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In this Chapter, a famine is taking place in the land and Isaac takes his family to Gerar for the duration of the famine. During this time, the Lord blessed him and he was very prosperous. His herds and flocks grew and he became very powerful. Because of that power, the Philistines became afraid and jealous and asked him to leave their territory. They also filled in all of the wells that his father, Abraham, had dug. Isaac agreed to move his people away from Gerar. As he moved, he would dig a well. There continued to be fights over who the well belonged to, so Isaac would always leave the well and move on. Finally, he dug a well and no one fought him for it. He then knew that this was the place to stop.
As he began to prosper again, the king, Abimelech, and his advisors sought him out to form a treaty. Isaac was confused. He wondered aloud why they would want to form a treaty with him after they had sent him away. He was told that it was obvious that he was blessed and that they wanted to form a treaty with him so that war would never break out between them.
As always, the above summary pales in comparison to actually reading the chapter. There are sections before and after the referenced story, but this is the topic I was hoping to cover.
In leadership there are always struggles with other groups of people. In business, there are competitors that are trying to get your market. In sports, there are other teams trying to beat you. In this case, Isaac was being harrassed by people who were jealous of his wealth and prosperity.
Isaac had different options that he could have taken when he met this situation:
1. He could have defended his ground and fought for his wells. The problem with this option was that the land was never his in the first place. He came to this place due to a famine. What he was able to accomplish here was a gift to begin with.
2. He could have negotiated a deal to stay where he was. The problem with that option was that there would need to be policing of the agreement. As wells continued to be filled in, and other potential action taken, who would be responsible for monitoring the situation? What energy would have to be taken, just to monitor the agreement.
3. He could thank them for the opportunity, take what he had learned (and earned), and move to a different location, where there wasn't as much competition.
So many times, leaders allow their ego to get in the way. It is easy to think that the first two choices are the best ones. Isaac had done all the work, he should enjoy the benefits. However, what would the long-term chance of success have been? He would have always been dealing with confrontation. Instead Isaac decided to find an environment where he and his people could prosper, over the long term. There he was able to establish new wells and become more successful than he could have been where he was, because he now had room to grow. He grew so much, that the king who had initially sent him away, sought him out to form an oath with him.
What are the learning opportunities from this story?
1. Trust that the Lord will guide you to the right place.
2. Don't let your ego get in the way of making the right choice
3. When presented with a problem, consider the long term impact of your decision
4. When given the opportunity, do not make enemies. Don't quarrel over the "small wells"
5. Be open to forming partnerships, even if they come from people who you've delt with in the past.
6. When conflict arises, look for the opportunity to grow.
Isaac saw this as an opporutnity to establish his family in a place where they could prosper and grow. He looked to the Lord for guidance and then he followed the path. Where do you see conflict that could lead to opportunity? Should you leave an area of conflict to establish yourself in a better place for you to grow? Where can you make a partner where there used to be an adversary?
