Exodus 33:11 So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.

Should we consider it strange that God would characterize His relationship with a man as friendship? Abraham also met face to face with God …In another place the relationship between Abraham and God is characterized as one of friendship.

2 Chronicles 20:7 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?

Jesus said His disciples were His friends.

John 15:15  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 heard from My Father I have made known to you.

We also enjoy a special relationship with God as we have been blessed with revelation through our Bibles and through the Holy Spirit.

1 John 2:20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.

What a privilege it is that our relationship with God is one of friendship. Speaking of relationship, the relationship that Moses has with God is phrased a “face to face” relationship and it’s the kind of relationship we should have with God as well. God is not interested in any other kind of relationship but a face to face relationship with you. A face to face relationship is an intimate relationship characterized by conversation in which intimate cares and thoughts are shared, questions are asked and answers are given. You can have a face to face relationship with God by being disciplined to meet with him every day in worship, reading and meditating on His Word, and through prayer. Setting aside a time and place to meet with God is something that takes discipline. One effect of Moses placing his tent outside the main camp was that anyone who wanted to seek the Lord would prove their desire by going to this special place.

There’s an interesting contrast in Exodus 33 between men who only stood and watched from their tent door and Moses who desired to press in to his relationship with God as well as Joshua. Joshua had a divine craving for fellowship with God, for instruction from God and for doing the work of God … So much so that he remained at the tent. We will see later that Joshua’s intimate relationship with God will result in his leading Israel into the promised land. Because both Moses and Joshua committed themselves to press in to God’s call on their life we have a beautiful picture created for us of salvation through Jesus. You see, Moses will lead Israel up to but not into the promised land just as the law can only lead us to realize our need for salvation but cannot meet that need. It was only Joshua or Yehoshua that could lead Israel into the promised land just as it is only Jesus or Yeshua (the shortened version of Yehoshua) that can bring us into salvation.