Today's Bible readings are Leviticus 19.9-18 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Lev.+19.9-18 ), Leviticus 19.26-37 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Lev.+19.26-37 ), and Luke 11.14-36 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Luke+11.14-36 ).
These passages are like a great buffet. There are treats galore, filling, satisfying, nutritious. From start to finish, we find God's commands explained to us, showing us how the Lord would intend us to follow through on what he desires. I'd like to take one of the concepts from Leviticus 19 and see if we can figure out how God's Law is in use here.
Leviticus 19.33-34 (ESV) says "When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 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."
In the Book of Concord we find a very useful explication of the Law of God. In brief, there are three uses of the Law classified. First, the Law serves to convict us of sin, showing us guilty before God. Second, the Law serves to restrain evil in the civil realm. And finally, the Law serves to show us what is pleasing to God, since regenerate people are given a desire to please God. Let's look at these two verses from Leviticus 19 and see how the Law may be used in these three ways.
The first use of the Law - we find that we in fact do not treat strangers as our own people. We don't love strangers like ourselves. We are quick to forget that we are ultimately aliens. And we are quick to forget the love God has shed upon us, giving us a heavenly inheritance when we have wasted all our own resources.
The second use of the Law - foreigners are deserving of the same legal protections that natives receive. They should likewise be subject to the same laws, which we passed with the understanding that they would be good when applied to all people in the community. And yes, that applies to immigration laws as well, in my opinion. If people are in a place they are not permitted to be by law, they should be quickly, gently, firmly, and respectfully removed to their lawful place in order to protect those who are present or desire to be present in accordance with civil law. We care for people of all origins under the same statutory protections.
The third use of the Law - do we wish to please God by caring for our neighbors, no matter who they are? We are reminded here that foreigners who are among us should receive fair and loving treatment at our hands. We love our neighbor in a practical way when we treat strangers as we would treat natives. As an employer this would indicate that we are being pleasing to God when we do not distinguish among people of different ethnic, racial, and regional backgrounds when we hire, pay, or promote employees. As consumers, we take no preference in the national background of the people owning or employed at businesses where we engage in trade.
In application of all these uses of the Law, we will consistently find that we fall short. We are driven once again to thankful dependence on Jesus, who has reconciled the world to God through his death and resurrection. He, the great reconciler, can also make us live in loving community with one another, regardless of our differences, even when we fail in part to keep this command of unity and fair treatment.
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