*Please note that this article references a scripture in Leviticus that uses the term “foreigner.” The use of this word will be solely attached to the usage and understanding of the scripture and is not at all intended to be exclusive or divisive.
“Foreigner” will be used in relation to sojourners as the definition of those residing in a land that may not be their own. The intent of this writing is to encourage humility, kindness, and the sharing of God’s love.
The Book of Leviticus can be quite intimidating. As one of the “Books of the Law,” I recall confusion and even shock as I read for the first time about some of the rules, rituals, and sins on those pages.
I would think to myself as a young kid, “What could I possibly learn from that!?” Yet, as I continued exploring the Bible as a young man, I started to see new connections. I learned about Jesus and how he referred to and fulfilled the Old Testament.
Now, as a father myself, I would see other connections in Scripture like Proverbs 3:12 (NLT) that the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights. Through that lens, now some of that seemingly harsh correction felt purposeful.
The purpose of Leviticus is God making a way for people full of sin to be able to live in closeness with him, in his purity. It is interesting to learn that in the first few words of the book, it says, “The Lord called to Moses from the tent.”
Yet when you read the first few words of the next book, Numbers, we read that “the Lord spoke to Moses in the tent.” So, while there are some shocking things in the text, an important takeaway from the book is the character of God as a merciful teacher.
He made a way for us. He cares for his people, and he wants his people to care for others as they have been cared for so graciously by him.
Who Were Sojourners in the Bible?
We read about others residing in a land in Leviticus 19:33-34. It says, “When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”
We immediately see that teaching spirit of God as we keep in mind that he is teaching the Israelites how to live a life of purity in closeness with him.
The terms “foreigner” and “sojourner” are used somewhat interchangeably in the Old Testament as we read different translations.
A sojourner is defined as someone residing in a land or community that is not their own and is dependent on the goodwill of said community for their care or survival.
A foreigner is defined more generally as someone born in another country or place but residing in a different place. Either way, these are people that are not settled or rooted.
Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus frequently reference these people residing in a new land. Most commonly, they are people driven away from their homes due to famine or change (Genesis 12:10) or due to missions or appointments from God (Genesis 26:3, the dispersion of the apostles).
God repeatedly shows protective mercy and care for these people throughout Scripture, even into the New Testament, as written in Matthew 25:35-36. Jesus says, “When I was a stranger, you invited me in.”
When the people asked Jesus when they ever served him that way (verses 37-39), Jesus represents God by saying, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
This protective mercy is emphatically used when speaking of those who cannot protect themselves, such as the sick, widows, and orphans.
Who Could be Considered a Sojourner in Our Modern World?
Today, we don’t read of the same plagues or famines, and it isn’t the talk of the town when groups of apostles go around teaching something brand new against the rules of the lands. Though I still see sojourners in our modern world if we look intentionally through that lens of who needs to be shown mercy and protection.
When my kids started back at school in the fall, I thought of those students that were coming in new. What a challenge that would be for those kids whose parents may have moved for work or for different family needs to plug into a new community.
Those parents starting in new roles, perhaps finding new churches and new friends. They all certainly need someone to not “mistreat them” and to “love them,” as God directs in that passage from Leviticus.
I think about the children now with child services that are uprooted from the homes they know and how they bounce from home to home, longing for security and care. I think of the people who are going through something new, like health or financial challenges.
They are entering a new “land” where a new sense of faith and support is needed. I think of those imprisoned and convicted of grave mistakes. I think of the homeless, the jobless, and the hopeless. These are those with “less,” or the least of these as Jesus came to be with.
How Does This Apply to Us Today?
Though the scripture referenced earlier in Leviticus was written so long ago, it is clear that God’s power is still working through his teaching. Here are three things we can still learn and apply today from it.
1. Humility is a posture of the godly. Just like the Book of Leviticus separates the “unclean” from the “pure,” pride and humility cannot mix. God repeatedly reminds the Israelites throughout Exodus and Leviticus that they were once foreigners in Egypt, redeemed by him.
As pride, or selfishness in this sense, live in our hearts, we forget that apart from God, we can do nothing meaningful. To stay close to God is to remain humble through gratitude and prayer.
2. Our hope and redemption are not just for us. In Romans 8:16-17, we read that “if we are children, then we are heirs of God” and that we “share in his sufferings and also his glory.”
Reflecting on this reading, Leviticus 19:33-34, again, God invites us to share and act in the manner of his character.
We are invited to join him in the mission to love the world (John 3:16). He says, “Love them as yourself,” and we know that Jesus echoes that in his two commandments to love God and love others, for all the law is met through these (Matthew 22:40).
Perhaps the most telling of this concept that as we are met, redeemed, and loved by God, then we can go out and act toward others in the same manner, is found in 1 John 4:19. “We love because he first loved us.”
We act in love because he acted in love toward us. God’s love perpetuates action, not absorption.
3. God speaks and acts with purpose. We read in Isaiah 55:10-11, “Just as the rain and the snow come down and do not return without watering. so is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty.”
As God redeems us, teaches us, and sends us out renewed, he does so with a purpose. I pray that you do not waver in your faith and the purpose that God has shared with you through his love.
What Does This Mean?
There are some common themes about those groups of people and how God responds to them. It is beautifully connected how each is brought together by the same spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13) through redemptive hope and the teaching of the vine.
Remember the mercy and love shown to you and ask God how you could share faith and hope with others through it.
For further reading:
Why Are We Told Not to Forget to Do Good and Share with Others?
How Can I Count My Blessings While Also Blessing Others?
How Can We Help Those Who Are in Need?
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