We Are All Migrants

How many of us still live or work in the same village, town, city, region, state, or country where we were born? Migration is a fact of life. We are a people on the move. We are being pushed and pulled in many different directions. We move because circumstances in one location push us or circumstances in our target destinations to pull us or a combination of both.

With our feet, cars, trains, ships, airplanes, and other modes of transportation, we explore, we seek adventure, and we seek new challenges and opportunities. We move for convenience and we move out of necessity as well as reasons in-between.

This article focuses on the migration of Abraham and his descendants to and from Egypt. An African country provided food, shelter, livelihood, and refuge for people whom God has blessed. And if you are a Christian, this is your story, too, because “if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:29 NIV).

God’s special relationship with the people of Israel, starting with Abraham, is a story of migration. God told Abraham to leave his country, his people, and his father’s household and go to the land that He would show him (Genesis chapter 12). Abraham obeyed God and left Haran with his wife and some members of his household to Canaan, the Promised Land. Thereafter, a severe famine hit the land so Abraham and his household left for Egypt to live there for a while. It is not clear how long Abraham lived in Egypt, but by the time he left, he had “acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.” (Genesis 12: 16 NIV).

The major migration to Egypt occurred after Abraham’s great-grandson Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers. Miraculously, Joseph became governor in Egypt, perhaps next in rank to Pharaoh. Again, famine hit the land of Canaan where Abraham’s grandson Jacob and his family lived. Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt so he sent ten of his sons to go there and buy grain. They met Joseph in Egypt, but he did not reveal himself to them. They bought some grains and returned home.

However, the famine was still severe, so they went to Egypt a second time and Joseph revealed himself to them. Joseph invited the whole family to Egypt. Jacob and his direct descendants numbering about seventy, migrated to Egypt. On the way, in Beersheba, God spoke to Jacob in a vision and told him not to be afraid to go down to Egypt; that He would go there with him; that He would make him into a great nation; and that He would bring him back to Canaan (Genesis chapters 42-47). They remained in Egypt for about 430 years, a portion of which was spent in slavery. By the time they were freed and started their migration back to the Promised Land, they numbered about six hundred thousand men, besides women and children (Exodus 12:31-42).

Just as God’s relationship with Abraham started with migration, so too did the story of Jesus start with migration. You may recall that Joseph and Mary had to travel to Bethlehem, Joseph’s hometown, because of a census decree by the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus that all persons in the Roman Empire needed to go home to be counted. It was there that Jesus was born (Luke chapter 2).

When King Herod wanted to kill baby Jesus, “an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”” (Matthew 2:13). They did that, and Jesus and his parents became refugees in Egypt. After Herod died, an angel told them to go to the land of Israel and they went to live in the town of Nazareth (Matthew 2:19-23).

Imagine if Egypt had the type of immigration laws that some countries have today. How would Joseph and Mary have convinced the Egyptian authorities about what an angel of the God they did not know told them in a dream? What evidence could they have produced to prove that baby Jesus was in danger of being killed by King Herod? Who knows what would have happened if the Savior of the world and his parents had been refused entry into Egypt? In the same way, who knows what happens to those who are refused entry at various countries’ borders and ports seeking refuge, asylum, and economic opportunities? And who will stand in solidarity with Lady Liberty in New York as she lifts high the welcome lamp and join Emma Lazarus in saying, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free?” (Lazarus, E. (1883). Statue of Liberty [Inscription]. New York).

The reasons for the migrations to Egypt were to escape death by starvation due to the famine, and death by the order of the king. Escaping famine in search of food could be likened today to escaping from one’s country or place with severe economic hardships and no jobs, to another country or place with greener pastures, economic prosperity, and more job opportunities. For example, Abraham’s acquisition of wealth in Egypt mentioned above may have contributed to his riches back in Canaan. Many people migrate in order to acquire resources from the new place to be used as foundation for business and livelihood back home.

Migration of people continues around the world. If we look deeper into our own history, we may find that our ancestors came from places other than where we currently live or where the family currently claims as home. Ask your grandparents; you may be surprised.

When a person migrates, the hospitality of the people of the new location may determine whether that person stays or leaves. A welcome and hospitable reception may make the stay longer and enjoyable. A hostile reception may make the person miserable and cut the stay short.

Over and over again, those who showed hostility towards migrants, immigrants, foreigners aliens, and strangers under the guise of upholding the law, found themselves not only on the wrong side of history, but may also find themselves on the wrong side of God. God required the Israelites to treat aliens and foreigners living on their lands fairly as they did natives, and to love them as themselves because they were once aliens in Egypt (See Leviticus 19:33-34; Exodus 23:9).

For these and other reasons, we should treat all migrants, strangers, aliens, foreigners, and immigrants with love, kindness, compassion, respect, and dignity. If you live in a community where there are migrants, strangers, foreigners, or people who are not indigenes of the community or country, do not take undue advantage of them or harass them.

One day, there will be judgment. The kudos will go not to those who discriminated against, harassed or called immigration officers to deport migrants, strangers, aliens or foreigners in the name of obeying the law or for personal reasons, but to the likes of Pharaoh’s daughter who risked her life, obeyed a higher law, and rescued baby Moses from the Nile River and raised her as her own son (See Exodus chapter 2). And the kudos will go not to those (and their supporters) who ripped off or separated babies and little children from their parents at the borders in the name of enforcing immigration law, but to the likes of the Egyptian midwives who risked their lives, obeyed a higher law, and hid Hebrew baby boys instead of killing them during childbirth as ordered by Pharaoh (Exodus chapter 1).

In the end, what we would like to hear from Jesus is, “well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:21 NIV). We would like to hear from Jesus that we gave food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty, welcomed strangers, clothed the naked, cared for the sick, and visited prisoners (Matthew 25: 31-46). Let’s do so, and let’s remember that the stranger who walked and talked with the two disciples along the Road to Emmaus was Jesus himself (Luke 24:13-35).

Finally, let’s remember that Christians are a migrating group. This world is our temporary home; we are on a journey to our ultimate home in heaven. Wherever we migrate to on this long journey, let’s keep the faith and worship the one and only true God who revealed Himself to the world through His only begotten Son, Our Lord and Savior Jesu Christ. Jesus said he was going to prepare a place for us and come back and take us home. (John14:2-3) That would be the biggest and final migration.

Prayer is the key. May God grant us the grace to seek Him daily through our prayers.

Dr. Daniel Gyebi, Attorney-at-Law, Texas, U.S.A., and Founder, PrayerHouse Ministry, Kumasi, Ghana.

PrayerHouse Ministry is dedicated to providing a quiet facility for Christians to pray individually by themselves without any intermediary priest, pastor or any other person. This is a free service. No money is demanded or accepted. One facility is located at Kyerekrom / Fumesua, near Building and Road Research Institute Offices, one mile off the Kumasi-Accra Road and next to a house called Grace Castle. If you are interested, please contact Agnes at 054-7498653. Another is located at Kantinkyiren, at the junction of Kantinkyiren and Konkori, off the Kumasi-Obuasi Road, branching left at Trede junction. Contact Kwadwo at 020-8768461 / 0246-989413.