There is a part of me that dreads and has avoided writing an opinion blog on immigration. As it stands currently, it is a convoluted and twisted mess of a crisis that has become politicized within American culture and polarizing within the ranks of Christendom. No one argues the fact that our southern borders are being pressured in significant ways by untold thousands (and millions) of people seeking entrance into the United States. The pressure by these migrating aliens has revealed in several ways the weaknesses of our national policies regarding the entrance to our nation by the foreigner. This is not a new problem in American history, but there is no doubt that currently it is a focal point of national debate and discussion.

I believe the Bible, rightly interpreted, is a handbook of answers and solutions to the problems we face as individuals, families, and nations. Hopefully you saw the phrase, “rightly interpreted”. Many people have an opinion on various subjects in life and to justify it with spiritual authority they scour the Scriptures to find a verse which seals their opinion with Divine endorsement. Sometimes that method works, but most of the time it does not. Much like the broken clock which is right twice a day or the blind squirrel tripping over the acorn, people who have no clue as to proper biblical hermeneutics will on occasion get something right. But the vast majority of time, that is not the case. I fear that is what is currently happening in the national immigration debate when it comes to Christians discussing with each other what our national policy should be.

I want a God-honoring, scripturally-based answer that can actually solve the problem we are currently facing at our southern border. This is a perfect example of an arena of national life collapsing under the futility of man’s opinions, which can be reconstructed, restored, or re-ordered (you choose the word) to reflect a just and God-ordained solution to the movement of people from nation to nation. Biblical Israel provides a template for just such a solution.

Now I wish the Bible was constructed in such a way we could scan the table of contents and simply find the chapter on, “Immigration”. Alas, that is not how it was delivered to us. That being said, we can piece together a contextual presentation which can give us a fairly clear picture of what God’s mind is on this matter. I want to begin with the simple question and it is this: Are we really dealing with an immigration problem or an invasion problem? Genuine immigration will always have an element of compassion attached to it. An invasion, on the other hand, must be repelled and stopped. Add on top of these two dynamics, what should be done if both are occurring simultaneously and what is government’s role in addressing it? The answer to these questions will greatly impact the roadmap to clarity.

From what I have read, there are basically THREE groups of people racing to the southern border:

GROUP 1: Hardworking, aspirational individuals and families who are searching for a better life. We can assume that once identified, most of these people’s motives would be sincere and genuine and their behavior orderly and law-abiding. I may be over-generalizing, but these kinds of people are ripe for assimilation into the culture of the United States and open to the values that are represented here. This is not to say that every person or family will be a gracious guest, but the statistical probability of embracing this group with an eye for permanent residence would certainly be higher. I also recognize that it is possible that there may be some in this group who are seeking to exploit our social nets and generous nature. Exploiters and societal ticks are a problem and frustration, but not de facto a terrorist.

GROUP TWO: Asylum seekers and political refugees. These people, for various reasons, cannot remain in the nation of their birth. I think it’s important to say that this group may have people we very much identify with (Freedom fighters, tyranny resistors, espousers of democratic values, etc.) and some we may not (anarchists, Marxists, Islamic Theocrats, etc.). Embracing this group should heighten our sense of caution as some would be statistically unable to assimilate and indeed might even be aggressive change agents of established values.

GROUP THREE: Terrorists, drug dealers, crooks, thieves, murderers, and rapists. This group is analogous to the barbarian invaders whose only mission is to produce chaos, anarchy and harm to good people. They seek to exploit the weak, the peaceful, and the good-natured hearts of the masses and build their own wealth and power on the destruction of others. They are literally parasites on the population seeking to suck our resources dry mostly through nefarious means.

And here’s the problem…

All three groups with their sub-groups are at the gate wanting to get in. They are coming simultaneously. Unfortunately, there is no sign at the border asking them to choose line 1, 2, or 3 for appropriate handling (that’s sarcasm folks). However, a fair and sane person might see that there could be a problem with certain individuals in any of these three groups simply wandering into the nation and setting up shop.

At present, there only appears to be two answers offered.

Build a wall and stop them all.

-or-

Open the door and embrace people galore.

I want to suggest some concepts which may provide interpretive context from God’s Word to at least help those with whom I have some influence navigate these waters.

1) A nation that is in corporate disobedience to God may (and most likely will) lose its supernatural defense system called, “The Hedge”.

The immigration debacle at our borders is really a symptom of our spiritual condition. Whenever Israel was in disobedience, invaders came to their national doorstep. The Lord Himself declares a judgment concerning the siege of the foreigner in the nation (Deuteronomy 28:32-46). The upheaval at our southern border is in direct correlation with our national sin and disobedience. Again, unless revival comes to God’s people and an awakening moves across the land, these types of symptoms will only increase and the futility of solving these issues will only escalate. As simplistic as it may sound to some ears, our national need for repentance will be one of the foundations for the solution to the immigration problem.

2) There is an appropriate skepticism when dealing with people due to the sin nature.

I was visiting with a state politician recently and he said something noteworthy. He said that he could identify how a person will govern by simply asking one question, “Do you believe people are inherently good or bad? Selfless or selfish?” That answer provides all the information you need to know concerning their legislative policy philosophy. If you believe people are by nature good, then by all means, open the doors and let them all in. If you embrace the biblical doctrine of depravity which is orthodox Christianity, then you may want to rethink that open door policy.

Don’t misunderstand me. People at large are capable of great and good things whether they be saved or unsaved. I know incredibly generous people who are as lost as a goat in a snow storm. Those moments of generosity do not necessarily reflect a comprehensive disposition which might undermine our culture. Al Capone, the notable American gangster, donated very generously to numerous charities. This did not make him a “good citizen”. The same skepticism should be applied to any U.S. citizen when it comes to entering another country. Believe me, as one who has traveled to numerous foreign countries, that skepticism is exercised quite fervently in some nations. (Side note: Canada was exceptionally rigorous in allowing me in their country. I found that fascinating.)

3) Every national protection and blessing that Israel afforded the alien while residing in the nation was predicated upon the alien’s commitment and obedience to the righteous national laws. (Leviticus 24:22; Deuteronomy 1:16)

The migrating foreigner was expected to keep the national laws as meticulously as the citizen. There were no two standards of judgment in civic matters. As the alien practices these things, they are recipients of all the blessings and promises which come from that status. To this point, I am sure many agree, but the question arises as to how one knows whether the foreigner is capable and integral in such a commitment? Is there a process or screening which should be done to identify those who might have a problem with embracing law and order? Or, is it simply open your door and let’s roll the dice and see?

4) God’s displeasure with the nation of Israel increased as foreign (pagan) practices were established and the righteous culture was diminished.

This point is directly related to the foreigners ability to assimilate into the culture of Israel. There is no way the multiplicity of verses and accounts in the Bible can be stated with regards to God’s passionate displeasure of Israel allowing the pagan practices of other nations to be assimilated into their culture. As an Assyrian or Persian, you may have been welcomed to come and live in ancient Israel, but you were not welcome to establish your pagan fertility cult in the nation. Somethings were out of bounds and you were expected to assimilate. This never meant a forced proselytization to the Jewish religion, but it also never meant a direct undermining of it either. An immigrant comes to our borders with the realization that there are many benefits to inhabit in our land, but our ethos cannot be undermined.

5) The only way to know whether compassion or confrontation should take place is by discernment through appropriate vetting.

I am convinced that screening and vetting are at minimum, an implied precept in the Scripture. Logic dictates that had Israel appropriately vetted and addressed the foreign influx of pagan practice, that much of their decline may have been mitigated. In fact, there is an account in Joshua 9, which records the success of the Israelites in establishing the national boundaries and the assimilation process of nations. It is a detailed story with regards to God’s command that Israel secure the land and destroy some inhabitants while entering into relationship with other nations. The Gibeonites, pretending to be ambassadors of a distant nation, used deception to enter into a relationship and residency with the Israelites. Upon discovery of the deception, they were spared capital punishment for the crime, but were diminished to a place of servitude (a compassionate alternative no doubt). The point inferred in this story is that there was no screening, or at least adequate screening, of the veracity of the Gibeonites’ identity and purpose.

This story may be the most applicable with regards to distinguishing between true immigrants and invaders. There simply must be a screening process for a nation to secure it’s own citizens by identifying invaders and processing genuine immigrants. This is not uncompassionate. This is wisdom. Therefore, it is most certainly biblically viable to secure the borders of a nation. Even as I write that last line I took the long way to mentioning that even Jerusalem had walls around it for both security purpose as well as identification purposes. This was not an act of people lacking compassion, but rather an act (literally) of honoring God.

I recognize that the crisis at the border has now morphed into the handling of families and children. The chaos and refusal to implement biblical precept years ago has expectedly created anarchy and dysfunction. For this our hearts can and do break, as they would with any individual who violates God’s precepts and then finds the “way of the transgressors to be hard” (Proverbs 13:15). But appropriate vetting takes time and research on the part of the nation, along with study and understanding on the part of the immigrant. I’m not sure that crowds straining the system is an appropriate reason to destroy and dismantle all systems. In fact, if our nation had the political will to do it, we could implement several solutions simultaneously.

Secure the Border (Build a physical and technological wall. Hire more Border Patrol)

If a request went out from the President for churches and private sector charities to build or provide short term housing for foreign immigrants on Mexican soil, the detention center questions might be mitigated. Obviously, Mexico will have to partner with the plan which may be asking a lot. This investment by churches and private sector could not be a “faith-free” zone. I am continually amazed at how the American Church, when given a challenge, can organize and administrate charity like no one’s business. I believe we might be surprised as to the outcome and how it might streamline some screening issues.

Clearly communicate worldwide the administrative process for screening applicants. I cannot show up at the borders of any country I choose and simply expect them to take care of me. This practice in our country is facilitating anarchy.

These are three places I would start. I recognize more needs to be done, but this is a simple starting point. Of course, unless this nation seeks God and soon, even this may be a bandaid on a sore too big to heal.