Stiff-Necked: Unyielding Resistance to God

This article explores what it means to be stiff-necked — obstinate, unresponsive and unyielding — how God dealt with that attitude in Scripture, and His call to a soft and responsive heart instead.

What Stiff-Necked Means

A stiff-necked person is obstinate, unresponsive and unyielding. The phrase pictures an ox that stiffens its neck against the plough — the harder the farmer pulls, the more the animal resists. Pharaoh had a stiff-necked attitude. When told to let the Israelites go, he said, in effect, to God's servants, 'Who are you to tell me what to do' (Ex 5:2)?

Do I always think my way is best, and refuse to co-operate with others?

Israel's Persistent Rebellion

The Israelites were constantly like this – complaining, arrogant, and rebellious, not listening to God or responding to discipline (Ex 32:9, 33:3; Neh 9:16-17; Jer 17:23). Ultimately, because of this attitude, a time of judgement came upon them (Prov 29:1; Jer 19:15). After sin came into the world most people persistently rejected God's offer of salvation and disregarded the warning that by continuing in that rebellious way they would not enter into heaven (Heb 3:7-12).

Resisting the Holy Spirit

All human beings are created in God's image for the purpose of reflecting His glory as we walk in fellowship with Him (Gen 1:27; Eccl 12:13; Isa 43:7; Eph 1:11-12). Stephen boldly spoke out against the Jews saying, "You stiff-necked people…You are just like your fathers, you always resist the Holy Spirit" (Act 7:51). When the Holy Spirit speaks or brings conviction, don't resist but respond humbly to His voice and obey.

Pray 'Lord, help me not to be resistant but to be flexible in your service'

Are there any areas where the Spirit is challenging or convicting me — places where He has been speaking for a while, yet I have kept putting off surrender? It is a serious thing to hold out against the Holy Spirit, for God warned in the days of Noah, "My Spirit will not strive with man forever" (Gen 6:3). Every resisted prompting hardens the heart a little more; every delayed obedience makes the next response harder. The Spirit is patient, but His striving is not without end — the wise response is to yield today, while His voice can still be heard (Heb 3:7-8,15).

The answer to a stiff neck is not simply to stop resisting, but to become sensitive to hearing His voice. Sensitivity is cultivated, not switched on at will: it grows through daily time in His Word, through prayer that listens as well as speaks, and through quick, ungrudging obedience in the small things (Isa 50:4-5; Jn 10:27). The more readily we respond, the more clearly we hear; the more we delay, the duller the hearing becomes. And obedience is never a loss. Obedience brings the blessing — Jesus said that it is not those who merely hear His words who build on rock, but those who hear them and do them (Mt 7:24-25); "blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it" (Lk 11:28). Every act of yielded obedience softens the neck a little more and turns the stiff-necked posture of resistance into the willing walk of a servant.

An obedient reponse brings blessing

Reflection and Application:

Ask God to reveal any area where I am resisting Him or refusing to change.
Co-operate with others rather than insisting that my way is best.
Respond quickly and humbly when the Holy Spirit brings conviction.
Pray daily for a soft, flexible heart that yields to God's voice.