Deuteronomy 10:16 (NASBStr)
So circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer.
Did you know that the neck muscles are connected to the heart muscle? Now, most physiology teachers might not agree, but that is what God says in the above verse. Apparently, if our hearts are in the wrong spot, our necks will be as well. The phrase "stiffen your neck" had particular meaning in the culture of the Israelites. God first used it of His people in Exodus 32:9 (NASV uses "obstinate" rather than "stiff-neck"). They had just made their molten calf under Aaron's leadership and God was set to destroy them. God used the term to explain to Moses that this people would not bow their will to God. When we have a stiff neck we can't move it. When can't move it, we can bow it. When we can't bow it, we can't demonstrate our respect or compliance with the one who is Greater. A stiff neck is showing the hard heart. If our neck is still we can't turn aside to the left or right to see the path God wants for us. We simply keep moving forward on the path of destruction. People who can't bow their heads show that they, in actuality, can't bow their hearts. In Acts 7:51, at the end of Stephen's famous sermon (just before he gets stoned to death), he tells his audience they are a stiff-necked group of listeners. It uses the phrase to tell them they are "resisting the Holy Spirit." Note his words:
Acts 7:51 (NASBStr)
“You men who are stiff- necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.
When we refuse to bend to the Spirit's leading we are being stiff-necked. That is because our neck is connected directly to the heart. They only way to relax the neck is to bend the heart to the will of God. If you find yourself having a difficult time bending to the will of God, check the condition of your heart.
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