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At the beginning of this chapter God calls Abraham and tells him to take his only son to the top of a “mountain to be named later” and sacrifice him in a burnt offering. Abraham does not ask any questions, packs some wood, a couple of servants, and his son Isaac, and heads to the mountains. At the given time, the Lord tells Abraham what mountain to head toward, and Abraham tells his two servants to wait with the donkeys, that He and Isaac will go from there. Isaac is starting to get suspicious and asks his father “we have the wood, but what are we going to sacrifice?” Abraham responds, “God will provide himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” When they get to the top of the mountain, Abraham builds the altar, binds his son, and prepares to kill him with a knife. At the last moment, an angel appears and tells Abraham to stop what he is doing and let his son down. Abraham notices a ram struggling in the bushes off to the side and prepares the animal to take his son’s place.
You may ask yourself, “Why would a leader ask one of their followers to do something like that?” Or “As a leader, what can I learn from this Chapter?” Let’s focus on the second question. Only a very strong leader could have one of their people follow these instructions, without even a second thought. Imagine the thoughts that could be running through Abrahams mind. He had waited 90 years for a son, and now he was being asked to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering. Here is what I think put Abraham’s fears to rest:
1. God had built trust with him over time. God had always delivered on his promises to Abraham, and Abraham always ended up better than when he started.
2. God had promised Abraham more descendants, then stars in the heavens. Why would God do anything to harm Abraham or his family?
3. Abraham had hope. When asked where the sacrifice was, Abraham responded, “God will provide himself the lamb…” Abraham held to the hope that God would find a better solution.
4. He was thankful for the gift. Isaac would never have been in Abraham’s life if God hadn’t worked a miracle. Therefore, Abraham was just thankful for the time that he had with his son, and if God wanted to take him back, then so be it.
So far we have discussed the attributes of a great follower. Wouldn’t we all want someone like Abraham to do as we ask….Well, perhaps if we follow God’s lead we can.
1. Build and foster trust with your people. The leader/follower relationship is forged with trust and experience. That doesn’t mean that you have to be in command for a set amount of time, but you do need to prove to your followers that you are going to treat them with respect, integrity and honor.
2. Help your people get what they want. Find out what your people’s goals and dreams are and do your best to help them accomplish them. In this case, God helped Abraham and Sarah have a son. For that, the couple would always be grateful and honor their leader.
3. Don’t be afraid to make a “Big Ask” of your people. Let’s pray that you will never need to ask someone to give up a life for you, but there are other things that you may need that seem like they are too much to request. Evaluate how the result will impact the relationship and make the “Big Ask” if appropriate.
4. Always try to have an alternative option if the situation changes. In the above example, God had a ram caught in the bushes that was made available when Abraham was asked to let Isaac down. When you make a request and later decide to change the course, which may impact someone, do your best to give them alternatives.
In this chapter, God asks for the ultimate sacrifice from Abraham, the sacrifice of his only son. Abraham doesn’t even blink before he is willing to offer Isaac up, if that what the Lord wants. We find out later in The Bible, that God is never going to ask someone to do what he is not willing to do. (Anther great attribute of a leader) God sacrifices his only Son, because it was needed to save the world.
When hard decisions arise and tough requests have to made, ask yourself: “Have I built up the necessary trust to make a ‘Big Ask’?” “Are there any alternatives that I can offer that still get the goal accomplished?” “Would I be willing to do the same thing if it were requested of me?”
The answers to these questions, along with prayer, will guide you to make the best decision possible.
