So Abram moved his camp to Hebron…

Genesis 13:18

Once Abram and Sarah left Egypt, they traveled with Lot to the Negev. This is the same place where Abram had built an altar and worshiped the Lord after God appeared to him and promised to give the land to his descendants (Gen. 12:7-9; 13:4). Soon the herdsmen of Lot and Abram began fighting because both had become very wealthy with flocks and cattle and the land couldn’t support them both. That’s when Abram and Lot decided to go their separate ways. Abram allowed Lot to choose first and he moved near Sodom and Abram settled in the land of Canaan. But he didn’t stay long because the people there were extremely wicked and constantly sinned against the Lord. So Abram moved his camp to Hebron and built another altar to the Lord.

Last week we talked about the priority of our friendship with God and how we want to enjoy Him and let our intercession come out of that friendship or that closeness. We talked about Abraham being a friend of God. This week, I want to expand on that theme by talking about Hebron which means “friendship, fellowship, or communion” Several things happened at Hebron that will help us understand how it can be a picture of the friendship God wants us to have with Him. We will refer to it as the “Mountain of Friendship”. Once again I am using Dutch Sheets book, The Beginners Guide to Intercession.

Hebron is the highest point in Israel. When we live and pray from God’s point of view, we might say we are living at Hebron, the mountain of friendship. One of the most important things we can learn as God’s friend is to intercede from His perspective. As we spend time with Him, we will begin to think like Him. Our intercession will reflect His heart and will guarantee success. It becomes a friendship and a partnership…you care about what’s on God’s heart and He cares about what’s on yours.

Hebron was also the home of Caleb who was a great warrior of Israel. He was one of the spies sent to check out Canaan, the promised land and he, along with Joshua, came back saying “We can do this” while the rest of the spies said, “The giants are too big for us”. Later, Joshua became the leader of the Israelites who led them into the promised land, and in Joshua 13, we find him distributing the land which still had not been conquered, to the different tribes of Israel. Caleb, from the tribe of Judah, asks for Hebron and Joshua gives it to him as his inheritance. Caleb was 85 years old at the time, but still strong…still a warrior for God, and he drove out the Anakites to aquire Hebron. Therefore, Hebron, the mountain of friendship, also becomes the mountain of the conquering warrior. Caleb was a warrior because of his friendship with God. When he received Hebron as his inheritance, it had been 45 years since he had gone in as a spy. During that whole time in the wilderness and now that they had crossed over into the promised land, he remained faithful to God. From our friendship with God, we too can become conquering warriors.

Recently I received a prophetic word that I think is also for us as we live at Hebron. The word describes a child’s video game where the character stands on the mountain with a sledge hammer destroying everything that’s in front of him that is hindering his progress. He clears the way before him. That’s what our prayers do…they destroy the work of the enemy and clear the way. What Caleb did in the physical realm to defeat the Anakites (who were giants), we do in the spiritual realm through prayer to defeat our enemy, the devil as well as the giants in our lives. When we partner with God through friendship, God will give us the victory!

Later, David was anointed king over Judah at Hebron. He ruled from Hebron for seven years before moving to Jerusalem. God wants us to rule and intercede with authority from Hebron. Our friendship with God will show us how.

Living at Hebron (being a friend of God) will become a place of refuge. Just like Hebron became one of six cities that were cities of refuge where a person could run to if they accidently took someone’s life and know they were safe, our friendship with God will be a place of refuge for us. God wants your friendship with Him to become a place of safety. “The Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run to it and are safe.” (Prov. 18:10). David continually ran to God for safety and God protected him and sustained him. David was a “man after God’s own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14; Acts 13;22).

Dutch Sheets says, “God’s heart is the same for us as it was for Abraham, Caleb, and David. As we learn to become intercessors for Him and with Him, He wants us to do this from Hebron, the place of friendship. The results of this relationship will be fulfillment for both God and us, and victories for many people. Intercession will become a passion, not a performance; a lifestyle, not a labor.”