Have you ever seen an infant refusing to do what mom and dad want? They will stiffen their bodies and their necks as if they could actually resist the will of the parent. Interesting how we do that with God. There is something that His word says we should do and we just refuse. On a small note, as a pastor I can see the resistance build in people especially when I bring up Wednesday evening prayer meeting, Sunday evening worship, or sadly even the need to be on time to worship God. Being stiff-necked is not something new, it was an attitude with which God had to deal with as He led the children of Israel.
Exodus 32:9 (ESV) — 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.
Moses, likewise, recognized the stiff-neckedness of the people.
Exodus 34:9 (ESV) — 9 And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”
Deuteronomy 9:6 (ESV) — 6 “Know, therefore, that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people.
The stubbornness to follow God did not stop with the generations that came out of Egypt, as later on King Hezekiah found the people were also being stubborn about gathering for worship.
2 Chronicles 30:8 (ESV) — 8 Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the Lord your God, that his fierce anger may turn away from you.
Stephen concluded the same about the religious leaders and others in his day as he gave defense of the Gospel but was eventually stoned to death. Notice his conclusion of the condition of the people.
Acts 7:51 (ESV) — 51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.
In unpacking the stiff-neckedness, it is important to glean from the insight of Stephen. They were stiff-necked because they were resisting the Holy Spirit. That seems to be the onset of a backsliding journey. It begins when you hear something in a sermon or read something in the word of God that you don’t like and you say, “no.” Instead of being in tune with the Spirit, you quench the Spirit when you resist His call to change or to move forward. No wonder the apostle Paul admonished the church at Thessalonica to make sure they did not quench the Spirit. When you quench the Spirit, you resist the Spirit and that resistance means you are stiffening up and refusing to budge.
1 Thessalonians 5:19 (ESV) — 19 Do not quench the Spirit.
It gets worse! When we live resisting and quenching the Spirit, we fall trap to grieving the Spirit. Think of how parents are grieved when their children do not heed their warnings and their teaching and do exactly the opposite. It’s like sticking a dagger in the heart. Notice the particular action that grieves the Holy Spirit:
Ephesians 4:30–32 (ESV) — 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Don’t be stiff-necked. You can stop the stiffness before you go into resistance, quenching, and finally grieving the Holy Spirit. Simply take heed to the admonitions from the Word of God and from God’s people. Pray for a teachable and tender spirit that wants to learn, grow, and move forward. Whenever you sense that stiffness beginning to build up, ask God to help you repent. There’s a great example of a teachable spirit in the Bereans.
Acts 17:10–11 (ESV) — 10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
By the way, stiff-neckedness is a sign of pride and that is something that God hates. In addition to sensing God’s distain in the scriptures above, you can understand His clear declaration. Notice the first on the list is a proud look.
Proverbs 6:16–19 (ESV) — 16 There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, 19 a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.
Stubbornness or stiff-neckedness is simply pride in refusing God by resisting the Holy Spirit, quenching the Spirit, and grieving the Spirit and will take you farther away from fellowship with God with each resistance. In a state of backsliding, you may not recognize things as you drift farther and farther away. Notice the description from the book of Judges.
Judges 2:19 (ESV) — 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways.
God calls all of us to do a self-examination on our status. Are we stiff-necked? Instead of blatantly refusing and resisting, do we conveniently ignore the commands of God, putting it off to a more convenient time that we don’t see happening any time soon?
Don’t be stiff-necked. Seek to be pliable by being ready to serve God and His people.
Godspeed,
Bob Brubaker, Pastor
Christ Community Presbyterian Church
Clearwater, FL
Check out the PowerBreak podcast, wherever you download podcasts, or at www.bobbrubaker.com.
