Friend of StrangersEsimerkki

God did not only instruct Israel how God's people were to treat strangers within Israel's borders (integration) but also how they should relate to foreign people outside Israel's borders (mission.)

It all began when God chose Abraham to bless all the peoples of the earth through him and then chose Israel, who came to know God and His will through the Law of Moses. God never intended that only Israel would know God but that Israel should serve as a priesthood for the rest of the world.

If Israel lived according to God's will, the idea was that it would create curiosity in the surrounding Gentile peoples and make them want to know God as well. In a pagan world, the Jewish faith would serve as a light in the darkness for the Gentile peoples around it.

At the dedication of the first temple, King Solomon prays that God will listen not only to the prayers of the Jewish people but also “when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel” comes to Jerusalem and prays in the temple, so "all the peoples of the earth" will come to know God's name. In response to Solomon's prayer, Isaiah prophesies that strangers will turn to the Lord and that the temple in Jerusalem will be called “a house of prayer for all peoples."

Even though God has chosen Israel as his beloved possession, this does not mean that God does not love the other nations. On the contrary, He wants to use Israel as “a light for the nations” and extend his salvation to all peoples “to the end of the earth." By choosing Jerusalem as the place where God reveals Himself and transforms the Israelites into “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation,” other nations can come to Israel and know God.