Deuteronomy 10: 16 NLT 16 Therefore, change your hearts] and stop being stubborn.
Here is a bit of backstory, Moses spent time on the Mountain with God and received the commandments. He is calling the people to be obedient and do what God is asking. Part of that is to stop being stubborn.
Something I really like to do is when I find a particular scripture I look before it and after it for extra context. I also read different versions of the verse to get more understanding. I gave more below and another version.
So – stubborn, I will own this one. I know I can be about certain things and when I stop and think about what I am stubborn about it really makes me laugh because it sometimes just does not make sense at all. I’m sure that’s why God put it on Moses to say – stop being stubborn. When it comes to God and doing or being how He wants us to be, stubborn should never be the way. Being stubborn in faith is resisting God and what He wants for our lives. Why do that? Why go there? I suppose I’ll answer this from my perspective. Because we are silly humans sometimes with no clue how big our God is and the wonders He brings.
Deuteronomy 10:14-16 NLT 14 “Look, the highest heavens and the earth and everything in it all belong to the Lord your God. 15 Yet the Lord chose your ancestors as the objects of his love. And he chose you, their descendants, above all other nations, as is evident today. 16 Therefore, change your hearts[c] and stop being stubborn.
Deuteronomy 10:14-18 MSG 14-18 Look around you: Everything you see is God’s—the heavens above and beyond, the Earth, and everything on it. But it was your ancestors who God fell in love with; he picked their children—that’s you!—out of all the other peoples. That’s where we are right now. So cut away the thick calluses from your heart and stop being so willfully hardheaded. God, your God, is the God of all gods, he’s the Master of all masters, a God immense and powerful and awesome. He doesn’t play favorites, takes no bribes, make sure orphans and widows are treated fairly, takes loving care of foreigners by seeing that they get food and clothing.
He can do all that and more. Hardheaded is how this message version puts it. Describes it well. Can you think of instances where you are stubborn? Are you resisting God? Ask yourself why? Why resist? Why be hard-headed? I think for me many times I am stubborn it’s pride or maybe fear.
Pride before the fall - Said to emphasize that if you are too confident about your abilities, something bad will happen that shows that you are not as good as you think.
Many proverbs warn that the sin of pride is a dangerous offense. Proverbs 16:18 declares, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Verse 18 links to verse 19: “Better to live humbly with the poor than to share plunder with the proud.” The meaning of the passage is clear-cut: pride leads to humiliation. It is better to be humble and poor than proud and rich. So now for fear - 1 John 4:18 ESV There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. Proverbs 29:25 ESV The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe. Psalm 56:3-4 ESV When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
I think these sum it up pretty good – I found some further research on fear – here it is – I think it’s on the mark. The universal trigger for fear is the threat of harm, real or imagined. This threat can be for our physical, emotional or psychological well-being. While there are certain things that trigger fear in most of us, we can learn to become afraid of nearly anything. I also believe that we can compound fear by dwelling on it. Giving it strength and power.
So Stubborn – with pride and fear – all of these things can be positive but in the context we are talking here they are not. I know for me I have to ask God to take away pride. I know I am getting so much better about it these days. Time and age have a way of giving you better insight. The other thing is the closer you get to God, the more you speak to Him and the more you get in the word and understand it the better you become, the better you can deal with Stubborn situations, pride and fear.
Dear Heavenly Father, today we come to thank You for the work You do in us to help with stubborn times, times of pride and times of fear. We are flesh and You love us anyway and we are so grateful. In Jesus Name - Amen