy Person B's problems. And Person A certainly cannot remedy Person B, C, D, X,Y, Z's problems. It's an impossibility for American taxpayers to take on the entire poor of the world and pay for it. There is limited resources and limited space. A lifeboat full of people cannot keep rescuing and picking up desperate passengers. Eventually the desperate will sink the lifeboat and everyone dies. If you are going to save some, you have to limit how many you can rescue with the lifeboat.

Jesus knows all this. It's why God wants each of us to have a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. ONLY GOD CAN SOLVE EACH PERSON'S PROBLEMS! It's too big for America to solve. It's too big for taxpayers in America to solve. It's too big for any one country to solve. So what is the best thing to do for these desperate people? The one thing no modern politician will do and that is point the people to Jesus Christ. Democrats certainly won't, but neither will any politician. Republican, Democrat, they are all alike. They think they can come up with a plan to not only fix something but bring in so much money that they can freely dip into it themselves to enrich themselves. What the heck do they care about the poor when they can enrich themselves under the guise of helping the poor?

As individuals, we should be kind to strangers, the aliens (illegal or new to our area). We should be circumspect in our dealings with them and not take advantage of them. We should protect them from those who would take advantage or harm them. We should help when we come up against a situation in our sphere of influence.

As a nation, we should be willing to help. The United States has been the biggest humanitarian giver this world has ever seen. Most of the time, what we give is misused by the receivers. When we've done food drops in famine lands, gangs have forced people away from it and taken the food for themselves to either eat or sell. When we've sent relief supplies to countries who were wiped out from a natural disaster, many of their corrupt politicians have sold the supplies to line their own pockets instead of giving it out to the people. When we've sent armies to stabilize a country and stop the abuse of the population (such as Vietnam, Korea, Afghanistan, etc) the politicians of that country let America do everything and as soon as we leave, they fall right back into the hands of the evil hordes again. I'm proud that America has tried to help the world.

But NONE of mankind's solutions have stopped the evil or the plight of the poor and destitute. It has to be God. So the kindest and best thing we could do is to point these poor souls to Jesus Christ. God, alone, can help them in their everyday life. And, at the very least, we would have pointed them to the one who can save their eternal souls.

What our politicians, especially the Democrats, have done is to make these people think their answer and solution comes from the great god of America. They see America as the Wizard in the Wizard of Oz. But behind the curtain are the hardworking, sweating workers who pay taxes and we can't do what they want done. But they only see the Wizard! "Oh the Wizard of America can help us and give us what we need and want!"

We have deceived these poor people and taken away the one thing that would be of real help to them, God! We have stepped in and tried to become their god. That's the Democrats' fault (and I'm sure it would be of the Republicans too, in their own way). We've taken on the role of god to these people instead of pointing them to the true God who can really help them. America cannot perform miracles. God can. America cannot save a single soul, God can. America is based on limited money, resources and living space. God has no limits.

So, back to our verses today, I should not hold resentment, anger, bitterness towards a stranger, foreigner, alien who comes into my sphere of influence. I should not attempt to take advantage of them in any way. I should be helpful, kind, protective. I must be careful not to become someone's Holy Spirit or get in the way of God. But I must point them to the real God. I must show that my God loves them as much as He loves me. I must show respect and kindness.

As a nation, we should stop trying to be god. We should begin pointing the people of this world to the true God. We have become too arrogant and big for our britches when we let people think we are god and can do what only God can do. So what do we do, as a nation, to be kind to the aliens and point them to God? How does that work out on the borders?

First, our politicians have to stop promising these people citizenship and freebies once they cross the borders. Building the wall and regulating who comes and goes makes good sense to me to control the invasion. Right now, there are so many coming in that it's more than our border control and border states can handle and it means people are living in torturous conditions while they await their fate. They are walking across deserts, dying in heat, sleeping in hot confinement, separated from children (who brings children on such a journey?), barely fed. Then they are shipped to God-knows-where and dumped to live homeless on the streets. This is unconscionable and it's because of the promises of the Democrats.

It's anything BUT kind to swamp America with this invasion of the poor and illiterate, who are also unvaccinated (not just against COVID but against any disease). These corrupt countries are emptying out their prisons and sending criminals into America. It's a win-win for corrupt politicians in these third world countries! They don't have to financially keep up criminals in jail. Just send them to America and let Americans take care of them. Meanwhile they take the money that was going to prisons and line their own pockets.

It's anything BUT kind to our own citizens, as well as to these unfortunate people who are just being used by politicians.

As a nation, we have deleted God and become god to our poor and to the world. And it's ended as disastrous! If we will but come back to God, put Him back as our nation's God and begin to point others to Jesus Christ, we would be doing the kindest and best thing for the entire world. We could be sending out missionaries who teach, preach and oversee the giving of gifts to the poor. I realize "missionaries" can be as corrupt as any other human being, but I still think it would work better that way than the way it's been going.

But, as a realist, I don't see America ever doing that and thus we will continue to see America decline. I believe we lost America on 1/6/2021 when Congress refused to investigate the corrupt election. But I could say we lost America when we started deleting God from our government, schools and as the only true solution to our problems. We are on our last leg.

There is nothing too big for God. He certainly knows this country has a lot of His people who are true believers. He, in His grace and mercy, may yet intervene. But there is an end to His grace and His righteous judgment is deserved. It will not be forestalled forever. Is this one of the times when He will again exert His mercy or will it be the time for His judgment? We will know soon enough. Meanwhile, as a Christian and true believer in Jesus Christ, I am God's child and He will make sure I make it to His side! While it is within our sphere of influence, we must show others Christ and tell others of Christ, whether it is our family, friends, co-workers, strangers.