“The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.”
(Exodus 33.11, NIV)
So I always read this and prayed that God and I could have this kind of relationship. That we could talk face to face. Check out what happens if we play the He game on that word friend.
[friend] 7453. Ao?©r rea{, ray¬¥-ah; or Aoy?©r reya{, ray¬¥-ah; from 7462; an associate (more or less close):‚Äîbrother, companion, fellow, friend, husband, lover, neighbour, x (an-)other.
or
7454. Ao?©r rea{, ray¬¥-ah; from 7462; a thought (as association of ideas):‚Äîthought.
so God talked to Moses like a brother, a fellow, a friend, like one talks to his own thoughts. I know how I talk to my own thoughts. I don’t hold anything back. I’m honest with my friend, husband, lover. That is how God spoke to Moses.
But what is the essense of reya? I pasted h onto the end of that word and did a search, and I found 7462, like it mentioned in the definition:
7462. hDo∂r ra{ah, raw-aw´; a primitive root; to tend a flock; i.e. pasture it; intransitively, to graze (literally or figuratively); generally to rule; by extension, to associate with (as a friend):—[and strange KJV-Hebrew idioms] break, companion, keep company with, devour, eat up, evil entreat, feed, use as a friend, make friendship with, herdman, keep (sheep)(-er), pastor, + shearing house, shepherd, wander, waste.
So the essence of being a brother companion, fellow, friend, husband, lover, neighbor,,, is to graze with, to shepherd, to tend to. God was Moses’ friend, not his teacher or his schoolmaster, but his friend. He led him on good paths, he restored his soul, he was God to Moses like He was to David, and this is what David said about Him:
“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
(Psalms 23.1-6, NIV)