Laws Pertaining to Foreigners

Preview: This lesson is a guide to the laws of the Bible. Since the Bible is the foundation of the legal system of all civilized nations, it is very important that matters concerning the laws be understood.


Scripture Reading: Leviticus 24:10-23.

Memory Verse: Leviticus 24:22.

1. Discuss God’s required punishment to stop crime from the foregoing Scriptures.
2. Did being a stranger (non-Jew) in Israel exempt a man from punishment of the law? Discuss. Leviticus 24:22-23.
3. Were foreigners allowed to participate in the worship service with God’s people? Explain. Exodus 12:43-49, Numbers 9:14, Numbers 15:15-16.
Note: We find that foreigners had to first meet the conditions of God. This is also true today. See I Corinthians 11:27-31. As the stranger was required to be circumcised, so should the partaker today have a circumcised heart.
4. What were God’s laws pertaining to His people marrying foreigners? Genesis 34:6-14, Ezra 10:10-17.
5. What were the results of this before the flood? Genesis 6:1-5.
Note: God wanted His people to remain pure and untainted by evil. He knew the influence that an ungodly spouse could have on their mate and that a divided house could not stand. Mark 3:24-25.
6. How should we be following this law today? II Corinthians 6:13-18, I Corinthians 6:15-16.
Note: It cannot be stressed too much how important it is that God’s people marry within the circle of believers.
7. What did God tell His people about lending money to foreigners? Deuteronomy 15:1-4, Deuteronomy 15:11, Deuteronomy 23:20.
Note: It was permissible to charge interest to a foreigner but not to a neighbor or brother or any poor person.
8. Was there a special blessing for obedience to this law? What was it? Deuteronomy 15:5, Deuteronomy 15:7-10.
9. What was God’s law concerning borrowing money from foreigners? Deuteronomy 15:6, Deuteronomy 28:12-14.
10. Should the foreigner who is in the home be allowed to work on the Sabbath? Why? Exodus 20:10.
Note: Israel was both Church and State. Can these laws be executed in a Christian home today where both Church and State are separate?