The Bible makes many references to people living away from their homeland and has a lot to say about caring for foreigners or refugees. In fact, the Scriptures speak of displaced people in both covenants, the Old and the New Testament. Thus, throughout the biblical narrative, a phenomenon has always been in evidence: people in movement, crossing territories and interacting with people from other cultural environments. In the midst of this very context, God reveals His heart for the stranger.
2.1. Caring for the Foreigner
God loves the foreigners (Deuteronomy 10:17-19). He cares for them; He has His eyes on them: "The Lord watches over the foreigner" (Psalm 146:9). He is impartial towards people, has no prejudice concerning the foreigners, and loves every human
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Therefore, He cares for humankind and gives particular attention to those who are at risk (Leviticus 25:9-10). The Lord demonstrates His love for the strangers, too, in teaching His people to love and care for them (1 Kings 8:41-43).
In an article entitled "Old Testament, Principles on Reaching the Refugee," Brenda Thompson, an assistant project director for the State Refugee Project in California, talks about the Hebrew word behind the term "foreigner". Then, she explains its meaning, pointing to the fact that the people we currently classify as "refugees" or "migrants", for example, are the ones called "foreigners" in the Bible:
The Hebrew word ger-which can be translated interchangeably as "alien," "sojourner," or "stranger"-always refers to a person who is neither native-born nor a foreigner, but rather one who is between these two poles of identity. In other words, the ger is one who is residing in a culture different from his own without the benefits of family ties or citizenship rights. Our modern understanding of the word "refugee" is an equivalent of the Biblical definition of