Skip to main content

Friendship With God

Of all the things written about Moses, an Old Testament man of faith, the thing that strikes me the most is that the Lord used to speak to Moses as a man speaks to his friend.

Here is the account and it attests, for all time, of this remarkable relationship:   “Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.”  (Ex 33:11)

It is highly unlikely that any of us will be able to enjoy seeing God in that special tent that Moses and Joshua had access to in their day.  Yet, amazingly and perhaps almost incomprehensibly, we can still have a friendship with God.  In fact, God made a covenant of friendship:  “Even if the mountains are removed and the hills displaced, my devotion will not be removed from you, nor will my covenant of friendship be displaced,” says the Lord, the one who has compassion on you.  (Isa 54:10)

Moses is not our only example of a person who experienced God’s friendship, Job described a time when he experienced it:  “just as I was in my most productive time, when God’s intimate friendship was experienced in my tent,”  (Job 29:4)  Some Biblical scholars believe that wording in the original language suggests a circle of close or intimate friends.

The Psalmist, in Psalm 25, wrote that a friendship with God is possible for all:  “The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.”  (Verse 14 in the ESV)

That same verse in the Amplified reads as follows:  “The secret [of the sweet, satisfying companionship] of the Lord have they who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its [deep, inner] meaning.”

Whether the word “friendship” or the phrase “the sweet, satisfying companionship” resonates with you, either way, it is both amazing and almost incomprehensible that we can have such a relationship with God.  But it’s true!

So fear Him in all the right ways.  Revere Him.  Worship Him.  Enter into and enjoy a friendship/companionship with God!

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Can't Get No Satisfaction

One of the songs that were popular in my youth was not particularly upbeat or helpful but it probably did express some of the angst of my generation.  It was not one that particularly resonated with me but as I recently read the book of Haggai, it did come to mind, well, at least some of the lyrics did.  It was the Rolling Stones song with the lyrics “I can’t get no satisfaction”.  Take a look at the chorus of that bleak song:   I can't get no satisfaction; I can't get no satisfaction; Gonna try and I try and I try and I try; I can't get no - I can't get no –   Now take a look at Haggai 1:6 – “ You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” It sure sounds like the people of Judah couldn’t get any satisfaction with the things of life that normally should have brought some type of s...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Horse Of Course

In Biblical times, horses represented military power and strength.  And if you had both horses and chariots, well, that was the ultimate of military powers and wars were often won with them. Yet in seeking to have what would normally be considered insurmountable military strength, there was one factor that was often overlooked.  The Psalmist made it clear what that factor was when he wrote:  “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”   (Ps 20:7) While Israel did at times trust in the name of the Lord, there were other times when they tried to trust in horses and chariots to win their battles.  This is what the Lord spoke to Israel through the prophet Isaiah:  “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,   who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots   and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord .”  ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stouthearted!

Steve the Stouthearted; it has a nice medieval ring to it, maybe even middle earth overtones.  I noticed that word “stouthearted” recently in Psalm 138, verse 3:   “When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted.”   (NIV, 1973) The word stouthearted is used in the Bible to describe individuals who exhibit courage, determination, and resilience, often in the face of adversity or opposition. This characteristic is seen as a virtue, reflecting steadfastness in faith and purpose. The stouthearted are those who remain firm in their convictions and are not easily swayed by fear or doubt (from The Bible Hub website). And yet to be bold and stouthearted for most is not something that just comes naturally, we need the Lord to make us bold and stouthearted.   And, from the verse above, it appears that he does so in response to us calling on him.   So it probably wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say that those who have been made bold and stouth...
Post a Comment
Read more