Abraham - A Friend of God

Today, as you are a servant of God, and as you are a friend of God, and as you pray and intercede for others, the blessing of God will come to your life and the blessing of God will flow through your life as you draw near and walk with the Lord.

And now let's pray together. Father, we do pray that many people will be burdened by Your Spirit to share in the worldwide ministry of Back to the Bible. Thank You for raising up this ministry. And we pray, Father, that You will bless this ministry as it reaches around the world even today. And bless us now as we study the Word, and grant to us by Your Spirit the grace that we need, not just to understand the Word, but to apply it. I ask in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and for His sake, Amen.

Abraham is teaching us how to live in the school of faith. Now in chapters 18 and 19, the emphasis is on working. We're going to find a new word here: servant. In Genesis 18:3, Abraham calls himself "your servant." Genesis 18:5, "your servant." That word servant is used nearly 800 times in the Old Testament in one way or another, and here is Abraham, God's servant. 

Now in chapter 18, we discover that Abraham not only receives a blessing, but he is a blessing. And you'll recall that was a part of God's agreement with Abraham. He said, "Now you get out and you go where I want you to go, and you shall be a blessing. I will bless you and you shall be a blessing." Now, most of us are praying, "Oh God, give me a blessing, send me a blessing." We ought to be praying as well, "Make me a blessing." Because though it's wonderful to receive blessings from the Lord, it's also wonderful to be a blessing to others. 

In Genesis 18:1-8, Abraham is a blessing to the Lord. That may be a whole new concept to you, but it's true; he's a blessing to the Lord. And then in Genesis 18:9-15, he's a blessing to his wife, to his home. If a man is not a blessing to his own home, he's not going to be much of a blessing to the rest of the world. And then in the rest of this chapter, in Genesis 18:16-33, he is a blessing even to the lost and to the backslidden as he intercedes for Lot and for the people in Sodom. You can see how the concentric circles of blessing just ripple out through Abraham's life. At the very center, he's a blessing to the Lord, Genesis 18:1-8. Then he's a blessing to his own home, Genesis 18:9-15. Then he reaches out to other believers and even to a lost world there in the rest of the chapter. 

Genesis 18 beginning at verse 16: "Then the men arose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way. And the Lord said, 'Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.' And the Lord said, 'Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.'"

Abraham has been very busy taking care of his three guests. The Lord Jesus and two angels came to Abraham while Abraham was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day taking his afternoon nap. That's a good thing to do. He was 99 years old and he had every right to take a nap if he was tired. And it was rather unusual for pilgrims to be on the road during the heat of the day, but Abraham ran to meet them. And then he bowed down because he realized it was the Lord. He hastened and got Sarah and one of the young men busy putting together a lovely dinner. And then after he had laid the food out under the tree, he stood by the guests as they ate, just in case there was something else he needed to do. 

Well, Abraham is the busy, busy servant. He's running here and running there and giving orders and involving this one and that one. And the Lord blessed him for his service because the Lord said that Sarah was going to have a son. Now Sarah laughed at this. Back in Genesis 17:17, Abraham laughed when he heard that he was going to have a child and Sarah was going to have a child. He laughed in joyful faith. I think it was the laughter of delight. But in Genesis 18:12, it's the laughter of distrust. She is saying, "How can this be? It's impossible." But the Lord said to her, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" That's a good statement to get a hold of. Is anything too hard for the Lord? Of course, the answer is nothing is too hard for the Lord. 

Now Abraham the servant of God becomes Abraham the friend of God beginning at verse 16. Whenever I come to this passage, I am reminded of what the Lord Jesus had to say in John 15. John 15 beginning at verse 10: "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you." 

Now these verses beautifully parallel the life and ministry of Abraham. Abraham was doing what God commanded him. "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you." And that's what he was doing. In fact, the Lord Jesus said He's going to command his household after him. So here we have the servant-friends who not only serve their friend, but they listen to him and know what he is doing. Verse 15 of John 15: "No longer do I call you servants,"—that is slaves who are told go here, go there—"for a servant does not know what his master is doing." 

Now Abraham is going to find out what his master is doing because Abraham is a man of obedience, a man of faith, and a man of prayer. He's going to find out what his master is doing. In verse 2, Abraham ran to them. In verse 8, he stood by them. And now in verse 16, he's walking with them. The men rose from there and looked toward Sodom. Lot did that back in Genesis 13:10, didn't he? He lifted up his eyes and looked toward the well-watered plains of Sodom. But his was the look of desire; he wanted to go there. And now we find that the angels and the Lord are looking toward Sodom. I think it must have been a look of disgust. 

They had come down to investigate what is really going on there. You know, God is perfectly just. He doesn't judge until first He gets all the facts. We are not always that way. Sometimes we pass judgment with a lot less information. The Bible says that he who answers a matter before he hears it, it is foolishness and shame to him, says the Book of Proverbs. And God is not that way. God said, "I'm going to go down and find out if what I've been hearing is true." 

There'd been a great outcry from Sodom and a great outcry against Sodom. The sins of Sodom had testified to the Lord. And I'm sure there were some others who were testifying about the sins of Sodom. I wonder if the angels hadn't been telling Almighty God what's been going on down there in Sodom. And of course, Lot was in Sodom. We're told in 2 Peter 2 that Lot was a righteous man, and that his righteous soul was vexed by what he saw and heard there in Sodom. Now he shouldn't have been there. He was not there because God put him there. Joseph was in Egypt because God put Joseph in Egypt. And Daniel was in Babylon because God put Daniel there. And Esther was in Persia because God put her there. But Lot was in Sodom because Lot put him there. 

But I wonder if he wasn't crying out to God? His righteous soul was simply saying, "Oh God, this place is a sewer. It is filled with wickedness and godlessness." Well, Abraham goes with them. He's walking with the Lord. "And He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own. And the joys we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known." Do you walk with God and listen to Him and talk to Him? This is what we find Abraham doing. 

Abraham was the friend of God. Three times in the Bible Abraham is called the friend of God. 2 Chronicles 20:7, King Jehoshaphat is about to face a big army and he's just not able to fight against that big invading army. And so he prays and asks God to help. And in 2 Chronicles 20:7 he says, "Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever?" I like that. Jehoshaphat is saying, "Lord, this is Your land, we are Your people, Abraham was Your friend, now help us in the battle. Just help us in the battle." In the warfare of life, it's good to know that Jesus Christ is your friend. 

When you have to fight battles, it's good to know He's your friend. The second time you find Abraham called the friend of God is in Isaiah 41:8: "But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the descendants of Abraham My friend." Now Isaiah 41:10: "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." Yeah, when you're serving the Lord in all the work of life and the walk of life, it's good to know that Jesus is your friend. God is saying, "Now Abraham is My friend and I'm going to bless you and help you because Abraham was My friend." Well, if Jesus is your friend, you can be sure the Father is going to help you. He always enjoys helping the friends of His Son. 

The third time you find Abraham called the friend of God is in James 2:23. And here he's talking about faith and works. He's reminding us that we are not saved by faith plus works; we are saved by a faith that leads to works. James 2:23: "And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.' And he was called the friend of God." Now Lot was the friend of the world. Over in James 4:4, you have this contrast between the friend of God and the friend of the world. James 4:4: "Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." 

Now that's what Lot did. You see, Lot was a friend of the world. Lot was sitting in Sodom. We're going to find in chapter 19 he's going to be sitting in the gate of Sodom, one of the leaders in Sodom. He has given up his tent and he never had an altar that we could ever find. He's sitting in the darkness, not in the light. What a contrast. In Genesis 18, the Lord Jesus comes and has fellowship with Abraham. In chapter 19, He doesn't go to Sodom; He sends the angels. In chapter 18, Abraham is sitting in the light; it's noonday. In chapter 19, Lot is sitting in the gate of Sodom and it's evening. He's walking in the darkness. 

Abraham finds out what is going on. The angels have to come and tell Lot what is going on. Abraham outside of Sodom knows more about what's going on with Sodom than the people do who are in Sodom. This is always the way. The separated child of God who walks with the Lord knows what is going on. 

So God is going to chat now with Abraham and tell him what is going on. "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?" Of course not. Because we are not just simply servants; we are friends. When I used to work for the Rockwell Manufacturing Company, the president never came and told me what he was doing. He would change a building, he would build a building, he would make some changes in the office; he never told me about it. Why? I wasn't that important. But our God is not that way. Our God wants His people to know what is going on. 

Psalm 25. You ought to read Psalm 25 whenever you're facing a big decision. Psalm 25 and oh, let's begin at verse 8: "Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He teaches sinners in the way. The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies." Then in Psalm 25:12: "Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses." Verse 14—and you ought to mark this verse in your Bible—Psalm 25:14: "The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant. My eyes are ever toward the Lord." 

Now Psalm 25 says that God gives His secrets to those who fear Him, those who obey Him, those who are humble before Him. He does not hide His will; He shows it when we need to know it. Amos 3:7: "Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets." Amos 3:7. God, when He wants to do something, reveals what He's going to do, and He gives us the wisdom to understand it. 

Well, He doesn't hide anything from Abraham. He said, "Abraham is My friend. I know who he is, I know what he is, I have chosen him. I know that he is going to command his household and that they are going to give Me glory and do My will." By the way, it's interesting to note in verse 19 that Abraham was expected to command his household. As the spiritual leader in the home, he had some authority. And I think we should notice that today. What a beautiful picture of the ideal husband and father we have in Abraham. I know he had his mistakes and he had his failures like all of us, but look at him: a great man of faith walking with God, a man of prayer, a man of authority who lovingly and patiently commanded his household and led his household in glorifying the Lord. Ladies, if you have husbands like that, you rejoice, you give thanks, because that's the kind of a husband you want. And children, if you have fathers like that, you rejoice, because that's the kind of father God wants you to have. 

Well, sin had been crying out. The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah. We don't have to doubt what was going on in Sodom and Gomorrah because we are told. Ezekiel tells us in chapter 16 what was going on in Sodom and Gomorrah. Ezekiel 16 beginning at verse 49: "Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me." Now that's the sin whose name comes from the city of Sodom. Here we have pride and arrogance, haughty. Here we have fullness of food. You know, when people have a lot of food and a lot of idleness, they're going to get into sin. Immorality and idleness go together. Here was a city wholly given to sin. Wholly given to sin. 

In Genesis 13:13: "But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord." They were affluent, they were given over to sensual pleasures. The particular abomination and perversion that they were practicing is hateful to God. And God says, "I'm going to come down and see if what they are doing is really what I hear." 

Now Abraham stands between the Lord and Sodom. And in our next lesson, we're going to see Abraham the intercessor. Now these three ministries go together: Abraham the servant of God, Abraham the friend of God, Abraham the intercessor with God. If you want to be an intercessor, if you want to pray on behalf of other people and get God's blessing for them, then we have to be a friend of God and a servant of God. 

I've pointed out that Abraham illustrates the book of Ephesians. You find him sitting in verse 1, and then you find him walking in verse 16. You find him standing in verse 22, and in verse 2, you find him bowing. Now this summarizes the book of Ephesians. In Ephesians 1 and 2, we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies. Ephesians 3, Paul says, "I bow my knees to the Father." In Ephesians 4 and 5, you have the believer's walk. In Ephesians 6, you have the believer's stand. 

Abraham was able to be an intercessor because he was rightly related to God. He was the servant of God and he was the friend of God. I can't think of anything more wonderful than to be a blessing to other people. When God called Abraham, He said, "I'm going to bless you"—and that's good, we like that—"and I'm going to make you a blessing." We sing in one of our popular songs, "Make me a blessing, make me a blessing, out of my life may Jesus shine." 

Today, as you are a servant of God and as you are a friend of God, and as you pray and intercede for others, the blessing of God will come to your life and the blessing of God will flow through your life as you draw near and walk with the Lord. I can't think of a greater privilege than to be the friend of God. Not the friend of the world, but to be the friend of God, and to walk with God and talk with God and to claim God's blessing for others.