“When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 19:33-34
“In Africa and in the Bible, hospitality is about welcoming strangers and not just friends. In fact, in the New Testament, the Greek word for someone who practices hospitality means ‘lover of strangers’. Interestingly, in most African languages the same word is used for both ‘stranger’ and ‘guest’.
Hospitality is rooted so deeply in African societies that meals are not prepared for the exact number of people in the household, for there is the possibility that someone may drop in to share the meal. It goes without saying that when strangers come into the house they must be offered something, even if it is only a cup of water.
In the Old Testament those who show hospitality to strangers are rewarded, while those who do harm to them are liable to judgment. Positive examples of the practice of hospitality include Abraham welcoming the strangers by the oaks of Mamre (Genesis 18:1-5), Lot welcoming the strangers before the destruction of Sodom (Genesis 19), Rebecca (Genesis 24), the daughter of Jethro (Exodus 2:16-20), and Abigail (1 Samuel 25).
Those who withheld hospitality include the men of Sodom who wanted to assault Lot’s guests (Genesis 19), the men of Gibeah (Judges 19), the Ammonites and the Moabites who failed to show hospitality to Israel on their way from Egypt (Deuteronomy 23:3-6) and Nabal (1 Samuel 25).”
Emily J. Choge in “Hospitality in Africa” in <em>Africa Bible Commentary</em> (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006) 390.
Three insights that shape our generosity emerge from today’s post.
Firstly, hospitality is God’s expectation of His people. When He punctuates the command to treat strangers as family with “I am the Lord your God!” it implies that Hospitality is not optional. We use the words ‘stranger’ and ‘guest’ as synonymous.
Secondly, hospitality requires God’s people to create margin for others. While cooking, that means we as His people cook extra. While the Africans may do this as a general practice. Christians everywhere would do well to follow suit.
Thirdly, hospitality comes with reward, and the lack of hospitality comes with judgment. The biblical examples illustrate for us that God watches what His people do when given the opportunity to show hospitality. Likewise today, He is watching us.
How might you treat strangers as guests and create margin to treat them like family?