Stiff-Necked

 by Macy Johnson

“You stiff-necked people,

with uncircumcised hearts and ears!

You are just like your fathers;

You always resist the Holy Spirit!”

(Acts 7:51 NIV)

 

Stephen’s speech to the Sanhedrin left him in a tough spot. A few verses later in the book of Acts, he was stoned to death.

 

What does stiff-necked mean? A dear friend forwarded an email with a poignant definition. The words are not a vague accusation of being stubborn or difficult. They are a picture drawn from an ox plowing in a field.

 

Qesheh Oref is Hebrew for hard, stiff, unyielding in the back of the neck. When a farmer plows, he turns the ox one way or the other by applying pressure on the animal’s neck. A stiff-necked animal is moving, straining forward, but will not turn. He is headed somewhere his owner does not want him to go.

 

God does not accuse us of not working or not serving in His kingdom. This accusation of being stiff-necked means we refuse to turn in the direction He pulls. I may appear to be obedient, but headed for ground I was never meant to break.

 

How am I progressing, but not turning at the direction of the Holy Spirit? He applies pressure to my neck through His Word in the Bible, godly instructions from Christian leaders, and guidance from those who love me and want the best for me.

 

“More work in the wrong direction is not repentance,” the emailed article noted. “The stiff neck is not corrected by increased effort but by surgical removal of whatever has calcified around the willingness to be turned.”

 

Jesus has given me a new yoke, but it only works if my compliant neck yields to His nudging.

 

I will flex and soften my neck to recognize the Holy Spirit’s touch. I hope you will, too!