“Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me.” – 1 Samuel 17:8
The Israelites were often referred to as “stiff-necked” people for a reason. God Himself attributed that description to them in Exodus 33, as He told Moses to begin their journey to the Promised Land. Clearly angered by their stubbornness, He went on to tell Moses, “But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.” (v.3) This journey that should’ve been completed in two weeks ended up taking 40 years.
Looking ahead 560 years later, these same stiff-necked people had learned nothing.
The elders of Israel approached their judge and prophet, Samuel, demanding that he appoint a king to lead them. “You are getting old,” they told him, “and your sons do not follow your ways. Now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” (1 Samuel 8:5)
This displeased Samuel, so he took the matter to the Lord in prayer. The Lord responded to him, telling him to not take it personally: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you. It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you.” (1 Samuel 8:7-8)
The Lord’s message to Samuel was this: Warn them, and if they still insist, give them what they want. Give them a king.
Hardheaded decisions come with consequences. No group of people in history learned this lesson more often than God’s own people. And so here they were, 27 years later, dealing with the consequences of their demand to be like the other nations with a king.
Except this king has become just as stiff-necked against God as the people who demanded his appointment. And because of his disobedience, Saul has lost favor with God.
This man who was once a great and courageous military leader is now paralyzed. His soldiers look at him for inspiration, but all they see is fear in his eyes. Day after day, this brute of a Philistine warrior comes to the crest of the hill on the far side of the valley and taunts Saul and his people. “Why do you line up to fight?” he asks. Just the mere presence of this man from a distance causes Saul and his men to shake in their boots. They run and hide anytime he comes out and issues the challenge. “Choose a man and have him come down to me. I’m right here. What are you waiting for?”
This same scene plays out for 40 days. The king of Israel, the leader of God’s people, has become a spineless coward.
If the elders of Israel had still been alive (and perhaps some of them were for all we know), would they have thought back on the significance of that day 27 years earlier when they foolishly chose to anchor their hope and trust in a man instead of God?
At every turn, these stiff-necked people recklessly ignored warning after warning. They refused to let go of their idolatry. They even wanted to go back to Egypt instead of trekking onward to freedom. And now, looking at certain defeat, the One they rejected is the only One who can save them.
Loved ones, how many of us can relate? How many warnings must we too ignore before realizing that God, in his mercy, doesn’t give us what we desire, but instead wants to give us what we need?
Father, we are a stiff-necked people. We make misguided decisions, we place our trust in people who inevitably disappoint us. Please forgive us for forsaking you. Thank you for loving us anyway, Lord. Thank you for your mercy and grace, which you give abundantly to us without merit, but as a precious gifts. Thank you for not giving us what we deserve, but instead giving us what we don’t deserve. Amen.
Former Blackout Artist 