The Story of God: Friend of God

“A friend is someone who is always there for you.”  “A friend is someone you can confide in, or be your true self with.”  “A friend is someone you can pick up right where you left off even if you haven’t seen them for a few years.”  “A friend is someone who believes in you, trusts you, but at the same time knows you well enough that they can even make fun of you.”

We all need friends like that. We all need to be friends like that. But did you know that God wants to be a friend like that to you?   That’s what we’re going to discover today as we return to the story of God and Abram’s Journey of faith. In fact, in Abram’s journey we’ve reached a point in his relationship with God where Abram does something so significant, that from this point on he is known as a friend of God.

1. He is a Friend who will Be There for You to Calm Your fears: After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” Genesis 15:1

2. He is a Friend who will be There for You to Listen to Your struggles:  But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” Genesis 15:2-3

3. He is a Friend who will Be There for You to Speak Truth to You:  Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” Genesis 15:4

4. He is a Friend who will Be There for You to Come Alongside You:  He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:5-6

5. He is a Friend who will Go the Extra Mile to Encourage Your Faith:  He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” Genesis 15:7

6.  He is a Friend who will Go the Extra Mile to Alleviate Your Doubts:   But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” Genesis 15:8

He does two things. First, He instructs Abram to bring him a heifer, a goat and a ram, along with a dove and a young pigeon. By doing this He is setting up a covenant with Abram that will serve as a binding contract guaranteeing that the land will become his. By cutting this covenant God removes any doubt about how the promise of the land will come about. He makes a covenant with Abram to insure this will happen.

Second, in the midst of a deep sleep, God shows Abram when the possession of the land will come about. His descendants will become strangers in a foreign country. They will be mistreated and serve as slaves for 400 years. And then they will come back to this land. Abram will not live to see this part of the promise fulfilled, but will go to his ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. So the fulfillment of the promised land will come to Abram’s offspring sometime in the future. But Abram will still enjoy a long life in the land.

But then God does something profound. He cuts the covenant Himself. Listen to the description written in the text: When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.” Genesis 15:17-20

As an act of pure grace, God walks the sacrificial pathway Himself, obligating Himself to fulfill His unconditional covenant with Abram…removing all doubt that the promise of the land will come about. And in so doing, He is a Friend who Goes the Extra Mile to Secure Abram’s Future.