“I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people.”  Exodus 32:9

Our women’s Bible study continues trekking through Exodus with Moses and all those “stiff-necked” Israelites.  That’s a term we don’t hear much anymore.  It means rebellious, stubborn, haughty, unbending, difficult, pig-headed.  The image of an ox unwilling to yield and refusing to put its head through a yoke by stiffening its neck captures the meaning of this word.  I happen to know a few “stiff-necked” people; in fact, I know one really well: me.

But what if I put that rebellious streak to good use?  Instead of rebelling against God and His great goodness, what if I rebelled against evil and sin and all the bad stuff in this world?  What if, when I’m tempted to give in to my flesh, I say, “You can’t make me”?  What if, when I want to fly off the handle and let some hurtful words fly, I say, “Self, I refuse to give in to you”?  What if we were pig-headed and became intensely difficult people for Satan to deal with?  What if our Enemy just got sick of us because of our rebellion against him?  Can you and I be stubbornly committed to following Christ and put that stiff neck to good use? 

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  Matthew 11:29-30