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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!

 

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