While the U.S. continues to debate issues surrounding immigration, the European Union is facing similar challenges. Migrants from places like Syria are trying to find their way into countries like Germany and Great Britain, seeking better lives for themselves and their families. Many are being blocked, and some are dying as they attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea.
The Bible is no stranger to realities like this. Throughout Bible history, people have sought refuge from hardship, moving from place to place. The Israelites themselves migrated to Egypt during a famine, and then from Egypt when they were oppressed with hard labor. For that reason, God called them to create refuge for foreigners living among them. God was seeking to embrace all those who sought safety among his people. Zechariah 11:1-4 is just one of many examples:
Zechariah 11:1-4
Open your borders to the immigrants, proud Lebanon!
Your sentinel trees will burn.
Weep, great pine trees! Mourn, you sister cedars!
Your towering trees are cordwood.
Weep Bashan oak trees!
Your thick forest is now a field of stumps.
Do you hear the wailing of shepherds?
They’ve lost everything they once owned.
Do you hear the outrage of the lions?
The mighty jungle of the Jordan is wasted.
Make room for the returning exiles!