In II Chronicles 20:7 Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, refers to Abraham in a prayer as a friend of God. Now this is worth noticing. Even Josephus, the famed historian, had great reverence for Jehoshaphat and said that he ‘imitated’ David. Here, in this prayer, he is calling on God and reminding him of his friend. What a wonderful thing it must be to be called a friend of God’s. It’s definitely a worthy ambition. After all, what friend is there better than God.
The freedictionary.com has a pretty good summation of the word friend. One that is commonly accepted is “a person known well to another and regarded with liking, affection, and loyalty; an intimate.” Abram (exalted father) was the birth name of Abraham (father of a multitude). The second name was God’s name for him (Genesis 17:5).
God first communicated with Abram when he told him to leave and go to a place He would show him (Genesis 12:1-4). Abram went (he was 75). The Lord appeared to him, he built an altar (Gen. 12:7). He leaves, returns to the altar and calls on the Lord (Gen. 13:4). After a falling out with Lot, Abram moves to Mamre and built an altar (Gen. 13:18). In Gen. 14:22 Abram gave God the credit for his great success and not the king of Sodom. In Gen. 17:1-5 God appeared to Abram, told him to walk before him perfect and changed his name to Abraham. And so it goes.
God and Abraham continued to communicate with each other. It was a close relationship. Abraham’s faith won the friendship of God. He was regarded with liking, affection, and loyalty: an intimate.
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