Dave's Diary

Exodus 23:1-9

“Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.” (v.9)

People of other nationalities or ‘ethnicities’ who are forced (or who choose for some reason) to leave their home country and live for a time in another country have always been a very vulnerable category of people. Throughout history, local residents have treated foreigners as “other”, despised them, taken advantage of them, or even oppressed them. Foreigners usually have not enjoyed as much protection under the law. Over the centuries and decades, the various translations of the English Bible have named them as ‘strangers’ (KJV), ‘aliens’ (1973 NIV), ‘outsiders’ (NIRV), and ‘foreigners’ (NIVUK). In our world of 2023, nearly 300 million people are displaced from their home lands and live as ‘international migrants’ or ‘refugees’.

In Matthew 2:13-18 which we read yesterday, we saw how Jesus and His family became migrant refugees when He was just a toddler. For a few years (we weren’t told how many) the family lived as “aliens, foreigners and outsiders” in the land of Egypt. It is important for us as Christians to recognise that Jesus took upon Himself not only the vulnerability of infancy, but also the added vulnerability of being a foreigner. In this act we see God’s love for the ‘foreigner’ and the ‘alien’ being made tangible. In fact, we see this love incarnated. God had written this love into the Law of Moses, given to His people at Mount Sinai, when He said “Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.” Now God Himself became a foreigner in Egypt!

Lord Jesus, what a marvellous mystery, that You would choose to step into our shoes and become a vulnerable Baby, and then take even greater vulnerability upon Yourself by becoming a foreigner. Please forgive me for so often allowing fear and selfishness to control me. I know that I resist vulnerability if I have the choice, and that I tend to opt for safety at every turn. Lord, have mercy. Help me to be willing to live in weakness and vulnerability when you call me to do so. And please change my heart towards those who are vulnerable and “other”. Empower me to protect and uplift those who are downtrodden. King of Refugees, help me to see Your face in the face of every refugee, migrant or foreigner and to treat each one with honour and dignity as Your image-bearer. Amen.