“Who
is a stubborn person?” you might ask. Simply put, a stubborn person is someone
who is difficult to handle or someone who firmly sticks to his own ideas or
desires no matter what. People are generally stubborn in various aspects of
their lives: in their homes, schools, workplaces and relationships. The worst
and most severe form of stubbornness is stubbornness towards God. It is one
thing not to believe in God and another to be firm in unbelief that you are not
even open to anything that might change your mind. It is God’s wish that all
people will turn to Him – 2 Peter 3:9
– but recognizes that some (the “stubborn”) never will.
Many
people in the Bible are described as stubborn, but three in particular stand
out: (1) the king of Egypt during
the Exodus; (2) the people of Israel
throughout their history; and (3) the
Pharisees of Jesus’ day. Each of whom, because of their hardened hearts,
rejected the constant appeals from God to alter their paths. These people had
similar characteristics that all stubborn people manifest:
1.
They persist in the evil they engage in,
refusing to change. Their hearts and minds have been so hardened that they see
no wrong in what they do. Jeremiah condemns their unchanging ways; Jeremiah 13:23, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then may
you also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.” And Isaiah tells of
their rigidity; Isaiah 48:4, “Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and
thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass.” The king of Egypt exhibited
this characteristic – Exodus 8:15, 8:32, 9:35, 10:20, 10:27; so did the Israelites – Judges 2:19; and the Pharisees in the
time of Jesus who refused at all costs to believe in Jesus – John 5:39-40, and insisted others
disbelieve Him too – John 9:24.
2.
The stubborn
also knowingly ignore the voice of God; Isaiah
30:10-11, “Which say to the seers,
See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us
smooth things, prophesy deceits: Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the
path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.” They pay more
attention to matters of the flesh and concentrate less on spiritual
growth. This makes them spiritually
dull; Ezekiel 12:2, “Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a
rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear,
and hear not: for they are a rebellious house.” They are so spiritually
dull that God’s correction for them is fruitless; Proverbs 1:22-32, Jeremiah
17:23, Amos 4:6-11.
3.
The stubborn continue
in their unbelief even when they witness God’s awesome power. Miraculous signs
can encourage the small in faith – Genesis
15:8-17 and Judges 6:17-24 – but
have no effect on the stubborn – Matthew
12:20-24. The Pharisees saw the
miracles Jesus performed – John
10:25-26, 12:37 – but were so committed to opposing Him that they
blasphemously attributed the Holy Spirit’s power to Satan – Mark 3:30.
To all these stubborn acts of hardened unbelief, God
responds in various ways. Sometimes He responds in anger – Zechariah 7:12 and Deuteronomy
9:7; sometimes in sadness and compassion – Nehemiah 9:17, 9:28, Romans 2:4. Sometimes He renews
stubborn hearts – Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26-27 – or punishes to correct – Proverbs 1:29-33, Nehemiah 9:29-31. And at other times, it is final – Psalm 95:10, 2 Kings 17:14-18, Jeremiah
19:15, Romans 2:5.
In conclusion, God’s response to a stubborn person
depends on His purpose for that person. Though man has a will and is
responsible for his stubbornness, God is still in control of the heart and is
able to use unbelief for His own good purposes – Romans 9:18. Thus we must trust that God can always bring good out
of the stubborn nature of an individual.
INNOVATIVE
SYSTEMS
Some
material from the Everyday Study Bible
