Why is Abraham Called the Friend of God?

In the Bible, Abraham is the only person in the Old Testament who is called the friend of God (2 Chron 20:7, Isa 41:8).  Even Moses to whom God spoke face to face was still called “my servant Moses” (Num 12:7-8).  So, I can’t help but wonder what it is that makes Abraham more than just a great servant of God like Moses and the prophets–the other great men in the Old Testament?  Well, I can’t speak for God, but personally I believe that it’s because Abraham shared a common burden with God.

The Sacrifice of Abraham

Abraham had many encounters with God throughout his journey to the promised land. In one of those instances, God told him to sacrifice his son Isaac. Many people disdain this scripture and can’t believe in a God who would ask such a thing. Even I have a hard time as a father envisioning being able to obey God in such a scenario. However, I think that these people are failing to look at the bigger picture.

Indeed, it must have been very confusing to Abraham to have God ask him to take his child, who God had promised would be the child of promise and father many nations, and sacrifice him. However, we see in Hebrews that Abraham believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead. He did not believe God would go back on His promise about Isaac:

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death. (Heb 11:17-19, NIV emphasis added)

Notice the emphasis that I have added. God asked him to sacrifice his one and only son. This wasn’t just a simple test.  This was a foreshadowing of what God Himself was going to do at the cross. This is THE big picture. It’s what everything in the Bible hinges on. It wasn’t merely asking a man to do something horrible, it was a revelation about God…that God would not ask us to do such things, but would instead provide a sacrifice for us. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,” (John 3:16, NIV, emphasis added).

So, I don’t think that Abraham was called God’s friend merely because he obeyed God to the utmost limit, but also because in that moment he shared with a piece of God’s own heart. Through that willingness to sacrifice his greatest treasure, Abraham shared a glimpse into what God was willing to do for our sakes.  Like men in combat who suffer together create bonds that last a lifetime, so too this sacrifice created a bond between two fathers, and he was the friend of God.

The Lord Will Provide

Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad. (John 8:56, NIV, emphasis added)

I’ve always found it interesting here that Jesus used the past tense, as if Abraham had seen Jesus’ day back in the past. It does not say this in Genesis when Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice, but I speculate that somehow Abraham saw Jesus’ sacrifice on that day when he was going to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. In that moment, he realized from the pain of the sacrifice that he had been about to make, the sacrifice that God Himself was going to make on our behalf. And on that day, he called that place “The Lord Will Provide.”

Friends of Jesus

You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit-fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other. (John 15:14-17, NIV)

I do not think that God the Father nor Jesus the Son throw the term “friend” around lightly. However, here Jesus calls those who obey his commands his friends. It may seem contradictory that He says we are friends and not servants IF we obey Him. However, there is no escaping the fact that He is the creator of the universe who is in charge of everything and we are a creation. An employee can be friends with his employer, but he still has to do his job.

However, I believe this is more than simple obedience. Like the bond that Abraham and God shared through their mutual willingness to sacrifice, I believe that Jesus is our friend when we share in the cross. Jesus asks us to die to our old selfish desires and to live to love other people as He does–to share in His life’s mission. He died on the cross to seek and save the lost. If he was willing to go through such drastic measures to save those who are lost, can we not–out of gratitude–sacrifice some of our own selfish desires for the sake of loving others?

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Gal 2:20-21, NIV)