Xenophobia
We see it all around us. I'm talking about Xenophobia. Recently South Africa has been deeply shaken by scenes of African immigrants whose shops are being burnt down in hatred; individuals that get attacked for coming to this nation to make a better life for their family; riots and tragic loss of life. This fear of foreigners (interestingly, this is exactly what the term Xenophobia means) should never be allowed to happen. In the Old Testament God is firmly against it.
In Exodus 22:21 and 23:9 for example, God bans the Israelites from abusing or badly treating anyone from other nations. That same instruction is repeated in Leviticus 19:33-34. Mosaic Law mandates that foreigners should be treated as if they were born as Israelites. The reason? Israel was also once a foreigner in a strange land. Thus, they should know how alienating it feels to live as an outsider. That is why God expects them to act differently towards foreigners in their midst, in a starkly opposite manner that they were treated by the Egyptians while they were slaves in their land. In basic terms, they need to have empathy with all people.
According to Leviticus 25:35, foreigners are entitled to help from the Israelites. In the same manner that God's people are expected to have compassion on other Israelites in times of need, so they need to offer the same towards foreigners in their midst. These foreigners also share in certain religious privileges of the Israelites (Lev 25:6). Israel's religious laws makes provision for the protection of foreigners (Ex 22:21). In the same breath, foreigners must also have respect for the uses and religion of their new land (Ex 12:43-47). But in principle, the responsibility lies with the host nation and its people to treat foreigners in their midst with the dignity, respect and love. A text like Ezekiel 47:22 even shares the principle of equal rights for Israelites and foreigners. Foreigners that already are living with the Israelites must in other words share in the same manner of land distribution that is mentioned here.
Even though these specific customs of Israel that are referred to in the above mentioned texts are no longer directly applicable to our own situation as people of the New Covenant, the principle still remains. And that is that all people are valuable to God. He does not play favorites with any specific nation. We have to follow his footsteps by treating all people, whether they are from the same country as we are, with dignity and respect. When they are oppressed, we need to stand up for their rights. When they have no voice, we must become their voice that fights for their rights. We cannot just stand and watch foreigners get trampled and killed without raising our voice, because then God's heart breaks for us and for them alike.