Scripture

And Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go.”

~Exodus 5:2, NKJV

Quote

The stiffneck will not bend but it can be broken.

~Matthew Henry

Obstinate, obdurate, bull-headed, pig-headed, mulish, headstrong, contrary and contumacy: these are a few synonyms for stubborn. Yes, contumacy is a real word. I got it from Matthew Henry. It means a stubborn refusal to obey.  Pharaoh was all of the above. Charles Spurgeon said, “Impudence before God is madness.” I had to look the word ‘impudence’ up also; it means to be impertinent which means rudeness, showing a lack of respect of being brazenly insolent. Pharaoh is a good example or should we say bad. He was impudent before God, “Who is Yahweh, that I should obey Him? I do not know Yahweh and I will not let Israel go.” Pharaoh is a type of the flesh, the stubborn willful flesh. The Israelites themselves had a hard time obeying the LORD, but Pharaoh was determined not to obey. He raised his stiffneck of insolent pride toward heaven and he got it broken. It took the LORD just a few minutes to destroy Pharaoh and his army.

The Psalmist said, “Do not deal boastfully, do not lift up the horn, and do not speak with a stiff neck.” [Psalm 75:4-5] When I was a child we had some goats. I think daddy figured out very quickly that they were not an asset. Goats may be more stubborn than a mule. They are unruly and destructive. Some of our goats had horns and they knew how to use them. The horn is a symbol of power or strength: when an animal lifts the horns or the head, this means they are going to challenge you. The high head is a symbol of pride. As Spurgeon said, “It is insane to lift your head aganist God.” The lower you are, the less your chance of falling. We don’t generally fall when we are on our knees.

Extra

PTL we got the bush hogging job completed yesterday and got old Johnny back home and in the shed. I am like the bug that hit the windshield, I don’t have the guts to do it again. I have never seen so many briars in all my life and some were ten feet high.

Team Guatemala is in the air.

49er Luncheon

Friday–July 25–11:30

Extra/Extra

LORD, bend this proud and stiffnecked “I“,

Help me bow the neck and die,

Beholding Him on calvary,

Who bowed His head for me.

[Source Unknown]