Abraham is the only person in the Old Testament who was called the friend of God (Isaiah 41:8). Some have suggested that “friend” is a covenant term since it was Abraham with whom God established an unconditional covenant that became a blessing for Abraham’s physical and spiritual descendants. David and Jonathan became the best of covenant friends (1 Samuel 18:1-4; 20:1-42), mirroring the words of Proverbs 18:24: “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

Moses was another covenant partner with God—a man with whom God spoke “as a man speaks to his friend.” The covenant intimacy of all these friends—God and Abraham, God and Moses, David and Jonathan—was greatly expanded by Christ when He told His disciples that they were no longer servants but were His friends (John 15:13-15). This friendship is also based on a covenant of promise—the new covenant established on His blood “shed for many” (Mark 14:24).

If you have faith in Christ, you are among the “many” who are counted as the friends of God. Don’t fail to enjoy that friendship today!

How good is the God we adore, our faithful, unchangeable Friend!
Joseph Hart