Abraham, the Friend of God

Given the information given about him in the Bible, we can think of many ways of describing Abraham. Paul, for example, calls him the father of the faithful, and we are not surprised that he has a prominent place in the famous chapter of faith, Hebrews 11. The Bible also tells us that Abraham was a prophet, which means that he was a spokesman for God when he was living in the Promised Land. Abraham was a predecessor of Jesus, and we can see his name in the genealogies of Christ given in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. He was the ancestor of the Jews, and there are not many nations from back then still in existence, but the descendants of Abraham are still a nation. After Abraham had spent years in Canaan, one of the local chieftains said about Abraham that he was a mighty prince when he asked them for land in which to bury his wife.

All these testimonies are very good, but I suppose the real test of who a person is depends on what God says about him. God called Abraham by a powerful and a precious title when he said about him, ‘Abraham, my friend.’ Twice in the Old Testament is he so called. Jehoshaphat mentioned the relationship in a prayer he made for divine help (2 Chron. 20:7). God himself mentions it through a prophecy of Isaiah that Abraham was his friend (Isa. 41:8). And James also says that Abraham was a friend of God (Jas. 2:23).

In the Isaiah passage, God said this expression several hundred years after Abraham had died, yet he seems to be describing Abraham as he was when on earth, and not as he is now in heaven. Of course, the friendship between God and Abraham is an endless one and there are aspects of it happening now, with many more to follow in the eternal ages ahead. But we cannot really know anything about the heavenly experience of the friendship whereas there are details, many details, given of the earthly friendship between God and Abraham. Indeed, quite a large proportion of the Book of Genesis is taken up with the story of their friendship. So we can consider briefly what we are told about it.

Commencement of the friendship

God and Abraham had not always been friends. Normally friends have to be introduced initially. But who was going to tell Abraham about God? It was the case that he lived in an advanced civilisation centred round Ur, but no one in that society knew about the true God. So not much help there. This was a bit surprising, however, given that not many generations had passed since the time of Noah and the flood. But then maybe it is not surprising. How many of us know what our great, great grandfather did or even where he lived? Or do we even know if he was a believer in Jesus?

The dilemma was solved by God introducing himself to Abraham. All we are told is that the God of glory appeared to Abram when he was about seventy years of age and told him about a new life that he could live, in a country he had never seen, and even if he had some knowledge of other countries God did not tell him where this land was. What made Abraham decide to go? The answer must be in what he saw of God and heard from him during that heavenly visit.

We are not told much about it apart from this description of God. What does it mean for him to be called the God of glory? Does it mean the God who possesses glory or the God who promises glory? Or does it include both ideas? Abram, which was his name to begin with, means ‘exalted father’ and it suggests that he had a bit of earthly glory. But when he met his new Friend, Abram discovered that prior to then he did not know very much about real glory. God said to him: ‘And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing’ (Gen. 12:2). In that divine announcement, there was an indication of divine power to bring about his great promises.

Content of the friendship

What was Abram like when the friendship began? As mentioned earlier, we don’t know much about his personal life at that time. But we are aware of a few things, and they can be summarised as he had no child, he had no territory, and he had no story to tell about his life. What could his friend do about those areas of his life?

One thing we can say about God and those areas of Abram’s life is that he did not do anything about them immediately. Indeed, he took decades to do anything, at least from an observer’s point of view. Imagine a person from Ur meeting Abraham twenty years after he had left Ur. What would that individual have seen? Instead of living in a city, he was living in the country. Instead of a house he had a tent. True, he had a small community living round him, as many people had at that time. What had his Friend done for him? From one point of view, it did not look a lot. Have you even felt that God takes too long to do something?

Shortly after arriving in Canaan, God said to Abram, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’ At least, Abram now knew that he had reached the unknown country. But then there were several years of silence. Then one day, his Friend came to see Abram and informed him that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and he also made a covenant with him in order to confirm it, in which he specified the nations who would be removed to make way for his descendants. In that covenant enactment, when he walked through the sacrifice, God indicated that he would do what it would take to keep his promise, which was a very striking and startling revelation from above. But that was all Abram had to go on – the promises of God and a dramatic enactment by him when making a covenant involving his friend.

A few years later, God made two visits to Abraham within a short period. In the first visit he told Abraham that he would become a father of a son through Sarah the following year. Abraham’s response was to laugh with delight. (During the second visit at that time, Sarah heard the same promise, and she too laughed, but not with delight.) For the first time for Abraham, the time fulfilment of a promise was specified. And he laughed as a response of faith.

I suppose we can say that laughter can sometimes be a sign of pleasure, or recognition that an action is just what you would expect your friend to do. Some people give a quiet chortle when they are told about an action of someone because they recognise that what he or she did was just what someone else would have expected. Has your soul ever laughed with delight when you come across a promise in the Bible that you never read before, but which is just what you would expect God to do?

Commitment by Abraham to the friendship

Abraham’s commitment was seen in several ways, and we can consider a few incidents in which it is seen. First, we can think about when he was called to offer up his son Isaac as a sacrifice. That was a perplexing occasion, to say the least. It seemed to be a contradiction of all that he knew about God. It also threatened the fulfilment of God’s promises about the future because Isaac was needed for their fulfilment. Still, he took God at his Word. In Hebrews, we are informed that he believed God would raise Isaac from the dead. The challenge to us is if we will take God at his Word and not quibble at his instructions. We are not given such a demand as Abraham faced, but do we have the same confidence in God’s power?

A second occasion of Abraham’s commitment occurred later when he was looking for a wife for Isaac, which may have been the custom or the father’s responsibility at that time. He did not want Isaac to marry any of the pagan women who lived in Canaan. So he sent his servant back to his homeland to find a wife. We know that God directed the servant to find the woman that God had planned for Isaac. Abraham had no way of influencing that decision, but he left it in God’s hands and his faith was rewarded. I suppose the challenge we face is whether to trust God when we can see nothing ahead.

A third occasion that illustrates Abraham’s commitment to the friendship is seen in his response to the offer of the King of Sodom to give him a share of the booty that Abraham had recovered when he rescued Lot after he had been captured by some invaders from the East. When Abraham returned with Lot and the stolen items, the King of Sodom suggested that Abraham take some of the items for himself. Perhaps we are surprised to see Abraham refusing to take it, and maybe we question his reason for his decision. He did not want anyone but God to have the credit for giving any blessings to him. That outlook is quite a challenge in a world in which people desire credit for things.

Abraham’s collapse of faith

Strangely, we might think given his usual outlook of dedication to God’s will, Abraham’s faith failed twice and in almost identical ways when there was the possibility that he would suffer personally. On two occasions when he was in another country, he pretended that Sarah was not his wife, which could have been dangerous for her obviously, and for him when the rulers found out about his deception, which they did.

How did God deal with his failing friend? He protected Abraham from himself when he was willing to risk Sarah, and he prevented either Pharaoh or Abimelech from harming either Sarah or Abraham. Perhaps we are surprised at God doing this instead of punishing Abraham. We can say that his Friend became almost like his advocate. God did not approve of Abraham’s sin, but neither did he abandon him. Instead he let Abraham have the experience we have when Jesus acts as our Advocate when we sin.

But his faith also seemed to have been weak after he had defeated the alliance of kings who had invaded the area and captured Lot. Maybe he assumed that those kings might return and take revenge or even that the king of Sodom might be angry because Abraham had refused to acknowledge his position. Whatever the case, God appeared to him and said to him, ‘Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.’ Or ‘I am your shield and your exceeding great reward.’ Here is a promise of protection and prosperity. How much power does God promise Abraham when he said that he would be his shield? Equally, how much prosperity does God promise Abraham when he said that he would have the Lord as his reward.

God’s confiding in Abraham

We recall the occasion when God and Abraham spoke together about God’s intention to punish Sodom for its sins. Before Abraham began to intercede for the citizens, God said this, in the Rotherham translation: ‘Am I going to hide from Abraham what I do, when Abraham shall surely become, a great and mighty nation, — and all the nations of the earth, shall be blessed in him? For I have become his intimate friend, to the end that he may command his sons and his house after him, so shall they keep the way of Yahweh, by doing righteousness and justice’ (Gen. 18:17-19). Abraham was not perfect, but the Lord revealed his plans to him. He was determined to keep the way of the Lord. And Jesus did say to his disciples, ‘You are my friends if you do what I command you’ (John 15:14).