Face to Face

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. Exodus 33:11

Then He said, "Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, [I], the LORD, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. Not so with My servant Moses; He [is] faithful in all My house. I speak with him face to face, Even plainly, and not in dark sayings; And he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid To speak against My servant Moses?" Numbers 12:6-8

But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face. Deuteronomy 34:10

Each of these verses mentions God speaking to Moses face to face. Now according to Exodus 33:18-23 we know that Moses didn't actually see God face to face, for to see His face would mean death.

And he said, "Please, show me Your glory."Then He said, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."But He said, "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live." And the LORD said, "Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen." Exodus 33:18-23

Moses got closer to God than others did, and this is what leads me to believe that "face to face" is more of a representation of the intimacy between the two. He was in God's presence and he continually sought to do God's will. Moses, like Abraham, is referred to as a friend. I like that. I don't know about you, but to me the term friend means there was a deep trust. A friend loves without condition. They don't abuse the relationship. Many times over the years I've had those who would call me friend, but who didn't display the traits I wanted in a friend. The only time they ever called was when they wanted something. Any other time they were nowhere to be found. I don't consider those true friends, and based on scripture I can feel confident in saying that God doesn't either.

I suppose the point I'm trying to make here is that if we want to be considered the friend of God, then we need to act like one. We need to communicate with Him, to get to know Him intimately. That means we need to study His Word and to pray. We need to stop seeking His hand and be diligent to seek His face. So many times we only pray when we want something from God. That's not what He desires. Reading the Bible enables us to come to know the nature and character of God, to know who He is. Like a friend, we discover the things that He likes and dislikes. We will talk to Him, but we will also listen. A one sided relationship is not what true friendship is all about. God loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for us. He has blessed us far beyond anything we could ever do for Him. Is it really too much to ask for us to spend a little time with Him?