Hide the Outcasts; Do Not Betray the Fugitive: Immigrants Today

Then like fleeing birds or scattered nestlings the daughters of Moab will be at the fords of the Arnon. Give us advise, make a decision; cast your shadow like night at high noon; hide the outcasts, do not betray the fugitive. Let the outcasts of Moab stay with you; be a hiding place to them from the destroyer. (Isaiah 16:2-4) 

Moab, like many nations at the time, was under siege by Assyria. There is a promise to the daughters of Moab, those fleeing, that they could come under the protection of Zion and that with reference to the house or (tent) of king David. Isaiah says of this place of safety: 

A throne will even be established in lovingkindness, and a judge sit on it in faithfulness in the tent of David; moreover, he will seek justice and be prompt in righteousness. (5) 

Moab, as the prophet explains, does not choose that protection because of their pride. And although the scripture does not say so one could hope that at least a few of the daughters found refuge in Judah, as one of their ancestors, Ruth, did. Ruth was a Moabitess, of the nation whose people God had forbidden to be a part of Jewish worship. And yet she is an ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ. The refugees of Moab were a people that God longed to shelter. 

 The Lord still longs to shelter refugees. His tent “home” is the tent of the son of David, Jesus is the only and final Son of David. And we, the adopted sons and daughters of Christ are enclosed in that tent. We should be the sheltering people embracing the refugees. 

 The problems connected to refugees in the United States are of course complex. There are parents who are illegal yet have children who are not. It has been suggested that rather than splitting the families up they all be sent back to their former country. (Where their children will often be in danger.) There are illegal Venezuelans who are not allowed back in their country. There are people like the legal Haitians of Springfield, Illinois, falsely accused of stealing and eating pets, who have been threatened with deportation. There are Latino churches with many closely connected to refugees. There are Catholic and other religious groups being maligned because of their care for both legal and illegal refugees. 

 One of the groups concerned with both illegal and legal immigrants, The Federation For American Immigration Reform (FAIR), I wrote about in December of 2016, “The Federation of American Immigration: abortion & population control merges with anti-immigration.” They have some connections with the past Trump presidency and the newly appointed officials for the coming Trump presidency. The important information about this for Christians is that the organization is not just anti-immigration, but was also began by a man who had ties to Planned Parenthood and was also an anti-population advocate. Also FAIR is a racist group. 

So the complications are deep and connected to extreme moral questions. Some who call themselves Christians insist they are an army sent by enemies to destroy our nation. Some false prophets see them as those who would destroy Christianity. Yet, the daughters and sons of many nations are standing at the gulfs, pastures and gates of our land, yes, some may be criminals, some bringing drugs, but many, most, are seeking to be hidden by our shadow, not betrayed, not be destroyed by the destroyers. They are fleeing from a cross that should not be theirs to bear, but it may be ours; we who hold tightly to the cross of Jesus Christ.

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