All Nations: God's Grace to Foreigners

Israel was God’s chosen nation—not because of anything spectacular they had done, but because they were the descendants of Abraham, a man God honored with many descendants because of his faith. But Israel being God’s chosen nation never meant that He completely despised and wanted absolutely nothing to do with the people of other nations. His grace for non-Israelites is evident throughout the Old Testament.

The Israelite journey began with Abraham when his name was still Abram. When God called him, He told him to go to the land that He would show him (Gen. 12:1). Abram lived as a foreigner in Egypt (Gen. 12:10), Canaan (Gen. 17:8), the Negev, Gerar (Gen. 20:1), and the Philistine country (Gen. 21:34). Throughout his journey he was mostly at peace with his neighbors (there were those times when he got into a bit of trouble with Sarah [Gen. 12:10-20; 20] and when he and his men rescued Lot [Gen. 14]). When Sarah died and needed to be buried, the Hittite elders called him a prince among them (Gen. 23:6). His son, Issac, and grandson, Jacob, also lived as foreigners (Gen. 26:1-3; 37:1). 

Jacob and his sons (the heads of the 12 tribes) also lived as foreigners in Egypt, but they were welcomed by the Pharaoh, who had great respect for Joseph, Jacob’s son. It was in Egypt that the Israelites became a great nation (a great people), just as God promised (Gen. 46:3). This was God’s plan, as He shared the future of the Israelite people with Abraham before they were even born (Gen. 15:13).

Despite the horrific cruelty the Israelite people went through in Egypt, God did not hate the Egyptians. They were the children of Ham, whom God spared from the flood. Moreover, after He delivered the Israelites from their enslavement, He told them not to detest them (Deut. 23:7-8), and after a few generations they were welcomed into the assembly of the Israelites. A few even went with them when they left Egypt (Num. 11:4). 

Because Abraham, Issac, Jacob, and the Israelites lived as foreigners, the Mosaic Law forbid the Israelites from mistreating or oppressing non-Israelites (Ex. 22:21; 23:9). Instead, God told them to love them (Lev. 19:33-34; Deut. 10:19). They were equals (Num. 15:15), and He accepted them into the covenant assembly (Josh. 8:33, 35). They could live among the Israelites as long as they observed the Law, including male circumcision (Lev. 18:26). (Circumcision was the mark of the covenant the Israelite men bore on their bodies [Gen. 17:13]). Foreigners  were allowed to celebrate Passover (Ex. 12:48; Num. 9:14), observe the Sabbath (Ex. 20:10), make sacrifices (Lev. 17:8), and present offerings (Lev. 22:18; Num. 15:14). Furthermore, the Isrealites were required to leave behind some of their crops for the foreigners who lived among them (Lev. 19:9-10; 23:22; Deut. 24:19-12; consider Ruth 2:2). They also received a portion of the tithe (which was food; Deut. 14:28-29; 26:12). They participated in the Festival of Harvest (Deut. 16:10-11), too, and God also decreed they were to receive fair justice (Deut. 27:19). He protected them (Ps. 146:9). Israel’s failure to treat foreigners fairly was one of the reasons they received His judgment in later years (Jer. 7:6 22:3; Ezek. 22:7; Mal. 3:5). It was never only about Israel. It was always about all of mankind.