When King Jehoshaphat was in despair he cried out to God saying “Didst Thou not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before Thy people Israel, and give it to the descendants of Abraham Thy friend forever?” Abraham had a unique standing with God; a friend for God forever. In the New Testament James confirms the Old Testament passage by saying that Abraham was called a friend of God.
God created man to enjoy and fellowship with, but man failed God in the covenant promise. God gave man a good place to live ‒ the Garden of Eden. God gave man good water and food and he gave man a good job tending the garden. A good God to the man he created. God instructed man not to do one thing, which is what I mean by a covenant relationship. Man disobeyed God and the favorable covenant relationship was broken.
Some historians estimate that during the past 5000 yrs. over 8000 covenants have been made and broken between nations. The average time they remained in force was two years. The number of wars that resulted was 14,531 and 3,640,000,00 people were killed. God made a covenant with mankind during the creation order and I believe it remains in effect to this day. By all rights God should have destroyed the human race, which would have served justice, but God had compassion on the sinful race and let them live with a promise of hope and redemption. In 1 Peter 1:18-20 we hear these words. “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver and gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.” From these verses Christians find the assurance that God’s plan from eternity past is effective in the present day. The Bible teaches that God sent forth His Son in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons and receive the Spirit of His Son in our hearts. When God adopts a son (or a daughter) it is a permanent relationship. It is then that you become a friend of God forever. Christian friends, we are to rejoice in knowing that we are friends of the creator of the Universe. If God be with us we shall never be alone, nor shall we feel lonely. If God be with us, He will not be inactive on our behalf. He will provide for us so that we shall not be needy or destitute. He will preserve us so that we shall not perish. There is an old English proverb that says, “He cannot be poor who has the Lord Mayor for his uncle.”
We may rather say, “He cannot be poor who has God for his friend. The Psalmist surely knew what friendship with God was like when he said, “I have been young and now I am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Or his descendants begging bread.”
Martin Murphy Books 