Sin can never be flippantly disregarded. If the Lord is just, and He is, He must mete out consequences for rebellion. The biblical descriptions of the Lord’s reaction to rebellion varies from “he will be wroth” (Joshua 22:18) to “then shall the hand of the LORD be against you” (1 Samuel 12:15) to “ye shall be devoured with the sword” (Isaiah 1:20) to “I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee” (Exodus 33:5) to “I will purge out from among you the rebels” (Ezekiel 20:38) to “I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings” (Malachi 2:2). Though there are variations in the response, the constant truth remains that the Lord hates rebellion and responds to the rebellion with judgment.
Rebellion is identified in a variety of ways, but the Lord often associates it to someone with a stiff neck. Society should find this concept easily grasped. A stiff neck impedes the head from bowing. Moses directly associated the stiff neck with rebellion when he said, “For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck” (Deuteronomy 31:27). Like Moses, the Lord identified the rebellion of the children of Israel when He stated that they were “a stiffnecked people” (Exodus 32:9). Isaiah likewise attested to this truth by stating that rebellious people had a neck of iron sinew and a brow of brass (Isaiah 48:4). These descriptive terms demonstrate that rebellion is exemplified by an individual who refuses to bow and allow the mind to be changed. He has an unyielding spirit.
Since God is “a God of truth” (Deuteronomy 32:4), it makes sense that the words proceeding forth from His mouth would reflect and demonstrate the same nature as their author. According to the scriptures, this is exactly what has happened. The psalmist said, “thy law is the truth” (Psalm 119:142) “and all thy commandments are truth” (Psalm 119:151). The Lord Jesus confirmed this when He said, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17). If God is worthy of praise for being a God of truth, it only makes sense that His truth would also be worthy of man’s praise (Psalm 71:22). God, knowing this truth, magnified His word above all His name (Psalm 138:2).
