AS A MAN SPEAKETH UNTO HIS FRIEND

The background is the incident of the golden calf. There was a subsequent plague and the threat of the divine presence being substituted by that of an angel. In these circumstances Moses pitched a tent at a distance from the camp as a venue for a meet­ing with God, v. 7. He enjoyed the loyalty of his servant Joshua, v. 11; he enjoyed the respect of the people as they stood to atten­tion as he passed them, v. 8: but beyond both of these he enjoyed the friendship of God, v. 11. God communicated with him ‘face to face’. This must be interpreted as relating to God’s presence in the tent. God was speaking to Moses in proximity to him, rather than remotely from heaven, for in this very chapter He declared, ‘Thou canst not see my face’, v. 20. Normally, God communicated by dreams and visions or ‘dark speeches’, but with Moses things were different, Num. 12. 6-8; Moses was unique, Deut. 34. 10.

Unlike the master/servant relationship, friends communi­cate and share confidences, John 15. 15. Theophilus was a man whose name means, ‘friend of God’. A friend of God would want to know about the Son of God, and so, through the Gospel by Luke, God shared with His friend many unique details about the life of His dear Son. A friend of God would want to know about the work of God, and so God gave him the Acts of the Apostles. As friends of God, let us have the same interests.

The greatest demonstration of friendship is ‘a man laying down his life for his friends’, John 15. 13, 14. The Lord Jesus Christ expressed that kind of friendship. Our friendship for Him is evidenced in obedience to Him, ‘Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you’. Obedience makes love for Christ apparent, for ‘a friend loveth at all times’, Prov. 17. 17. ‘If ye love me, keep my commandments’, John 14. 15.

Like us, Abraham was ‘the Friend of God’, Jas. 2. 23. There must be loyalty about that friendship, precluding ‘the friendship of the world’, Jas. 4. 4. God demands undivided affection.

Friendship with Christ does not exempt us from life’s trials, for of Lazarus He said, ‘Our friend Lazarus sleepeth’, John 11. 11. However, for His friends it is all ‘for the glory of God’, v. 4.