Why Was Abraham Call the ‘the Friend of
God’?
“My friend.” That’s how God referred to the patriarch
Abraham (Isaiah 41:8).
What a remarkable relationship! A limited, physical, mortal being thought of
by the all-powerful, immortal, all-knowing, supreme God as His dearly loved
friend.
How was such a relationship possible? What constitutes that kind of
friendship? Have you every analyzed this
question?
You have many people in your life. You will no doubt encounter many more. Dozens, hundreds, even thousands of
individuals become acquaintances, but only some of them become close
friends. Why? Exactly what is a friend? What is friendship?
There are four items that are keys to
friendship and are the elements that God found in Abraham which caused God to
call him His friend.
Agreement
Think about it. Your very best friends - your “bosom buddies”
- are those who agree with you on the greatest number of really important
issues. Friends think alike. The constant clashing of opinions and
preferences does not make for a close relationship.
Read Amos 3:3. The answer, of course, is no. Two people walking together over a distance
must be in exact agreement as to where they are headed, the direction they are
going and the speed with which they are traveling. If they are not in precise agreement, after
going a short distance they will no longer be walking together.
Abraham walked with God. That means Abraham was in precise agreement
with God. He was in step all the way
with God. God said of him (Genesis 26:5,
read).
Abraham agreed with God. He did not follow the ways of the world of
his day. Being in agreement with the
world and its wrong ways is what the Bible terms “friendship of the world.” James wrote that (James 4:4, read). Abraham was not a friend of the world around
him. He forsook it, choosing rather to
be a friend of God.
Notice the account in Genesis 12:1-4. God told Abraham to leave his homeland, his
familiar surroundings. He was to come
out of the society - the “world” - of his time, just as Christians must be
willing to come out of the world today.
In obedience, through faith, Abraham “went
out, not knowing whither he went” (Hebrews 11:8). It was sufficient that God had told him to
go. “So Abram departed,” says Genesis
12:2.
Spiritually speaking, Christian must come
out of the world around them, forsaking it ways that are in opposition to God’s
ways, even though, physically they continue to live in the world (John
17:14-16).
Ability
to freely confide
Isn’t it true that your closet friends are
those individuals in whom you can best confide?
You can communicate your deep feelings and convictions to them, knowing
you have a supportive listener. You can
discuss what is on your mind, sharing your joys, your observations, your plans
and, yes, your regrets and sorrows. In
the most intense friendships, nothing needs be held back.
Jesus said to His disciples (John 15:15
read).
Best friends are not only persons in whom
you can confide, they in turn confide in you.
Trustful confidence is a two way street.
We ought to have that kind of relationship
with our God. God confides in us through
His Word and His Spirit. We must confide
in Him. We must spend time talking to
Him, pouring out our hearts to Him, telling Him “every detail of your needs in
earnest and thankful prayer” (Philippians 4:6).
Abraham was open with God and talked freely
to Him, as the biblical accounts of various events in his life show. Of him God could truly say, “I know him”
(Genesis 18:19). Abraham was not like
those talked about, who have a form of religion, who even do wonderful works,
but who never become really acquainted with God. (Matthew 7:23, read).
Loyalty
We have all heard of fair-weather
friends. When everything is going smoothly
they are pleased to be on friendly terms.
But as soon as problems develop or they have to give more than they
could possibly gain from a relationship, they suddenly become distant.
Even physical brothers and sister may
bicker and squabble. When a genuine
outside threat presents itself, however, they often close ranks and support
each other. Then, when the adversity has
passed, they may go back to squabbling again.
That’s why Solomon declared that real
friendship is a stronger bond than flesh and blood ties alone. He wrote that (Proverbs 17:17 read). Further, he stated that (Proverbs 18:24,
read).
This world is filled with lonely people -
people who have few or no real friends.
Perhaps at some time or another they were disappointed or betrayed by
other human beings, had hopes shattered, were disillusioned.
Real friends are loyal to each other when
the going is easy and when it is rough.
They support each other. And
sacrifice for each other.
Certainly, there are times when doing what
God commands us to do may not seem, judging by human reason alone (look at
Proverbs 14:12), to be best. This is
where loyalty is put to the test.
God commanded Abraham to slay, as a
sacrifice, his only son Isaac. Abraham
could have thought of many reasons why he should not slay Isaac. After all, if Isaac were to be killed, how
could God bless Abraham’s descendants?
And besides, killing another human is a sin, isn’t it? And also....And on and on.
But no, Abraham did as God commanded. He was loyal to his Creator. He proved his faith by his works. (James 2:23, read).
Dependability
A friend is dependable.
God says to us, “I will never leave you nor
forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). We can
depend on Him. Do we give Him reason to
believe the same of us, that we will never leave or forsake Him, that He can
depend on us?
How we as Christians cope with the trials,
obstacles and temptations of this life reveals to God to what extent He can
depend on us to do His will in the future.
He needs to know He can depend on us to do what is right before He can
grant us immortality and the awesome powers of the God family.
Probably Abraham’s willingness to slay his
son, more than any other single action, made him God’s friend - proved to God
that he could be depended on. “For now I
know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son,
from Me,” (Genesis 22:12).
Notice the words of Nehemiah 9:7-8 “You are
the Lord God, Who chose Abram,....You found his heart faithful before
You.” What a commendation.
If we walk with God, if we confide in Him
and let Him confide in us, if we are loyal to Him and if He sees He can depend
on us, then God will find our hearts faithful to Him also, just as He did the
heart of Abraham, His friend.
