Scripture
Israel is stubborn, like a stubborn heifer. So should the LORD feed her like a lamb in a lush pasture?
~Hosea 4:16
Quote
I am not stubborn. My way just happens to be better.
~Willard Garnett
Six times, the scriptures label Pharaoh as “stubborn.” Pharaoh is a type of our fleshly nature. We are born with a tendency to rebel. The LORD told Moses, “I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are… I will not travel among you, for you are a stubborn and rebellious people. If I did, I would surely destroy you along the way.” Hosea mentions the heifer twice: the “stubborn heifer” {4:16} and the “trained heifer” {10:11}. Some heifers were teachable and they were trained to tread out the grain but others were wild and stubborn, making them unteachable and hard to manage.
I use the term heifer quite a bit and I think some people think that it is original but nothing could be further from the truth. Samson used it long before I was born. He told the Philistines, “If you hadn’t plowed with my heifer, you wouldn’t have solved my riddle!” Females can be stubborn, obstinate and hard to direct. I was raised on a farm and we had a grade B dairy when I was very young. I wasn’t a lot of help milking [by hand] but I could go to the back side of our 40 and drive the cows to the barn. Among our milk cows, there was an old Jersy who was like a pet, I could even climb on her back and ride her like a horse. She was trained and a pleasure to work with. BUT I also had my experience with the younger, untrained stubborn heifers. The first thing they do when they see you coming is raise their head and look right at you. They are trying to figure you out because they are going to do the very opposite of what you want them to do and there always seemed to be one who was willing to lead the others astray. Of course stubborness is not just a female problem. My mother came from a family that is known for being stubborn and pig headed: I’m just glad I didn’t get any of those genes.
Just kidding of course: my stubborn nature has cost me plenty. God has blessed me richly but think of what I could have had I not been so stubborn and hard headed. There was a time in my life when I was so head strong that my motto was “Get a bigger hammer and keep pounding.” Determination is positive and open to change but stubborness is an absolute refusal to change. It is a negative and closed mind. Yes, this utter determniation led to a few break throughs but it also did a lot of damage. As I got older, I learned to call a time out and then punt. Sometimes it is best to wait for better field position. There is something to the proverb–“Haste makes waste.” Most of the time we get a better result when we slow down, think things through and yield the right of way.
- God continues to bless and I am thankful. Two more new members by statement and another Baptism. God is good. He is definitely at work and we praise HIM.
- We had 323 in attendance yesterday and both offering were good. The Mission Offering was $751 and the budget offering was $9,168.
- GOLDEN GIRLS next meeting has been changed to November 12, 9:00 am at Cracker Barrel in Hartselle.
- We have 33 signed up to be Venders for TRUNK-A-TREAT…WOW! This is Chloe’s favorite holiday. She really gets into Trunk-A-Treat.
- October will be a fun month for the entire family. We have our FALL STEW and children’s HAY RIDES coming up on October 26 and Trunk-A-Treat on the 30th. Trunk-A-Treat begins at 5:00 pm and the Stew at 5:30.
