Fight or Withdraw
Genesis 26:12-33 NIV
Isaac had a real problem on his hands. Every time he tried to settle down and live a peaceful life, along came the Philistines and stopped up his wells. Each time, rather than fight, he moved on and dug new wells at another location. That's a little hard to understand, isn't it? Isaac was a wealthy and powerful man. He had an army at his command, a well-trained army that he had inherited from his father. When the Philistines stopped up his wells, it was the same as a formal declaration of war. So the Philistines had declared war on Isaac three times. And each time, rather than stand and fight, Isaac withdrew to a new location. Even though he knew his presence was a threat. Even though his enemies acknowledged that their reason for chasing him off was that he had become too powerful. Even though he knew he could fight and win. Isaac withdrew.
Many times in our own lives we are faced with a choice between standing to fight or withdrawing. For most of us, it's hard to back down, especially when we know we're right. Especially when others have wronged us. Especially when we know we could win or at least give the other person a run for his money. So why back off? Let's look at what happened with Isaac.
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If he had fought, he possibly would have won. But at a tremendous loss of life and property. And a fight - even if he won - would have left him to live victoriously in the midst of his enemies... always under the threat of another fight. But because, this time, Isaac chose the peaceful alternative, he gained the respect of his enemies. They could see he was a man of God (v. 28) and asked him for a peace treaty.
Sometimes we should stand our ground. But other times, it would be better to withdraw, even at the loss of position or authority. When you're faced with such a choice, ask God for His wisdom in knowing what to do.
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